To continue our celebrations of International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, we chatted with Kathryn, midwife at Kingaroy Hospital to find out why she chose midwifery as her career, who inspires her and what her day to day role looks like.
“I felt like midwifery picked me. I was always on a journey to becoming a midwife, long before I knew it,” Kathryn said.
“In saying that though, if someone had told me when I was finishing high school that I would become a midwife and love my job as much as I do, I would have laughed.”
Kathryn grew up on the Darling Downs and moving to Kingaroy was an easy decision.
“I already knew the town well and the opportunity to work in a rural hospital made the choice easy.”
As a midwife in a rural hospital Kathryn said she never knows what her day is going to look like.
“In larger hospitals, you know your shift is in the birthing suite, or postnatal ward, but in a rural hospital, it could any or both of those. Some days, I could be with a family helping bring a baby into the world, and then caring for another woman in postnatal, or caring for a nursery baby.”
Kathryn’s favourite part about her role is being able to use the full scope of her knowledge.
“I absolutely adore my job and love all the different areas of maternity care, each for very different reasons. That said, there is something uniquely special about being with women in labour. Being with them as they summon the strength and power to bring their baby into the world, and to be there when a new life begins is one of the greatest privileges of being a midwife.”
When asked what inspires her, Kathryn said it is other women
“Midwives are privileged to work with women in a way that is very intimate, at a time that is extremely transformative. I am constantly inspired by the seemingly bottomless well of strength women have, even when they don't realise it, that they draw from on their journey to motherhood.”