AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH
Time keeps running away! I promised another blog update and apologies that it's taken so long to actually write it!
PLANNING UPDATE:
Flights are booked and partially paid for (ie they're on a credit card)
So as promised, I thought I'd share some of the reasoning behind me heading to Tanzania. Now my personal reasons are a little bit hab-dash/here and there so please, bear with me and by the end of the blog I swear I can tie it all together!
So I've been made aware that some readers aren't familiar with the ins and outs of being a student midwife, so I want to shed a bit of light on that. As a student midwife, at least half of our 'learning time' has to be spent on placement. At my university I have a range of placements - these are where we students get the opportunity to learn and practice practical skills ranging from providing women antenatal care to delivering a baby to having the knowledge to be able to support with an emergency! Every summer we are given the opportunity to 'practice' on an elective placement, so a placement outside our usual sphere of learning to gain some experience or knowledge individuals are personally seeking. So some students go on placements in different units or areas of the country that are excelling in specific services such as home birth, bereavement counselling or supporting young mums-to-be. I knew that I wanted to do something a little extra, I don't have any big commitments in my life, so in the fortunate position to be a little selfish and think about what I want without having to consider implications to those who depend on me.
Where I live (and train to be a midwife) there is very little ethnic and cultural diversity. In the 2001 census, 96.9% of the local borough population declared themselves as White-British and only 2% of the population declared a religion other than Christianity (ONS, 2012). Now I'm talking about the town where I grew up but in my pre-midwifery adult life, I did move away and have lived in a couple of northern cities and worked around the northwest region; so although I have experience living and working in more diverse communities I wanted to gain experience of diversity during my midwifery training.
Taking an overseas elective is encouraged by the Royal College of Midwives (RCM - aka that wonderful organisation who awarded me a travel scholarship last month...also a professional organisation/trade union for midwives). An overseas elective gives the rare opportunity to see not only a different way of providing maternity care, but makes you consider the context of the maternity care. So here in the UK women are equal citizens, but in many countries women are still considered second class citizens. So as an extreme example, think about women being pregnant in a country where they legally have to abide by what their husband says they can and can't do - that could even mean he dictates she can't seek any antenatal care or that she must stay at home during childbirth, so that she can cook his meals and care for the rest of the family. Extreme to many of us Brits but reality for many women across the globe.
So people have asked me if I want to experience diversity then why don't I just go somewhere like Birmingham or London, where the units are much busier than what I'm used to and there is so much more cultural diversity. And if I want to travel to East Africa, then why don't I just wait until I've graduated and I can afford a "proper" holiday where I'll be able to relax and enjoy my time there. Well, I want to have a placement there to learn about life and midwifery in Tanzania. If I were to just go to another location in the UK then I'll still have some familiarity as we all work to similar national guidelines, going to Tanzania really is experiencing something new - there are places I may visit which don't have access to sterile equipment - I'd never experience that anywhere in the UK! And yes, it will be emotionally intense but I know I will enjoy myself on the whole, I'm the type of person who likes to immerse myself in a new culture and I'll still have time to do more recreational activities while there so best of both worlds. Also to me, going somewhere where I'll be part of the minority is completely removing myself from my comfort zone...and really, since I started studying towards midwifery I've metaphorically, constantly gone from a comfort zone to a deep end of a new pool so why not go for broke?!
And the huge crux of this decision, the whole point of this degree is working towards becoming a qualified, registered midwife. Once I qualify I'll be looking for employment along with hundreds of other newly qualified midwives. In one sense, this degree can be seen as a 3-year-long interview, and hopefully when it comes to finding a job as a midwife, the experience of finding out first hand about global maternity care and the professional development I expect it aids will hopefully help me stand out from other applicants.
And if it doesn't, well it's gonna be one hell of an adventure!!!
