Mawiyah Gareth Hector, a Level 3 Science student at Solihull College & University Centre observed the delivery of a baby on her work experience placement with a midwifery team.
Mawiyah worked at Birmingham Women’s Hospital, a centre of excellence providing specialist services to more than 50,000 women, men and their families every year from the city, the wider region and beyond.
She was assigned to different midwives and was able to observe epidurals and patient care in action. Parents were asked for their consent before Mawiyah was allowed to attend the room. ‘I checked heartbeats of mother and baby, prepared equipment and was able to witness a birth and after care,’ Mawiyah states. ‘It was so exciting helping to deliver a baby. It made me feel so much more confident and surer than ever that this is what I want to do.’
Mawiyah was not only able to witness a real birth, but also attended a caesarean section with a supervisor who talked her through the process.
Mawiyah has a final year of her course left at college and remains set on her direction, ‘I’d like to follow a path into nursing and then midwifery’ she says. ‘There was so much more to the role than I was thinking, but a fast paced environment suits me so I thrived in that. My work experience was brilliant, it really pulls back a curtain so you can experience behind the scenes of what your chosen career looks like’.
Sue Smithson, the Interim Consultant Midwife at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust commented ‘From our perspective having Mawiyah complete her work experience at the Birmingham Women’s Hospital was a positive experience for the midwives. It is great to see someone with enthusiasm for the role and I think it restores our motivation and enthusiasm for midwifery when we meet students who are keen to take this up as a career’.
