[New Midwife] How to Reflect on Delivery Assistance | 5 Tips to Turn Experience into Growth

Hello ☀️ I'm Carrie, a senior midwife who wants to support new midwives 🌷

I sometimes receive consultations like this from new midwives.

When I was a new midwife, I felt down almost every time too 😭

Only the things I couldn’t do remained in my mind, and I sometimes worried that I might not be cut out for this 🌀

But looking back now, the reason I was able to growis not because the number of deliveries I handled increased.It is because Icarefully reflected on each delivery one by one and kept thinking about ‘how to apply this to the next delivery.’is.

This time, I will share the ‘way to reflect on delivery assistance’ that I have valued since I was a new midwife and still value today 👇

1. Reflection is a ‘time for learning,’ not a ‘debriefing session’

When people say reflection, they tend to think of things like,

It is easy to think only about the things you couldn’t do. Of course, it is important to organize areas for improvement. But I think it is a waste to stop there.

I would like you to also reflect on‘why it went well’as a perspective.

For example,

The smoother the delivery, the more we tend to just end it with ‘that was good.’ But there is always a reason for a good result.

Once you can put that reason into words, you will be able to reproduce the same kind of care in your next delivery.

2. Reflect on the ‘process of thinking,’ not the result

The most important thing in reflecting on a delivery is to

reflect on what you saw, what you thought, and why you chose that action at that moment, rather than the result.

For example,

Instead of just focusing on the result, such as "I should have reported it sooner,"

what was the basis for your judgment at that time?

By putting that into words, your clinical judgment will gradually develop.

3. Learn the "tacit knowledge" of senior staff

When I was a new midwife, there was a delivery I still cannot forget.

It was a delivery for a multipara, and I could not sufficiently predict the progress of labor; by the time I noticed, the fetal head was already visible.

I hurriedly put on sterile gloves, but in the meantime, a senior midwife requested backup via an emergency call, protected the fetal head with a napkin, and encouraged the mother to regulate her breathing by saying, "Let's breathe out slowly."

At the time, I was filled with thoughts like, "I've really messed up... I've caused trouble for the mother and all the staff..."

But looking back now, that was not what I really needed to learn.

What did the senior midwife see that led her to judge that "the baby is about to be born"?

Why did she prioritize requesting backup and speaking to the mother first?

Learning the process behind those judgments still supports me today. When you are a new midwife, you tend to focus on "what you couldn't do."

But what is even more important iswhat the senior midwife was looking at, what she was thinking, and how she was moving.

Try to get your seniors to put their "tacit knowledge" into words.

Seniors predict the progress of labor from small changes that cannot be learned from textbooks alone, such as "changes in the mother's breathing," "the sound of her breath," and "the tone of her voice."

However, as a new midwife, it is difficult to notice those small changes. That is precisely why,

you should ask your seniors, "What were you looking at?" and "Why did you make that judgment?"

I believe that focusing on those things, reflecting on the process and the results, and searching for perspectives that can be replicated for the next delivery is what matters.

4. Involve doctors and reflect as a team

Even now, I place great importance on taking time to reflect with doctors and fellow midwives after a delivery.

Midwives view childbirth from a midwife's perspective.

Doctors judge the progress of labor, the safety of the mother and child, and the timing of medical interventions from a doctor's perspective.

Even when attending the same delivery, the information each person sees and the basis for their judgments differ slightly. That is precisely why there is great value in reflecting with members from different positions.

For example, if things are calm while suturing the vulva, I ask:

I ask these questions.

I also review the fetal heart rate monitoring (CTG) together with them.

For example:

"Based on the vaginal examination findings and the progress of labor at this point, I thought we could aim for a vaginal delivery. From which waveform did you decide that it was necessary to switch to a cesarean section and expedite the delivery?"

"I expedited the delivery because there was a persistent severe late deceleration that was likely to transition into severe prolonged bradycardia."

By confirming not just the waveforms, but also 'how that waveform was interpreted and what judgment led to the action,' I can learn clinical judgment that cannot be acquired from textbooks alone.

Reflection is not a 'time to guess the correct answer.' I believe it is a time to share the basis for judgments as a team and apply the lessons learned to the next delivery.

5. Make your experience your own personal asset

In a previous article, I recommended preparing a 'My Delivery Log'👇

Once you start assisting with deliveries, please make sure to use that notebook for your reflections.

In addition to recording the delivery assistance, what I wrote down was:

.

For example, instead of just ending with, "I couldn't predict the progress of the multipara's labor."

Adding just one note like, "Senior Midwife XX predicted the progress of labor by observing changes in the mother's breathing and voice," will change your perspective for the next delivery.

Experience fades over time. However, if you write down what you have learned, your knowledge and experience will accumulate, and it will surely become an asset that supports your career as a midwife.

In conclusion

When providing clinical instruction or training new staff, I have noticed that midwives who grow quickly share a common trait.

That is, they are people who do not just end with "I could or couldn't do it," but think about "why it happened" in their own words and are able to ask those around them. questions.

The difference in experience is the difference in reflection. That is what I feel.

As a new midwife, there may be days when you feel discouraged every time you finish assisting with a delivery.

However, by carefully reflecting on each delivery and making the team's knowledge your own, your confidence will grow little by little. Today's delivery is a unique case that you will never experience again. Please take at least one lesson away from it and apply it to your next delivery.

That accumulation will surely lead to a future where you go from thinking, "I'm scared of delivery assistance," to

"Delivery assistance is truly profound and enjoyable." being able to think that way.

This time, I focused on how to turn experience into your own strength, but in the previous article, I introduced

how to approach delivery, so I hope it serves as a hint to turn even a little bit of your anxiety about delivery assistance into confidence.