Alice's profile

Who am I?

AKA abiding Alice, I am 52 and qualified as a direct entry midwife when there were very few courses available. It was much harder in those days. I have always worked in the NHS, and now I am a community midwife working full time, though I had to cut down my hours when the children were young. I am married, and my children are 12 and 15. My priority is my family, I always make sure I finish work on time, book my annual leave at the beginning of the year, and take any time I am owed back when I need it.

I like working in midwifery and prefer things to be routine, knowing what needs to be done and when. Working on community gives me the flexibility I need. Partnership with my GPs works, as I like to know where I stand and who's in charge.

I dislike having too much in my diary as I like to have enough time to do my visits and clinics properly. There is also the pressure to have students with me all the time, and although I like students in general, they tend to ask too many questions and slow things down. I am finding hard to keep up with all of the changes in the NHS, although I think they don't really make a difference to everyday work.

My opinion on normality:

I think that it helps when women have their babies in the home, though most women go to the maternity unit these days. It is difficult to reduce interventions, as once the doctor has said that the woman needs some sort of intervention, she won't listen to my suggestions really. The maternity unit policies are a bit lacking in flexibility and they can make it hard to give some choices...I don't know who decides on the policies.

Share my experience:

I think I use my own experience as a mother. I had a hospital delivery the first time, which was a long labour. My second I had at home which was much better, but I suppose I was quite lucky. It was so lovely to be in my own place, and potter about in early labour...then snuggle down with the baby afterwards in my own bed. I think I would like all my women to have that experience as it made me feel really fulfilled. I don't really know how I could influence that.