[From the Office Manager] Why I want more people to know about the work of midwives
I am not a midwife.
Even so, I now call myself the "Self-Appointed Midwife Public Relations Office" and am working to share the work of midwives with society.
Why do I support midwives so much?
People I meet often ask me this, so today I would like to write about the reasons while tracing back my own experiences. It's a little embarrassing (´艸｀*)
My activities date back to August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when I held an online talk event exclusively for first-time moms.
What I learned there was that the situation moms were in in 2020 had not changed much from when I was pregnant and gave birth in 2012.
In a word, it was loneliness.
Worrying alone, suffering alone, and trying to solve things alone.
While maternity clothes and baby goods have evolved remarkably, I felt that the hardships and mental strain of the people actually giving birth and raising children had not changed at all...
Why is that? (ㆆ ㆆ ).｡o
Thinking that was the catalyst for my current activities.
To unravel that "why," in January 2021, I took it upon myself to launch a project called "Interviews with 100 Midwives." (´艸｀*)
I spent about a year interviewing 106 midwives across all 47 prefectures and 3 countries. (I have also kept records of those interviews on YouTube.)
My own postpartum experience ~The terrifying mastitis!~
As for what my own pregnancy and childbirth were like, I had morning sickness almost the entire time I was pregnant, and I ended up having a C-section because the baby was in a breech position.
The hardest part was the postpartum period.
Less than a month after giving birth, I had to receive a breast massage.
I developed the highest fever of my life (over 40°C), my breasts became hard and hot, and my son was unable to drink breast milk. It was mastitis.
At the time, I didn't even know such an illness existed. Ignorance is scary, isn't it? (*﹏*;)
Even though I had a fever, my son would cry because he was hungry.
I couldn't let him die.
I had to feed him no matter what.
It might sound like an exaggeration, but I think anyone who knows about the postpartum mental state will understand.
I was just desperate.
Of course, I couldn't handle it on my own, so I searched on my smartphone using whatever words came to mind, such as
"breast massage,"
"breast care,"
"Oketani method."
I received care at a clinic I found that way.
When I left my son with my mother and lay down on the bed, I was filled with feelings of blaming my own inadequacy.
At the same time, I was skeptical about whether I would be able to breastfeed my son, but I also felt a desperate hope that they would somehow fix it...
In short, I was lying there with my thoughts and emotions in a complete mess.
The midwife who performed the breast massage worked silently, and while doing so, she said one thing:
"You've been working so hard until your breasts got like this, haven't you?"
In that moment, everything I had been holding back overflowed.
It was tears, the weight of responsibility I couldn't carry, and the anxiety I couldn't hide.
The first thing I thought at that moment was,
"I see, even like this, I was doing a good job."
That was it.
I was doing my best in my own way with my first experience of raising a child.
There was someone who acknowledged that I was "working hard."
I think I felt deeply relieved by that reality.
Of course, there was also the relief that my breasts would return to normal and I would be able to breastfeed again.
Looking back, I was saved both body and soul at that time.
I don't remember the face or name of that midwife now.
Even so, I still remember the atmosphere and warmth of the room where I received care, and above all, those words, even 14 years later.
What I saw as I conducted interviews
From that experience, it led to an online talk event in August 2020, right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, with the desire to learn more about midwives myself, and for many women to know about them and rely on them, I planned the "100 Midwife Interviews" project.
As I conducted the interviews, I learned that the work of a midwife is something that cannot be described by skills and knowledge alone.
Because it is a national qualification, they possess a wealth of knowledge and experience regarding pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum health, babies, breastfeeding, and women's physical and mental well-being.
But that is not all.
In particular, when I listened to midwives at birth centers that handle deliveries, I learned that their work begins with prenatal checkups.
Getting to know the mother.
Getting to know her family.
How she wants to give birth.
Who she wants to spend time with.
What she values.
By doing so, they alleviate anxiety during every prenatal checkup, and during labor, they support the mother to help her achieve a birth experience she can be satisfied with.
After birth, they care for the body, support breastfeeding, and provide necessary information and resources.
To put it very briefly,
it means that a single midwife accompanies a mother from the time she becomes pregnant until after the birth.
Within that relationship, it seemed as though the midwives were providing their skills and knowledge to the mothers in a tailor-made fashion.
Midwives are not just people who deliver babies.
I realized they are people who watch over, support, and reach out when needed during the time a person is becoming a mother.
Looking at the bigger picture, the work of midwives is even broader.
Sex education.
Breastfeeding support in disaster-stricken areas.
Activities related to maternal and child disaster prevention.
Maternal and child health activities overseas.
Involvement in adolescence and menopause.
The work of midwives was much broader than I had imagined.
Unlocking and utilizing the potential of midwives!
After spending about a year interviewing 106 midwives, I began to think like this:
"If only the work of midwives were better known to society, there would be even one fewer mother worrying with her smartphone in hand today."
Just as I was saved by a midwife in the past.
People who are anxious during pregnancy.
People who are crying while breastfeeding after birth.
People who find their baby cute but cannot keep up with their own body and mind.
People who feel they cannot ask anyone and continue searching on their smartphones in secret.
I want the presence of midwives to reach such people more naturally.
And I believe this is not just a story for women.
"If men and society understood the work and role of midwives, wouldn't pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period look different? Wouldn't we be able to see a new way of being?"
I have come to think that as well.
Spreading awareness of the work of midwives to society means:
Not leaving pregnancy and childbirth as something only women bear.
Creating a society where welcoming a baby can be thought about more positively and with more peace of mind.
Ensuring the start of child-rearing is not a lonely experience.
I believe it is something that will bring about those results.
Ultimately, I believe it will also help to curb the declining birthrate.
Babies are cute.
They are unconditionally cute.
But the feeling that babies are cute is not enough to get through pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
So that those who give birth and raise children do not have to carry worries, anxieties, and suffering alone.
So that welcoming a new life can be more enjoyable and happier.
I want more people to know about the work of midwives.
That is why I am engaged in an activity called the "Unofficial Midwife Public Relations Office."
Thank you for reading this far!
The End (^^)
My profile (*'▽')
https://midwife-pr.canva.link/