Developing yourself

Now you’ve created your plan, it’s time to explore the personal or professional resources you may need to implement it – to begin or continue your journey toward maternity care reform.

Be informed

To start with, you need information. Being armed with the right knowledge can empower powerful action because it’s a strong motivator for change. Do you have all the information and education you require to enact your plan? If not, how might you go about learning what you need?

Here are a few resources to consider:

• Explore the Transforming Maternity Care Collaborative site to learn more about the collaborative work challenging the way maternity care is designed and delivered – how could you contribute?
• Read and share the full Lancet Series on Midwifery
• Look through the Childbirth Connection site for great information for both women and health professionals
• Look into further study or qualifications – for example, the Master of Primary Maternity Care through Griffith University.
  • Watch some testimonials from students and graduates of Griffith University’s Primary Maternity Care program to get a better understanding of how this type of study could help you develop yourself.

Take care of yourself

Another necessary area of development is in your own self-care. Whatever your role – a parent wanting to make a difference, a midwife who wants to improve job satisfaction and service for women, or the director of a large hospital – part of developing yourself is to learn the self-care practices that allow sustainability. We often hear the word sustainability in relation to the environment – defined as making sure we don’t consume or destroy resources at a greater pace than we can replenish them. The same principles hold true for us as humans: we need to ensure we work in a way that’s sustainable in the long-term, and to look after ourselves, in order to look after others.

Are you a midwife or other health care provider? The maternity care system will only ever be as good as the people in it! Learning sustainable practices and self-care is vital.

For more ideas, have a look at some great resources on mindfulness and stress management that we’ve linked to at the bottom of the page.

Over to you

What do you most need to develop within yourself? Think carefully about what will help you move forward with your acts of transformation for the maternity care system. What specific resources do you need and how will you access them?

Please share any particularly powerful maternity care resources you have access to so that everyone can benefit.

If you’re uncertain what would work best for you, have a look through other comments for inspiration, or comment to ask others for suggestions!