The Mental Health Crisis in Midwifery and Medicine
The world of medicine is a demanding career for even the most intelligent and driven people. Long hours, little to no breaks from study and the pressure to keep up with the workload of a professional has created some very unhappy students.
Covid-19 has increased pressure on medical students, demanding more of them than would have usually been demanded if we weren’t in a pandemic, and the effects of it are brutal.
I have spoken with 20-year-old midwifery student Louise Shields about the mental health crisis in medicine and her own experience of taking a gap year to get through these trying times.
“I guess Covid-19 has changed my views a bit. It has definitely been a lot harder in terms of work and restrictions, there’s a lot of things that have had to be changed. It’s always hard for me to enforce rules such as only one birthing partner and strict visiting times.
“In terms of university, there’s been no opportunities to interact with other students on the course other than in placement which makes it a lot harder in terms of doing the work, we’ve not been given the chance to experience a normal university life or a somewhat normal placement experience.”
But this mental health crisis had started before the pandemic infiltrated our hospitals, and Louise expresses how she wished she had done more research before jumping in to such a demanding career path.
“Going into it I was very naive thinking I could sail through without giving my 100% but it’s tough, I don’t think anyone actually expects to get through this course without contemplating taking a break. I know a good couple of people in my year who already are taking a gap year and starting again next year with me”.
In the beginning she had been excited to dive into the world of midwifery, to enjoy the experiences presented to her and try her best to help expectant mothers.
“I decided to enter midwifery because it seemed like a rewarding career and something I could be proud doing. I’ve always been fascinated by pregnancy and coming from a big family it’s always been something I’ve been surrounded by. It truly is magical seeing and helping women through their pregnancies, birth and afterwards too.”
Speaking of the overwhelming pressures and the never-ending workload, Louise preached how midwives are being over-worked and how it can effect the mental health of staff and students.
“The staffing in maternity services is abysmal, midwives are being stretched out across everywhere and are being worked into the ground and it shows. Student midwives are sometimes relied upon almost like they’re a part of the staff. I remember being first year on the postnatal ward, it was a night shift and we had a full ward, one midwife, one support worker and me, a student. I had a bay of women to look after just by myself as a first year, it was nerve wracking and really put into perspective that I was practically working for free; I was no longer being treated as a student but as staff. Students are feeling more and more overworked and relied upon.”
A report by better births shows that for every 30 newly qualified midwives, 29 leave or never start the profession. Louise believes this is due to increasing demand and too much pressure being placed on students.
“There’s so much pressure on us students that by the time we come to be qualified, we’re burnt out and some people realised it’s not worth the effort anymore which is really sad because it can be such a rewarding profession when it’s ran and funded correctly.”
The study by better births found that 97% of student midwives reported mental health issues since starting the course. Louise thinks these statistics are not spoken about enough.
“I do actually worry for midwifery students and I don’t think it’s talked about enough the mental health issues that can come with this course and profession. I thought I was all alone in the course and all alone with my problems, which most people don’t when it comes to depression. It wasn’t until I reached out to my university and my GP that I realised there’s so many people like me, especially students within the medical field.
“With Covid-19, it’s isolated us all so I think even that has contributed to this mental health pandemic too. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with becoming a student midwife and it increases as the years go on, once you get into third year you’re relied upon a lot, I guess it’s preparing you to become a confident and independent practitioner but at the same time it is nerve wracking because only a couple of months ago you might not have been able to do most of the things as a third year but now you’re qualified you’re expected to do everything basically.”
After discussing the mental health crisis Louise spoke to me about her decision to take a gap year from the end of 2021 to the beginning of the academic year 2022.
“I’ve decided to take a gap year for my mental health mainly. I started to suffer from anxiety and depression, mostly from the thought of having to go to placement. I felt pressure to perform to such a high standard and that if I didn’t know something I’d be judged or marked differently. I was struggling with support from university and placement, I felt isolated, I have no friends on the course, no one to talk or relate to so it really took a toll on me. Not only that, the amount of paperwork and hours there was to catch up on, I ended up falling behind and the more I started to fall behind the more I started to ignore it because I didn’t want to face it.”
She felt as though the course was 24/7 and struggled to find time for herself and her mental wellbeing. Midwifery students get roughly six weeks of break during their year of study, and seeing friends on different courses have more time to recuperate and enjoy their youth was difficult for her.
“I was scared about taking a gap year and at the time if I could have avoided it I probably would have just because I had finally just made a friend on my course and also the money side of things. The thought of falling behind from my peers really worsened my anxiety and trying to sort out what I wanted to do with my life added a lot of stress however now I’ve decided to do it and now that I’m waiting to come back, I’ve realised that this was the best I could’ve done for myself.”
In terms of support and how universities and hospitals can help medical students who may be struggling with the pressures of the course, Louise believes they are trying to help.
“I think with universities, they do give out support for students with mental health problems and try to make some type of arrangements but how much it helps depends on the person. I found that occupational health services were good in the terms of organising support for me which calmed me down a bit and I always felt as if they were on my side and they gave me regular calls to check up on my well-being.”
However, there are things to be improved, as Louise explains that she feels her cohort has been somewhat neglected during Covid-19 and haven’t been able to make friendships with others on the course that could help lift pressures by being able to speak to people who understand.
“It might be helpful if some type of communication service would be set up between all of us healthcare and medical students so we can speak about our troubles or experiences in placement and university because it was only up until I asked people and did my own research that I found it’s not just me in this situation, it’s most people. It’s quite sad but it’s true.
“With hospitals they do try and facilitate students the best they can and especially in a time like this is it quite stressful, but in my first year I didn’t meet anyone higher up that was supposed to check on me or give me support until I was in my second year. And when I did meet them, I was shouted at basically for not knowing about how to ask for help and that I should’ve done it sooner. Unless you have problems with placement you almost slide under the radar and never get picked up until you fall behind on something. I can appreciate how busy midwives and others are but check ins on students should be mandatory so people can receive help if they need it.”
If you’re struggling with mental health problems as a student please reach out to your university or GP.
Written by Clare Sellers
Hi, my name is Clare Sellers and I'm a 20-year-old journalism student at the University of Salford. I love to read, play video games and enjoy watching movies in my free time.
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