The media has long been making headlines out of the shortage of midwives. A demanding job and lack of social and financial recognition seem to be at the root of the shortage, which has reached crisis-point in some areas.
After a three or four year-course, a midwife is well-equipped to help mums to be through their pregnancies and answer their questions, but as birth has become more and more medicalised in recent years, some worry that they have come to rely on technology and the too little time is spent on the psychology of pregnancy and the human experience of having a baby. Things are slowly changing however, the Royal College of Midwives ' Campaign for Normal Birth addresses the rise in caesarean rates and is one of a number of initiatives which focuses on less intervention during birth. The latest techniques and equipment available now hark back to age-old birthing practices, with birthing chairs and stools which use gravity to aid delivery and more natural pain-relief techniques. Water and home births are now seen as valid choices in most areas of the UK and women are encouraged to have an active labour, walk around, get on all fours and generally cope however their bodies want to, rather than spend it on their backs with their feet in stirrups, a position which was introduced in the last century to help medical staff monitor the birth. With the focus back on the mother and baby, debate has started and things are beginning to change, as the campaign gives midwives the tools they need to keep birth as normal as possible.
To address the UK's shortage of midwives, the government has taken steps to improve working conditions and pay, with the Agenda for Change, which has brought conditions and pay up to date across the NHS, modernising the role. Defined skills and knowledge requirements mean clearer roles and expectations, which along with new pay bands, makes midwifery as a profession look more attractive than ever.