Miracle with living room flair

Her job is never boring. Finally, as a midwife, veronica walther is regularly present when new life sees the light of day. What's more, it helps people grow together into a family and uses its wealth of experience to provide the best possible care for their new parents' happiness. For the 30-year-old from bamberg, her work is more of a vocation than a profession. That's exactly what helps her to be a good midwife despite the enormous responsibility and the heavy workload.

"Every birth is a natural miracle, says walther. She attends to around 50 to 60 deliveries a year. Compared to a midwife employed at the clinic, this number may not sound that high – it quickly adds up to three times as many. But their work does not stop at birth – nor does it start there. "We run antenatal classes, carry out antenatal examinations and are an important point of contact for mothers and fathers at the bedside", explains the 30-year-old.

Specialized in auberclinic obstetrics

She specialized in auberclinic obstetrics immediately after completing her training. Mostly freelance midwives help expectant mothers either to give birth in their own four walls or to give birth in their own home. Or they care for the women in so-called birthing centers. For walther, the advantage of this is obvious: firstly, more personal, one-on-one care is usually possible, because midwives and families get to know each other over a long period of time. "In addition, births should take place in a homelike setting – which is easier to create in such homes than in a clinic", according to walther.

The principle of the birth center emerged in the 1990s to provide another option besides home birth and hospital delivery. Most of the time, the midwives work there without medical supervision. On the one hand, this brings many advantages to all parties involved. "On the other hand, it must be clear to the women that pain control is usually only possible with homeopathic remedies", says astrid giesen, chairwoman of the bavarian midwives association (BHLV). This is why birth centers usually refuse any risky pregnancies. If there are any special circumstances during the birth, the woman giving birth is transferred to the clinic.

Job description increasingly complex

The BHLV currently has seven registered midwives in franconia. The bamberg facility, where veronica walther was also active, will not reopen under new structures until may 2019. Especially for freelance midwives it makes sense to get organized. First, they can provide even better care with a team behind them. Secondly, it is easier to divide time-consuming tasks such as acquisition and accounting among several shoulders. Especially as the midwife's job description is becoming more and more complex.

In addition to the original tasks such as pure obstetrics, modern midwives have many other obligations, such as complete documentation, continuous training and teaching courses on the subject of childbirth. In addition: there is a shortage of qualified midwives in the whole of germany. For astrid giesen, there are several reasons for this: "liability law is increasing the pressure on colleagues, and the value of midwifery work should also be better reflected in the financial situation, so giesen. In addition, she says, training must be reformed toward the academicization practiced throughout europe.

Midwife veronica walther, meanwhile, could not imagine a better profession than hers. She doesn't always experience magical moments only at the birth itself. "When I can cut the cord and realize that the family can manage on its own, it's a very special moment for me, she says. It makes no difference to them whether a child is born in a living room, an operating room or a birth center.