Creating your plan for change

According to Sara Wickham, a midwife and powerful birth advocate based in the UK, even everyday actions can create big ripples of change in maternity care.

Sara says:

• The more people are exposed to hearing about midwifery and gentle birth, the more it will become a norm for them.
• Attitudes are formed in childhood; therefore, we need to ensure that children are exposed to these ideas at an early stage.
• Experience is an important part in attitude change – if you can encourage people to experience something for themselves, it is much more powerful than telling them about it.
• Talking to people who support birthing women (partners, grandparents) is just as important as talking to women themselves, because these are the people who influence women’s decisions.

How to get started

You miss 100% of the shots you never take.

(W. Gretzky, 16 January, 1983)

Just have a go. You’ll never know if you don’t try.

Over to you

Based on the goals you created earlier this week, and considering the enablers and barriers you identified, create an achievable, clear, step-by-step action plan.

Don’t worry if some of those steps are very small. We know that small steps lead to big changes, while no steps lead to nowhere. So wherever you are now, take that first step.

Need some help or advice? Reach out in the comments.

References

1. Wickham, S. (2000) 26 Ways to Change Birth Globally, Midwifery Today, 53 (Spring 2000), 28.