Midwifery Spotlight – Angela Henry, our Community Midwife shares the importance of finding a role that suits your lifestyle and ambitions
Community Midwife Angela Henry from the Quinton Lane Team first joined BWC in 2007 as a student midwife on the 18-month course, to become a midwife having been a qualified registered nurse previously. Angela shares what enticed her career path and exactly what it means to specialise in Community care.
Community Midwifery involves providing continuity of care for a caseload of women (each community midwife being a named midwife for a GP practice), supporting women and their families experiencing both low and high-risk pregnancies in both the antenatal and postnatal period.
Angela said: “The community midwife role really gives you a sense of autonomy. You’re in the field and have to work independently but our team are always on hand to offer you the support you need. It really helps you to build your confidence and be empowered to make important decisions to support your families.”
As a named midwife we experience a vast variety within our workload. These include women from all ethnic backgrounds, both low and high risk and those with safeguarding vulnerabilities.”
First starting at BWC as a student nurse back in 2003, working within our Gynaecology services, Angela later qualified as a midwife and has been able to experience a range of stages across the pregnancy and the birthing journey, from antenatal care to post-natal care.
Angela shared that she first enjoyed working on Delivery Suite but decided to transfer after her rotation because the shift patterns were more suited to her lifestyle. With her husband in the military, this meant that Community Midwifery allowed Angela flexibility so that she could spend time with her husband during the weekends when he would return home.
She said: “The support that the team and line managers provide is amazing and invaluable – you make friends and go on a journey together.
“As we are working independently for the majority of the time, we are exposed to new elements in midwifery daily. The role evolves and requires experience to have the confidence to make decisions autonomously. No day is the same - we have to have ensure we have a wide and solid knowledge base and clear understanding of all the current and up-to-date care pathways, and referral processes.
“As there is constant change and evolution within midwifery this makes everything exciting and professionally challenging, even after all these years, I learn something new every day. My favourite part of community midwifery though is the close relationships we build with our families over the years, having cared for women for all of their children, it really is a pleasure and I feel really lucky to have been part of that journey with them.
“Also the relationships and mutual respect that are built with the GPs, health Visitors and all the multi-disciplinary team that we support is fantastic and incredibly rewarding.”
Over the last couple of years Angela has been providing midwifery care for women at our Children’s Hospital site twice a week as well as for our Women’s Hospital. Angela offers post-natal and antenatal care to our Children’s Hospital women and birthing people. This is to ensure those parents have been unable to take their baby home, still have the support and care they need, especially at this very stressful and worrying time.
“There are so many opportunities within community now alongside the traditional community care, like the home birth team and continuity of care teams to name a few, it is all very exciting.”
Angela is able to balance her home life with her professional career, she said: “The role is very much moulded to young families. I have four young children and a husband that can be away with work, and so with the support of my team and managers, the community midwife role continues to suit me well without holding me back to difficult restrictions.”
We offer midwives the chance to ‘Switch Up’ at our hospital which allows them to transfer between departments so that they can continue to build on their experience and find their perfect fit.