A week in the life

This week has been a very special week for me as an IM, and I was very honoured and privileged to receive third place in the BJM Community Midwife of the Year awards.

It was a spectacular evening hosted by the British Journal of Midwifery and a real highlight in the midwifery year; a time when midwives from all arenas can be acknowledged for all the hard work they do - and a wonderful opportunity to wash of the placenta and booby milk, get dressed up, and let our hair down!

Being an independent midwife is hard work; there is an awful lot that goes on behind the scenes and being on call 24/7 is not always easy.  It is however incredibly rewarding, and after heading up to collect my certificate on Monday night, I was reminded of some of the really hard times over the past few years when IMUK worked hard to retain independent midwifery and the right for women to choose.  During that time, I made a 'Week in the Life' video to use at an IMUK open day to highlight the work we do and the way we do it.  I am really pleased to share this video with you now:

I love being a midwife (mostly) and do feel very privileged to work in this way.  I am not sure that being on-call will be right for me forever, and I do grow weary of it at times.  However, I think that probably applies to many of the different midwifery avenues that are out there: any job that gives of yourself can lead to burn out and fatigue - which is why it is so important that we look after ourselves - and are looked after (Jeremy Hunt take note).

So thank you BJM for my award, thank you women for sharing your lives with me, and thank you to everyone who supported the campaign to save IM's and kept us going!

angela xx

"Midwives are best placed to make a real difference in the woman's overall experience - and I am privileged when I get invited in by the family to provide that care"

Angela Horler