Communicating with the medical staff

Have you thought about what kind of support you would like from your midwife during your pregnancy and labour? Do you want her to tell you what to do or do you want her to follow what you would like? Are you happy with the idea of going along with her suggestions, or do you think the situation might arise in which she suggests something you don’t want?
If that happened, what would you do?

Women generally report that their pregnancy and labour is a more positive experience if they feel that their wishes have been listened to and taken into account, and that things have been explained to them by the medical staff. This is the case even for women whose pregnancy and labour turned out differently from what they were hoping for.

So what can you do to make sure that your wishes are heard and that things are explained to you? Here are a few suggestions:

• Make a birth plan (we will be covering this later) and make sure you give it to the midwife when you go into hospital. Make sure that your labour companion knows what’s in it too
• If the midwife or a doctor suggests that a procedure needs to be carried out that you don’t understand, ask for what it involves to be explained to you. This may be at any point during your pregnancy, but if it’s during labour, this may be a role for your labour companion, as you may well not be at your most alert and able to concentrate while you’re in labour
• To help you make up your mind whether you want to agree to the procedure, ask the medical staff to explain its benefits, the risks attached to it, what alternatives there are to it, and what will happen if you do nothing (a handy way of reminding yourself of these questions is to remember BRAN – Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Nothing)
• Once you understand the procedure, if you’d prefer not to make a decision straight away, ask what will happen if you wait for a little while, or if there’s an alternative
• If it’s a decision that doesn’t have to be made straight away, you may like to go away and think about it, or do some research/reading around the subject to make a more informed decision
• If you’re discussing a procedure with the medical staff, you may feel more confident if you’re sitting up or standing rather than lying down, and if you’re covered up, rather than having your body exposed
• Having discussed and understood the procedure, you may decide to agree to it. If you don’t want to, though, you don’t have to. Say that you understand the medical staff’s point of view, but emphasise that your view is different
• You’ll be able to communicate what you want more effectively if you’re calm
• If there’s an emergency that needs immediate action, there might well not be much – or any – time for discussion. In this case, the need for urgency is likely to be clear from the way the medical staff are reacting

Remember that nothing can be done to you during your pregnancy or labour without your consent.