Head On View (midwife + nurse life): Recent Episodes
Midwives: Carly, Laura & Penny
Three midwives, chatting about all things midwifery and nursing related. Life, work, relationships....no topic is off limits.
Find us here instagram.com/headonviewpodcast
**TOPIC WARNING This episode discusses miscarriage and abortion****
In this episode of Head On View, hosts Carly and Laura speak with Kylie, a sexual and reproductive health nurse with extensive experience as a midwife. Kylie shares her journey to her current role, highlighting her background in public health education focusing on sexual health, HIV, and hepatitis. She discusses her decision to pursue nursing and midwifery to engage directly with communities, rather than developing policies. Kylie elaborates on her role, including providing medical abortion care, handling STI screenings, and educating on sexual and reproductive health across various life stages. She touches on challenges faced in regions with limited access to abortion services and the evolving laws around nurse and midwife involvement in abortion care. The conversation also covers the importance of normalizing discussions on sexual health, consent in healthcare, and the impact of language and stigma on patient care. Kylie mentions considering further qualifications to expand her scope of practice and her love for her work, despite societal challenges around sexual and reproductive health.Sexual Health Courses
https://familyplanningallianceaustralia.org.au/learn/https://study.unimelb.edu.au/find/courses/graduate/graduate-certificate-in-sexual-health/
Cervical Screening Training (Victoria)
https://www.cancervic.org.au/get-support/for-health-professionals/cervical-screening-providers/nurse-cervical-screening-provider-certification
Early medical abortion
https://whvtraining.com.au/product/early_medical_abortion/#:~:text=This%20short%20online%20course%20developed,context%20of%20abortion%20in%20Victoria.
ASHM online training
https://ashm.org.au/learning-hub/midwives/
We've packed alot into this 40 minutes:Kath shares her journey from massaging sweaty footy players to specializing in women's health physiotherapy, inspired by her own experiences of motherhood. We discuss the importance of proactive health measures, encouraging women to seek support and education before issues arise.Kath shares her own postpartum experiences, including symptoms of prolapse from overexertion and the importance of recognising one's limitations.We discuss the need for midwives to have training in pelvic floor health and the significance of early intervention and education during antenatal care.Address the stigma surrounding pelvic floor issues and the necessity for open conversations to destigmatize topics like incontinence.Kath explains how pelvic floor assessments are conducted and the benefits of techniques like perineal massage.The impact of epidurals on pelvic floor outcomes and the importance of informed decision-making during childbirth.Connect with Kath Find Kath on all the socials @fitnestmama for more information and resources on women's health.Kath also has a podcast, the Pregnancy, Birth & Recovery Podcast, where each week she dives into all things pregnancy care, childbirth and postnatal recovery, helping you to have a wonderful pregnancy and after birth experience.Link below for the preparing for birth checklist ⬇️https://www.fitnestmama.com/free #headonviewpodcast #midwife #midwifery #podcast #nursingpodcast #midwifepodcast #nurselife #midwifelife #nurse #nursing #studentmidwife #studentnurse #lifeasamidwife #physiotherapy #womenshealthphysio #fitnestmama
Hello and welcome to 2024 and Season 4 of our little pod.Laura + Carly are catching up on life. Laura's filling us in on her new job as a LC for a local council, thinking about her next contract and reflecting on her last one. We discuss MGP contracts, the pay, being on call, life/work balance....it's alot!!! Carly updates on her travel life, her current contract, internet dramas, agency dramas and where we're heading next.Enjoy and we've got lots of great guests lined up this year.
OK it's only taken 2 months to edit and upload this....but here it is!!!!Let's catch up.....life updates from Carly + Laura.....and today's "guests" are us!!!!! Laura has come to the dark side and is in on her first ever travel contract.So if you've ever thought about dipping your toes into the travel world, have a listen and get a little glimpse into contract life.We're giving all our best travel tips: agency tips, packing tips....make sure you pack a mirror!!!! 🤞 we will be back in your ears soon#headonviewpodcast #midwife #midwifery #podcast #nursingpodcast #midwifepodcast #nurselife #midwifelife #nurse #nursing #studentmidwife #studentnurse #lifeasamidwife #travelmidwife #agencymidwife #australia #travelnurse #mgp #contractmidwife
S3 Ep7: Today we chatted with Stephanie from The True You. Steph talks about experiencing bullying growing up, bullying within the workplace and being with a narcissistic partner and how that changed her outlook on life and affected her self-esteem. We delve into her journey with mental health and chronic pain.Steph has an offer for Head On View listeners: The 1st listener to contact Steph via Instagram @_thetrueyou_ will receive an emotional health check for FREE. Anyone else can book a session in with Steph for the discounted price of $97, normally $300 - use link below to book in https://calendly.com/meetthetrueyou/60min?back=1&month=2023-08#positiveaffirmations #luckygirlsyndrome #manifestations #toxicworkplace #loveyourself #creatrix #transformologist #headonview #midwifery #nursing #midwifepodcast #nursepodcast #studentmidwife #studentnurse #travelmidwife
S3 Ep6: Hindsight.....always a wonderful thing. I'm looking back at my last contract, but with a few months passing, I'm in a much more positive frame of mind. And...da da da....Laura is joining the ranks of travel midwifing. The ranting is at a minimum!!!!
I've moved states from NSW to QLD, and now dealing with transitioning from working online to going back to full paper based. Are we turning into a travel midwife podcast???!!! Maybe but that's ok!!!
side note: I'm behind on the uploads as we're still talking about Penny being pregnant!!!!
📸 a selection of travel midwife pics
headonviewpodcast #midwife #midwifery #podcast #nursingpodcast #midwifepodcast #nurselife #midwifelife #nurse #nursing #studentmidwife #studentnurse #lifeasamidwife #travelmidwife #agencymidwife #australia #travelnurse
S3 Ep5. Hey besties....grab your wine, rant incoming (yes this was recorded a couple of months ago, and I'm very inconsistent with uploads...so thanks for sticking with us) ....First...Penny has some news...twins due very soon.
I was clearly having a bad day when we recorded this....you know those days when you just need to come home and vent....Well here I am....get me off my high horse 🐎
Listening back I sound a little demanding and maybe a bit crazy....but you know what they say....we're not crazy.....it's your behaviour that's made me crazy!!!!! Enjoy the life updates
headonviewpodcast #midwife #midwifery #podcast #nursingpodcast #midwifepodcast #nurselife #midwifelife #nurse #nursing #studentmidwife #studentnurse #lifeasamidwife #travelmidwife #agencymidwife #australia #travelnurse #twins #pregnancy
It's been a minute....Laura's back.......it's tea time.... ☕️
We are taking a deep dive into Laura's life....so for all those ladies (or men) out there who have relationships that haven't turned out as you thought...you are not alone.
We're talking red flags ~ they are flying high with this one 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩
⚠️ TOPIC WARNING ⚠️ we are discussing emotional abuse and domestic violence. If you need help, please call 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) available 24/7 Australia wide.
headonviewpodcast #midwife #midwifery #podcast #nursingpodcast #midwifepodcast #nurselife #midwifelife #nurse #nursing #studentmidwife #studentnurse #lifeasamidwife #travelmidwife #agencymidwife #australia #travelnurse #nonnegotiable #redflags
In today's ep I'm chatting with Catie Harris. Catie is a US based NursePreneur Mentor who has empowered thousands of nurses in business to monetise their knowledge and skills while inspiring them to change the way healthcare is perceived and delivered. I'm delving into Catie's history, her nursing experience, how she ended up where she is now. Catie strives to undo the perception that nursing care is limited to the hospital setting. Through her intensive nurse business coaching program, Catie shows nurses around the world how their hard-earned knowledge and skills can step outside the hospital system into a profitable business. You can find Catie hereWebsite: https://www.nursepreneurs.com/Social Media:• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursebusiness• Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nurse_preneur/• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/CatieHarris/videos• Pinterest - https://www.pinterest.ph/nursepreneurs/
In this week's ep I'm chatting with Midwife Tylah.We're diving deep into Tylah's life.....when did she know she wanted to be a midwife, filming One Born Every Minute, living and working in Alice Springs, social media, opportunities for direct entry midwives....You can follow Tylah here ⬇️⬇️⬇️insta + tiktok: @midwife_tylahyoutube: https://youtube.com/@midwifetylah8442
We are BACK.....welcome to season 3, in 2023......when I say we I mean me (Carly)....grab your wine, have a chuckle - I break a chair - it's that intense!!!!!
Although technically it's a new year and now 2023.....here's our final pod from 2022.....although we didn't realise this was our final one!!!! so, it's not our normal wrap up....but more rando convos with Carly, Laura and Penny. We're chatting married life, MGP - tales of agency life, continuity of care and rambling off on random tangents. Enjoy 😉
It's that weird time between Christmas and New Year's when as midwives we're still living our best shiftworker life and everyone else around you are on holidays and spending their days drinking and eating cheese.So in case you're bored and/or need a family break...stick your headphones on, take a walk and listen to us talk shit.
And the saga continues..... more tales from Carly's travelling midwife life.....driving back across the Nullarbor, cancelled contracts, getting ghosted by my agency - not once but twice!!!!!! When your agency shows you all the red flags - but like my 18-year-old self in the dating world - I keep going back!!!
S2 Ep13: Surrogacy - Today Carly is chatting with Nadine about surrogacy. Nadine is a surrogate and currently pregnant. I'm asking all the questions you're wanting to know.....why are you a surrogate? what are the laws? do you get paid? how have health professionals responded to you? who will be at the birth? are you going to breastfeed? would you do it again? You can follow Nadine on insta here @the.nadine.manzella and her massage business here @envy_therapies Since recording this ep, Nadine has birthed a healthy baby girl - congrats to Nadine and the parents
S2 E12 - This week we're chatting about Carly's trials and tribulations with agency work....what happens when you go somewhere and it's not how you pictured it??? How does agency life really work - we're exploring all the annoying negative aspects of agency work - because although it's great - things aren't always sunshine and rainbows - so here's a realistic look at agency life. And as usual there's a lot of random chat too!!!!
Something a little different for you this week. We're chatting to Maple, Maple is a sex worker and is telling us all about her job. How she got into the sex industry, what her partner thinks of her job, coming to Australia, the move from porn to being a sugar baby to working in a brothel.
We had such a great chat with Maple - but we recorded this whilst Carly was in the NSW outback - and unfortunately the internet was pretty non-existent and this was all that could be salvaged......if you want to hear more from Maple - let us know and we'll get her back for another chat - and we promise to make sure we've got stable internet!!!!!!
You can find Maple here
tiktok @maple_w00d twitter @MissMapleBrook insta @missmaple_w00d
Such a great chat with Indie, travel nurse.....we cover it all: how Indie got into nursing, lockdown in Melbourne, how she discovered travel nursing, the difference between a rural hospital and a busy metro hospital, bullying within agency nursing, building her troopy.
If you've ever been interested in travel nursing have a listen and give Indie a follow on insta @itsindiep
you can also find all Indie's socials here
https://linktr.ee/itsindiep
Today we're chatting with Alley. Alley is a nurse from NZ who combines working as a nurse with acting. We take a dive into how Alley manages working across two very different fields. You can follow Alley on insta + tiktok @alleyquirkynurse. 🎬IMBD search Alley Williams to check out Alley's acting work.
The stars have aligned and you have all 3 of us. Join us for an unorganised debrief.....catching up on all that we've been up to....holidays, work, what we've seen in the news (ie. Facebook!!!!). Until next time 😘
In today's ep we're chatting with Nikita fellow travelling midwife. Nikita trained in New Zealand and is now travel midwifing (i'm sure that is a word!!!) around Australia. After feeling burnt out she decided to give travel midwifery a go and here we are. We're talking about the differences between working in NZ and Aus, having a better work/life balance and all the travel stories. If you've ever thought about doing travel midwifery, or if you just want to hear the stories, grab a vino, settle in and have a listen.
In this ep we're chatting with Jess queer midwife, researcher and childbirth educator. Jess talks about her own birth experience and her work with queer and trans families. We're looking at our experiences as midwives, what can we do to be allies, the language we're using, how we treat partners - are we inadvertently not being allies? Everyone regardless of gender/how they identify deserves a safe space to birth.
it's debrief time.....I (Carly) had a few days in Melbourne and amazingly managed to brunch with some of my favourite middies.
Laura and I chat about my Tassie travels, covid, going overseas, working life...of course we talk about staffing issues ... because when are they ever going to end?🤷♀️
News round update (basically us commenting on stuff in the news).... US nurse RaDonda Vaught charged with manslaughter, a contraception pill for men
Enjoy the ranting!
Today I'm chatting with Crysta @plantbased_motherhood from www.firsttastenutrition.com. Crysta, originally from the US is a plant based prenatal dietician, she works with women throughout all stages of pregnancy and also with families postnatally. We're chatting about moving to Australia, setting up her business, the differences between care in the USA and Australia. As midwifes we get very little dietary and nutritional training and anywhere I've worked it's never been the norm to refer pregnant people to dieticians. Although we will check levels of things like iron, Vit D and B12 and advise of supplementation there's so much more you need to know. What foods should we be recommending to increase intake of? I've first hand seen bad/incorrect nutritional advice given. And what about our hospitals? Shouldn't good nutrition start there? Has anyone worked at a hospital with amazing, healthy food choices? Great nutritional information can help women and babies thrive. As the old adage says "Food is medicine".
Today I'm chatting with Vicky Stewart, Vicky is an enrolled nurse who after many years in the industry became an activist and workplace rep. Vicky has been heavily involved with the union movement. The moment we become students in nursing and midwifery, we're told about the bullying culture and that "nurse's eat their young". From the start we're learning and accepting to be undervalued. How can we change the culture? Can it be changed? Her experiences led Vicky to set up Nursing and Midwifery Advocacy Solutions. You can find her business here https://nursingandmidwiferyadvocacy.com.au. She is also admin of the Facebook group Nurse and Midwives Against Bullying Australia (NAMABA https://www.facebook.com/groups/2527227290869235).
In this current climate of double shifts, unpaid overtime, chronic understaffing....this is a must listen. Know your rights, protect and value yourself.
A day in the life.....RN/paramedic & CCU RN
We're chatting to Grace @graceaus and Erin @ _emacd both RNs in CCU. Grace works as a RN and a paramedic and Erin started as an EN and is now a RN. If you've ever wondered what a day in the life of a paramedic and CCU nurse is like, have a listen.
We're talking rosters, 12 hour shifts, the impact of Covid, work/life balance and more. So grab a glass of your favourite beverage and settle in for a chat.
In true Head On View style we are doing our year in review 2 months into the new year. So what does 2022 hold for us.... and how was 2021? Shout out to @making_a_midwife our most popular ep last year.
2021 had us living through lockdowns, pandemic, code brown, home schooling, cancelled holidays.
What's coming in 2022??? @thestrawberrysquirrel has launched her lactation consultant business @thesweetest_drop the borders to WA are finally open and Laura is off to see her fam, and is eating all the 🍩!!
@penjayo finally got married, 3rd time lucky
@carly.thetravellingmidwife is still trying to work out how to fit her life into the car, loving the travel life and is working on her travel midwife blog .... coming soon.
Thanks for all the love ✌✌✌
Making a midwife....midwifery through a student's eyes: It's our final poddy for the year.....we're chatting with Bonnie and Megan from @making_a_midwife, we chat about studying midwifery via distance learning, support (or the lack of) on placement, finances, crazy rosters - how to fit it all in to your life. If you're a midwifery/nursing student, thinking about studying mid/nursing or work with students, have a listen and give Bonnie & Meg a follow. As always, any comments, questions, thoughts, let us know.
We'll be back in the New Year, have a fabulous Xmas, and now that borders are open again here in Aus we might even get a cheeky holiday in.
Ep 17: Induction.
Are you booked for an induction? Did you have an induction and know what to expect? Do you know why you're having an induction? What is an induction? What's going to happen? Risks/benefits? So many questions, did you get the answers you wanted/needed? Hopefully we can answer some of those questions, or at least point you in the direction of questions to ask your midwife or doctor.
46.8% of women in Australia have their labour induced, and compared to if you have a spontaneous labour, there's a higher chance of having an instrumental birth or a caesarean.
Enjoy and let us know if you have any questions 🙂
Ep 16: Young mums. Had a great chat with Alison, who had her first child at 15, she's now a mum of 4 and a midwife. We're talking about stigma, and how life changed; school, friends, body, home life. Alison shares her views on being separated into a 'Young mum's' antenatal group, treatment by health professionals and her varying pregnancy experiences.
Ep 15: The Nourished Nurses.
We're chatting with Jess and Xana from The Nourished Nurses. We're talking about how The Nourished Nurses started, Jess and Xana's experiences in travel nursing, working in corrections, navigating travel nursing during Covid with lockdowns and border closures. We take a deep dive into working in the prison system as a nurse......it's nothing like Wentworth!!!!! We had an absolute blast recording this ep, hope you all enjoy. You can follow Jess and Xana here ⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️⤵️
Instagram.com/the.nourished.nurses https://www.facebook.com/thenourishednurses/
https://nourishednurse.com.au/
and give their poddy a follow "Keep your gin up 🍸"
https://open.spotify.com/show/6AFkB1BUjBObJOsByr89oN?si=9Lfbiva2Ql-eDbqKP6gIZQ&utm_source=copy-link&dl_branch=1
This week we're chatting about other people's opinions, what do they think when we say "I'm a midwife", how do strangers react? How did our partners react when we became/told them we're a midwife? As usual we do veer off topic, so grab a glass of vino, kick back, relax and wind down.
Ep 13: Paralysed and pregnant. Today we're chatting with Amanda, mum of one, with another on the way, lecturer, animal lover, wife and paraplegic. Amanda was in an accident as a child, is technically an incomplete paraplegic, which means her spinal cord is intact but has no feeling in her legs, but does have feelings in her abdomen.
We're chatting about Amanda's experience in getting pregnant, being pregnant, giving birth and life in general.
If you want to follow Amanda you can find her here ⤵️ 📺YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/parabellaandfriends 📱facebook: @parabellaandfriends 📷IG: @Queenparabella
CW... We will be discussing birth trauma in this episode. 1 in 3 Australian women identify their birthing experience as traumatic, and yet there still seems to be a lack of support and understanding. We hope that providing honest information we're helping families to become educated which is a first step to avoiding trauma, by being informed. Trauma is such an individual experience, what's traumatic to one person may not be to another. It's also important to acknowledge that as midwives we too can experience and be effected by trauma.
CW: In this episode we will talk about an incident of stillbirth. When most people go to work if they make a mistake, it's not the end of the world. But as health professionals a medication error can have serious consequences. We're talking about a well publicised incident that happened in WA when a pregnant woman was given 10 x the regular dose of morphine, resulting in a stillbirth. Link to the original article:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-16/wa-mother-who-had-stillbirth-after-morphine-dose-recounts-ordeal/13064128?utm_campaign=news-article-share-control&utm_content=link&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_source=abc_news_web
Let's have a covid catchup......with 2/3 of us in lockdown ......again.....there's nothing better than having a zoom catchup with plenty of wine. Although let's be honest after about the first 5 minutes we really are just talking shit!!!!! So join us for some light relief and Melbourne we'll see you on the other side.
If you're a midwife or nurse, have anything to do with the nursing profession you would have heard the term "nurses, they like to eat their young". There's no hiding from the fact that bullying is rife in nursing, every nurse will be able to tell you a story about something that has happened to them or someone they know.
We're chatting today about our experiences, how we handled them and where you can go for help. If you are experiencing any sort of bullying, please, please, please reach out and talk to someone. At work go to your manager, HR, eap.....if you don't feel you can go via these official routes, talk to friends, family....send us a message....just talk to someone, you are not alone, get a plan and put you and your mental health first.
Ep 8: Let's get physical. This week we're talking to Gabrielle from @g.lorri_fitness Gab is a midwife and personal trainer, specialising in exercise in the antenatal period. We're talking fitness, exercise, the benefits in pregnancy and labour and our love for @spinning babies.
In case anyone is interested in the studies Gab mentions in regards to mental health and exercise I'll reference them below.... I'm not sure if these are the exact studies that Gab read herself but these are the ones I could find.
Follow Gabrielle, she's on all the socials
YouTube https://youtube.com/channel/UCFAcamqsKt14C-QegtX7ZbA
TikTok https://vm.tiktok.com/ZSJ23ysHE/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/glorri_fitness-104265188274673
Kołomańska, D., Zarawski, M., & Mazur-Bialy, A. (2019). Physical Activity and Depressive Disorders in Pregnant Women-A Systematic Review. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 55(5), 212. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina55050212
Rodriguez-Ayllon, María, Acosta-Manzano, Pedro, Coll-Risco, Irene, Romero-Gallardo, Lidia, Borges-Cosic, Milkana, Estévez-López, Fernando, & Aparicio, Virginia A. (2019). Associations of physical activity, sedentary time and physical fitness with mental health during pregnancy: The GESTAFIT project. Journal of Sport and Health Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2019.04.003
TW: weight, weight gain, size judgement
Ep 7: Does size matter? Let's start by saying, yes you will put on weight in pregnancy, yes it is normal. It's great that the world is becoming more friendly to women of all sizes. The #bodypositivity movement is here to stay. So why do so many women still feel judged by their weight? Does it make a difference to having a healthy pregnancy? Studies use BMI as a measure for weight, which we all know is not great...but it's what we're working with. We can't ignore that studies show higher BMI increases the risk for certain things in pregnancy, so it's our job to educate and inform. Of course, just because you are at risk of something doesn't mean it's going to happen, but we wouldn't be doing our jobs properly if we didn't give you all the info.
At the end of the day we believe in healthy mums and babies, you have the right to non-judgmental treatment from your health professional... if they're being an ass.. call them out!!!
The WHO recommends breastfeeding to continue up to the age of 2 years or beyond. The benefits of breastfeeding are widely known, and people will happily give their babies breastmilk from other mammals (cows, goats)... so why is it still so controversial to continue feeding your bubba with your own milk once they start toddlering around.
Of course everyone will have an opinion on the subject and will gladly tell you what they think you should be doing. What happened to my body, my choice 🤷♀️
We are proud to support all you "extended" breastfeeding mamas out there 🤱
Our lovely friend Hannah joins us today to chat. Burnout is very real in nursing and midwifery, so let's talk about how we can look after ourselves. Self care, yes everyone's talking about it, but it doesn't make it any less important. Self care comes in many forms, so whether that's a bottle of vino with your girlfriends, leaving all your sweat on the floor at a crossfit class, getting wrinkly in a bubblebath or some self-love (with your 'massager'!!), you do you and look after yourselves 😘
EP 4: Covid, corona 19, the rona.......we're here living in a panny D!!!! Social distancing, wash your hands, PPE, contact tracing, lockdown....pretty much everyone is now familiar with a whole bunch of terms they never were before. Hands up when you first heard about covid, if you didn't really give it a second thought...it will be like swine flu, bird flu, SARS....something that happens on the other side of the world and really doesn't touch you or make a difference to your life.
But here we are, like most people we had holidays cancelled, kids to be home schooled, jobs were lost and gained, but unlike a lot of people as health professionals the majority of us were still fronting up to work every day, unable to work from home. So how did work change for us....and how are we coping????
Welcome to Penny, meet our number 3. Join us for a chat about expectations. It's not an easy path to become a midwife, the years at uni, the hours at placement (essentially working a full time job for free), the essays, exams, grad year applications and interviews......But now we're here, on the other side, so how is it? Is working as a midwife what we expected, compared to our student days and our pre-midwife life. Do we love it, hate it, somewhere inbetween?
This week we're talking about pregnancy and birth in the media. Birth always seems so dramatic, everyone panicking and the woman screaming...and then voila....rather large and very clean baby appears.
We're also chatting about the pressures of social media and having an instaworthy pregnancy, birth and baby.