ABSTRACT
This chapter is an account of my experience of practising as an independent midwife. My practice enables me to choose to carry a small caseload of women and provide back-up for other midwives, while also continuing to work as a midwifery lecturer. The above vignette provides a snapshot of the intimacy of midwifery practice, where the midwife has had the time to get to know a woman and her family well throughout their work together. The vignette was written to encapsulate an experience of birth that, for me, is the essence of midwifery, namely the relationship between the woman and her midwife. This is something that I have experienced more as an independent midwife than in any other area of my midwifery career. In the vignette, I am in the background of the birth as it unfurls. The relationship that I had already built up with Beth enhanced my ability to assess her well-being and that of her baby. I believe that, with this relationship established, it becomes possible to observe and assess the progress of labour on many of the interconnected levels of human experience. I also believe that, when you get to know a woman and her family throughout her pregnancy, not only does this impact on how you relate to her in labour – it also serves to enhance the post-partum support you can provide. Independent Midwives UK (IM-UK) offers the following definition:
through the contractions. Allison silently appears in the room. We make eye contact but say nothing.
