Student Midwives and Your Care

The Hamilton Midwives is a teaching practice where students of the Midwifery Education Program at McMaster University may be involved in your care. Gaining practical experience through clinical placements is the main way in which midwifery students learn and how our profession is able to grow. As midwifery students, we are grateful for every client who trusts us to participate in their prenatal and postpartum care and allows us to assist with their labor and birth.

The Midwifery Education Program is a four-year undergraduate degree. In our first year and a half, we take classes that explore the basics of midwifery including pharmacology, anatomy and physiology, principles of midwifery care, and a history of the profession. These classes provide a foundation for later courses that focus on practical experience through different clinical placements. Though this course work is extremely important, the anticipation of finally attending and participating in a birth is unrelenting!

Our first clinical placement takes place in our second year of the program at a midwifery practice, where we learn clinical skills under close supervision by a Registered Midwife. Next, in our third year, we complete interprofessional placements with nurses, obstetricians, lactation consultants, and other healthcare providers involved in the care of pregnant and postpartum people and their newborns. These placements allow us to better understand the various professions we will collaborate with as registered midwives. Our senior year placement gives us the rewarding experience of following our clients from the very beginning of their pregnancy to the very end of their postpartum period. In this year-long placement, we take on greater responsibility and perform many aspects of clinical care independently. Every time we provide care, a Registered Midwife is close by either in person or at the end of the phone – whichever is most appropriate to the clinical situation. The Midwives at THM take their responsibilities as preceptors very seriously, both in terms of keeping clients safe and ensuring an excellent level of care, and in terms of providing quality learning and mentorship for students.

Students come into the Midwifery Education Program from all walks of life. It is a direct entry program, meaning the only requirement for admission is a high school diploma, but many people have previously studied or worked in other fields. Through conversations with our fellow students, we’ve come to realize that most people are drawn to the midwifery profession for a similar reason - we want to help clients make decisions about their pregnancy, birth, and parenthood that feel best for themselves and their families.

I, Claudia, entered the midwifery education program after working as a research analyst at a mental health hospital. I have always been interested in the human body and its capabilities and loved working in healthcare but desired a more hands-on career – and midwifery sure is hands on! I remember attending my first birth during my initial midwifery placement and being amazed when, all of the sudden, there was a whole new person in the room to care for. Being the first hands to touch a new person is continually remarkable, and I doubt it will ever get old. In a few short years, I have gone from attending my very first birth to independently guiding clients in making decisions about their care. Looking back to this initial experience, I am proud of the amount I have learned and how much I have grown as a healthcare practitioner.

For me, the most rewarding part of being a midwifery student is seeing how I have impacted a person’s pregnancy, birth, postpartum or parenting experience for the better. This semester, I have cared for a few clients who struggled with breastfeeding in the postpartum period. Being able to meet a client in their home and provide breastfeeding support in the setting where they most often feed their baby can really help clients get the hang of nursing. I put the skills I learned while completing my interprofessional placement with a lactation consultant to good use, assisting these clients with positioning and latching their babies. I felt joy seeing the relief on these parents’ faces as they finally achieved a pain-free, deep latch, and continue to delight in their confidence with feeding their babies moving forward. This is just one example of how I saw my efforts as a midwifery student positively impact a client’s pregnancy and parenting journey. Such experiences have helped solidify that midwifery is the right career for me. It is incredible to watch clients who I have developed a relationship with throughout their pregnancy come into their own as parents, and I am forever grateful that I get to assist people on this path again and again.

As senior students, we are looking forward to becoming registered midwives soon! We are excited to focus on providing care for and building meaningful relationships with our clients, without the added stress of completing papers, exams, and schoolwork. As students who have worked in Hamilton for a good portion of our placements, we hope to expand the roots we have established and continue to grow our relationship with the community that we have become a part of in the new role of registered midwife.

Note:

Claudia Di Clemente and Touka Shamkhi will continue working with The Hamilton Midwives after graduation. They will start working as Registered Midwives in the summer of 2022 with due dates starting in the fall.

Claudia Di Clemente is a soon-to-be graduate of the Midwifery Education Program at McMaster University, who also holds an Hon. B.Sc. in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Toronto. They are drawn to midwifery as it intersects with healthcare and client advocacy. In their time off, Claudia enjoys hanging out with their cat Maisie, taking care of their many houseplants, and spending as much time as possible outdoors."

Touka Shamkhi is a soon-to-be graduate with a Bachelor of Health Science in midwifery at McMaster University. Touka recently co-authored a research article on resilience in racialized midwifery students in Ontario, and upon graduation she hopes to continue promoting equity in midwifery education, the midwifery workforce, and access to midwifery services. In her spare time Touka enjoys reading, collaging, and painting.