WORKING AS A COORDINATOR MIDWIFE IN A TERTIARY ...

I didn’t even have the midwife’s back up with my recommendations, so eventually
I asked “well may I ask you why you came?” They got really mad and said “well
because the baby is at risk!” So I said “well if the baby is at risk and you’ve
come here for help then you need to let me do these things and if you don’t let me,
then you’re going for a caesar because I have no idea if your baby is alright. I
know this will be the consultant’s decision as soon as I ring her. If we can’t find a
foetal heart you’ll be down for a caesar. If you let me do this little thing, chances
are you’ll have a normal birth.” It just took ages and ages.
In the end it was fine and the woman had a normal birth because we managed to
do the ARM and put the FSE on.
This couple was asked to make choices by Sally whilst they were simultaneously coping
with unexpected events and the physical and emotional demands of labour. Hibbard and
Peters (2003) offer insight into the perspective of health care choices when they explain
the consumer who is decision maker is “in an arena where choice is important but the
information is unfamiliar, and the amount of information may exceed human information
processing skills” (p.415).
Tupara (2008) writes “the way information is framed and packaged will determine to a
large degree what information is used in the final choice” (p.7). Sally had no means of
reassurance available regarding the baby’s wellbeing. Sally ‘lost time’ communicating
the urgency of the situation to the couple and the midwife. She knew what needed to be
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