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How can midwives support both doctors and patients

How can midwives support both doctors and patients

Introduction

A midwife is a woman who is trained to assist women during childbirth. Midwives have been around since time immemorial. Whenever a child was born, there was someone to assist the mother. Typically, a woman but not exclusive to women only. Midwives are very important. They provide security to the mother, instill confidence and courage in her to deliver her newborn. Other than emotional security, they also secure the women especially in a more traditional setup, to stand in a manner that is safe enough for the baby to be delivered.

Is midwifery as a profession under-rated?

Today a midwife’s role has only gotten more complex, adding on more responsibilities through their sound care and experience. As a female midwife, they are able to relate and communicate with the new mother in a more intimate way. Their gender allows them to provide support for postpartum care, sexual health and reproductive health with deeper understanding. They inform mothers on what to expect after pregnancy and the changes they will experience as new mothers caring for a newborn. They also advise mothers on how to care for themselves after delivery and the changes to expect in their bodies.

Midwives do the legwork by making home visits and doing the regular check-ups at the mother’s convenience. During this time blood pressure is measured and any aches and pains are addressed. Questions surrounding childbirth, postpartum recovery and reproductive health is addressed. At this stage, it is important to note that midwives also have the opportunity to inform new mothers on baby’s vaccines because they do give advice on what steps they need to take to get their babies vaccinated. At baby clinics, nurses administer baby vaccines. By doing so, nurses and midwives support the new mothers and

baby by giving them this advice. When it comes to delivery, except in special cases and emergencies, midwives deliver the newborns. It can be done by them solely because they are trained to take on normal cases especially those who prefer to deliver naturally. By conducting natural birth deliveries successfully, they support doctors and other patients who need them urgently.

Doctors are called in for emergency c-sections, or when the patient prefers to have a c-section. They also support nurses, by being the first point of contact for the mother and child after birth to confirm safe delivery of the child and good health of both. They also take time to relay this information to the family who is waiting for the good news of the birth of their child. This would normally be the job of the nurse.

Historically midwifery has been taught and learned through apprenticeship. An experienced older woman teaches a younger woman how to assist women through childbirth including the medications and natural remedies they would use to ease the pain. They were also taught how to soothe women and rub their backs to make them more comfortable through the life-changing process. According to ancient history, it was believed that it was easier for mothers to give birth while seated; and so a chair was provided for them to sit on. The birthing chair had armrests to allow the mother to hold onto something while she labored and, in most cases, it had a backrest for her to push against during the strains of delivery. In the times when the mother used a birthing stool. An assistant to the midwife (called a doula) would stand behind her and support her. When the birth got more difficult or was anticipated as a difficult birth she would call a physician to assist her. Just the way it is still done today.

Conclusion

Midwifery is an underrated profession, and one with so much importance. Bringing life into the world needs skilled and dedicated hands, that is sure and also comforting. It is a profession that also needs more support, by educating and training more interested women.

Should euthanasia be legalized.

Should euthanasia be legalized.

Euthanasia is described as the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or when in an irreversible coma. It is done to relieve the patient from their suffering. The term comes from the Greek word ‘euthantos’, meaning easy death.

In most cases, the person suffering has an incurable condition while it can be different for others. At the person’s request, their life may be ended as per their instructions.However, there are times when the person is too ill to make the decision and It is done by family members, medics or in some cases, the courts. Euthanasia in most countries is illegal and is subject to imprisonment or other harsh consequences for whoever assists another to kill themselves. Even if it is their wish.

Contrary to this, euthanasia is legal in some European countries and there are even agencies to call that can assist with a euthanasia procedure. For example, a man suffering from a disability or prolonged illness may feel their quality of life is poor and prefer to die. They are also people who are devastated by the consequences of an accident, or medical procedure etc. and prefer an ‘easy death’.

For many years. Euthanasia has been at the center of many debates that have caused an ethical, religious and moral uproar at the consent and refusal to perform the act. Ethically, some have argued that its equivalent to helping someone commit suicide, and therefore it is a wrongful act. Morally it weighs on one’s conscience having assisted someone to end their life. From a religious perspective, the only power with the right to end a life is God. Be it in the Hindu, Islam or Christian practice. The argument is that it is not in the power of a human being to do choose whether a human being lives or dies. Even if it is their own life.

The ‘do not resuscitate’ instructions given by patients has been put to the comparison. However, it is not completely similar because the patient has an emergency that may lead to their demise whereby the family and the patients themselves choose whether to continue or die naturally. This may fall under the extraordinary care plan, whereby a patient may die after refusing extraordinary or burdensome medical treatment.

Euthanasia can either be done by taking the necessary actions like administering a lethal painless drug, or by inaction. Failing to keep a feeding tube going or the oxygen machine etc. Giving of medication in order to reduce pain is not considered euthanasia. Many patients do undergo a lot of pain, especially those who have terminal illnesses like cancer and need to be administered for pain medication to numb their pain. Too much of this is an overdose and essentially wrong because an overdose can lead to death. More than that, administering pain medication should be monitored because most of them are highly addictive. Making addicts out of the already suffering patients.

This can be recognized as many patients who leave rehabilitation centers for physical therapy leave addicted to medical drugs. This is because of the pain they feel from associated with past injuries that leads them to take prescribed drugs more often than recommended making them prone to addiction. The people who support euthanasia look at it as a form of mercy killing. Pleading the case for mercy killings, the same way it is done for animals that are sick or badly injured.

Animals are ‘put down’ by their owners and veterinarians when the animals are ill and can no longer live without pain. For example, animals that perform in a circus or participate in animal shows are willingly put down as they are of no use to their owners or the company they perform for. In the same way, they are those who believe it is a mercy killing to implement euthanasia. Due to my spiritual beliefs, I do not believe in administering euthanasia.

Financial incentives for healthcare providers

Nurses work well with patients. Their training not only covers the medical field but it also relies heavily on people skills. How to react to patients in different scenarios. For example, in the event of the death of a loved one, receiving a life-threatening diagnosis, situations. They also deliver first aid in the emergency room and are normally the first to attend to you in the event a doctor is not present. Nurses are first-line managers. They handle the situation and inform their superiors on the case (before and after treatment) and the patients involved in the process before seeing the doctor.

Is nursing a woman's job? Should the government encourage men to become nurses?

Being a nurse is an important job and one that does not depend solely on any sex. Patients belong to both sexes of all races. A hospital or nursing home cannot have only white or black nurses, Asian and the likes. The same goes for a hospital. Both men and female patients are present and they often prefer to be assisted by people of the same sex. It is also true that nurses of different sexes can learn from each other and help one another at the workplace to perform better for the wellbeing of the patients.

Should patients be always told the unequivocal truth when receiving a terminal diagnosis?

It is always hard getting news about a loved one’s illness. It is even harder being on the receiving end of that news to get a hard diagnosis, and not just any kind of a diagnosis. A terminal diagnosis. This is why, prior to any HIV testing, patients are required to sign forms of agreement. They also receive counseling, so that no matter how the diagnosis goes, positive or negative; you are ready to receive the news. It is both a significant and sensitive issue when it comes to delivering the results or diagnosis of a terminal disease, therefore it should be done delicately.

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