ABSTRACT
Wearing mask, visor, glasses, gloves and apron, I try to engage with the pregnant woman sitting in front of me. My eyes are visible, though barely. “How are you” I ask, my voice muffled.
This chapter explores the many issues; clinical, psychosocial, and political, written from the perspective of a National Health Service midwife working to support mothers and people who birth in a global pandemic. At the start of the pandemic, the whole service was turned upside down and altered radically in a matter of weeks. Something the author reflects on whilst sitting in her home office, having a disembodied conversation with a pregnant woman or person. In the online consultation, she asks the most intimate questions, without the ability to read body language, expression or, even accurately, tone of voice. This appointment helps to establish a relationship between the individual, the midwife, and the maternity service, as well as build trust – a crucial factor for all – but particularly if someone is to disclose possible issues such as domestic abuse. The title of this chapter, “Despatches from the Front”, recalls testimonies from an armed conflict, and at times, working as a midwife through the COVID-19 pandemic, felt like a war.
