Medical students and deliveries

That's a tricky one. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else there at the time, but I can see where they are coming from.

I can also see where they are coming from.. Having been on the other side as a nursing student and having been placed on maternity placement.. sitting for weeks in maternity only to have everyone decline to have another person there. Which is fine as for Paris, I would have probably said no had i been asked. With Ayja, I knew that my colleagues were due to have placements in the delivery suite around when she was due, however she came early and was born in the 1 week between the finish of 1 set of placements and the start of another (wooohoo!) my reason behind not saying yes in that situation, had it arisen.. would have been that i knew them as colleagues and not friends at that point since i had only just joined their group. looking back i would have probably been ok with the person who asked if they could follow.. had she asked at the right time.

I mean really, when it comes down to it.. these are the people who are going to take over from the experts when the experts are old and haggardy.. so yeah, say no now.. but when you're on your 4 th kid.. they might just be the ones fumbling their way through if anything goes wrong.

lol, and lets face it, who really cares who's in the room when it gets down tot he nitty gritty.. by that stage all you want is that baby outta you!

Edited by mum2paris

I don't think they midwives are even asking because I so would of said yes for one with Caprece since I had such a straight forward labour with Jack. I wanted a student there because I would really love to be a midwife one day and know they need experience, but my midwife never asked.

I had a student do the guthries test on her tho which i thought was great. the students are trying so hard to get it right so they actually explain things properly.

I didn't want anyone with my first baby - I think that's fair enough for anyone who wants "just family" etc. But then cause that went to custard I was a bit anxious about having a student for #2 as well. I'd have one now, but it certainly helps to have it explained in this way too. I think I *might* be alright with a male student now too (only now though) so long as I knew exactly what his role would be and had met him before making my decision (and not in his presence either).

There's a big difference from having a "(curious) student" in the delivery room from having a "future gynae" there... IYGWIM? So perhaps mws should be wording things a little different - not with pressure though.

When I was in the ward (still pregnant) with Andrew I had a Massey student that was trailing the MW that was looking after me. I was happy for her to do the odd thing but there was a few things that I just didn't feel comfortable her doing. In the delivery of Andrew I made sure there were no students at all - I just didn't want them there.

When it came to having Josh I was happy for there to be students but there weren't any there so I didn't have one there.

I think I had said yes when my m/w asked if I'd be OK with a student midwife attending, even though it didn't end up that way - don't know about a male student though? I suppose they have to get that training somehow.

When I had Brooke 12 years ago they insisted that a student was present in the delivery room and stated that as National Womens was a teaching hospital that was just how it was done. Even though the handouts given to me outlined my rights, including the right to not have a student present, they wouldn't give me pain relief until I agreed to it and allowed the student to do an examination. The distressing part was that I was throwing up everywhere and clearly didn't want any additional 'handling'. The whole thing completely put me off and I was insistent when I had Caleb that there was to be no student involvement whatsoever for this birth or any others. If they'd have handled it differently way back then I probably wouldn't have such a bee in my bonnet about it now. Thinking back now I wonder what they were thinking, first time Mum, chucking up everywhere, having a prem baby, delaying pain relief and insisting on having a student getting as involved as possible so that everything had to be done twice (once by the student and once by the midwife).

i had a student at james brith and she was great she was with my midwife for four weeks and was in her last year of midwifey and had done 4 or 5 briths before hand i didnt mind at all and it was a good a lreaning creve for her as my brith didnt go right. vicki did most of the checks and montering during my loubor with my midwife and also did the after care aswell with my midwife the way i see it is now eles are they spose to lrean

I had a student at my c/s and I wasn't even asked, I wouldn't have minded. It was however a bit off putting when I could hear the surgeon telling her "don't pull on that", "don't put your fingers there" etc. Would have been a lot happier if they had told (or better still asked) me before hand. I wouldn't have a problem with a male student, I was at the hospital from 35 weeks until I had him at 38 weeks and about a million different people male and female checked my cervix so quite frankly by the end of it I didn't give a crap who came and had a look!!!

I had a student m/w during my pregnancy with Maya, she was supposed to be at the birth as well but she didn't turn up and my m/w was pissed as heck about it coz she reckoned the student was only turning up to deliveries when it suited her and not to ones like mine which started at 11pm. Had she turned up she would have been at the birth.

I never had one with the gremlins, I don't think my m/w would have allowed it coz of the twin thing, but when I was in hospital antenatally when they threatened to come early my OB came to see me with a whole team of students who all got to have a poke and a prod of my babies. I didn't really get a choice about that but if I'd been uncomfortable about it I would have said something. It's just not something that bothers me particularly, people have to learn somewhere.

What I want to know tho is why are so many OB's male? What would give a guy motivation to become an OB and spend half his life with his head/hands up womens jacksies?