Monday 9 May 2016

Teaching Student Midwives at The University of South Wales.



Recently I was involved in an educational pilot project for midwifery students. The aim was to deliver  a more holistic perspective of midwifery that values the emotional, spiritual and relational sides of  pregnancy, birth and mothering.  Myself and midwife Carmen Rubio wanted to emphasize the value of learning through creativity and our body. We taught 2nd year student midwives at the University of South Wales. I facilitated body, yoga and movement sessions, giving the students the opportunity to drop into their body, stretch, dance, feel and sense into themselves and explore their self awareness. I taught some self care techniques and the students learnt how to keep centered in their empathy and how to  guard against  burn out.  We also explored the embodied feminine: our  own sexuality and wombs and our own feelings, thoughts, assumptions even aversions about our own bodies and feminine parts.  

Themes that we explored:
  • The value of yoga breathing and mindful movement.  
  • bringing compassion for our self, recognizing where the tensions and holdings are in our body and how to 'ease our load' through grounding and discharging tension
  • Knowing and caring for our body helps us to know and care for another
  • The importance of non verbal empathic resonance.
  • Recognising our limits and how to maintain professional boundaries.






I particularly liked these pictures that the student midwives drew that reflected their empathy for the pregnant women and  how they feel when they engage in  their own self care.

We make the path by walking it