Midwifery training.

I took some tests today, and all went well, very well actually. So I'm quite happy with that. This trimester we've been studying everything around birth, going into labour, catching a baby, doing a neonatal research and everything. Extremely interessting, very cool to see the stuff you learn in school during your training period in a midwifery-practice.

As I'm updating this concept-message, my results came back. I'm doing really good so far, so yay me!

Anyways, wanted to show you some pictures to give you a feel of what we're doing in training here in the Netherlands.






This one makes me laugh :)


studying anatomy


This is what I'd bring with me if I'm called for labour. An obstetrics set, an oxygen set, and of course my visits bag.



A sneak-peek of the contents of both the oxygen set and obstetrics set.

Midwifery is a 4 year training program (in my case) at Rotterdam University. In those 4 years you'll be spending a great deal of time in different local midwifery practices to become experienced and to train on the job.
In order to graduate, you must've caught at least 60 babies (meaning you guided them out of the birth canal), you must've performed at least 300 follow-up appointments and a whole range of different things like examining the neonate and actively take part in a breech birth. Quite thorough!

Quicky update

I'm crazy busy. Midwifery school has started and I'm swamped by everything that needs to be done. Hope I'll be able to tick off at least some things of my to-do list for the upcycling project that's coming up this monday...
I'll have to finish at least some things so hopefully I'll find the time. Have been surfing thru pinterest and I'm loaded with inspiration though, suddenly every item in my closet is yearning for upcyclement.

Midwife to be

School's about to start, only a week to go. A week! I thought I had two weeks left! So I'm frantically running about to arrange stuff, making calls to find babysitters and trying to imagine what my days would look like then.

Midwifery has always appealed to me, but I could never really say why. I was impressed by the pictures of the midwife who attended my birth as I realized that it were her hands that first touched me, weird realization I tell you!
But only when I gave birth to my first child the wish to become a midwife myself became very very clear. After a second child and long loooong contemplation and ofcourse discussions with my boyfriend I decided to go for it. But now that I've been admissioned to midwifery-school it all becomes very very real. Will I be able to do it, what will it really be like, can we manage as a family? There are so many insecurities, and I sincerely hope that we'll be able to pull through.

But the thought alone, of being a midwife, makes me so happy, that it's worth to at least try and give it a shot.
Think possible, not impossible!
(I have to keep saying that to myself ;) )

For you foreign readers, ofcourse Dutch ob/gyn or midwifery system is a bit different from the US (or global) version. If anything is ever unclear, or you're just curious about how things work around here, just ask!