What it's really like to be a maternity nurse: nine practitioners in their own words

Most descriptions of maternity nursing are written by people selling something. These aren't. Over the years we've interviewed the practitioners who trained with us — about the nights, the families, the mistakes and the moments that made it worth it. Here are nine of them, in their own words.

Why they became maternity nurses

Almost nobody arrives here in a straight line. The most common route is a career in childcare that eventually pointed towards newborns — but the starting points vary enormously, and so does the age at which people make the jump.

Lesley Pournara was 58 and at home when she found the job by accident:

Loraine Williams came the other way, from a senior career in children's services — nursery management, advisory and consulting roles — and wanted something slower and more direct:

Holly Austin started midwifery training and left partway through, but knew what she wanted: "As soon as I left I immediately got a few nanny jobs whilst I was at university. All I knew was that I really wanted to work with newborns." Angela Farmery came after "over 30 years in childcare in a variety of positions from private nannying to childminding", having worked up to area manager across four large nurseries. And Mary Ashton fell into her specialism entirely by chance:

The fears before starting

This is the part most career pages leave out. Almost everyone we spoke to was worried about something specific before they began — and it's worth knowing that those worries are normal.

Lesley's were about competence and money, and she was candid about it:

Katy Simmons named the fear that comes up most often — walking into a stranger's house:

Days, nights and what the work actually involves

Night work is the thing people worry about most, and the thing they most often change their minds about. Sareeka Sohal was dreading it:

Kirsty Bennett found the overnight work was where the real learning happened: "Both of my placements involved caring for premature twins… In particular, one of the most valuable experiences for me was looking after both twins overnight."

Angela Farmery discovered a preference many practitioners share — the intensity of live-in work over hourly care:

And the volume of work can be considerable. Christine Hedge, with over 30 years in the job, has worked with "8 single babies, 24 sets of twins and 6 sets of triplets".

The hardest parts of the job

Sareeka's hardest moment was a baby whose problem hadn't been diagnosed yet:

For Christine Hedge, the hardest part isn't the babies at all: "Tackling health / developmental issues in babies or parents, and working for the best way forward for all concerned, particularly postnatal depression."

Mary Ashton is specific about what makes multiples difficult — and it isn't simply doubling the work:

The moments that make it worth it

Ask maternity nurses about their best moment and you rarely get anything dramatic. You get this:

Though sometimes it is dramatic. Christine Hedge's most memorable experience caring for multiples: "Definitely when I picked up an SVT on an 18-day-old twin — I saved her life!"

More often it's about the parents rather than the baby. Lesley described the satisfaction that surprised her most:

Christine puts the same thing differently: "The best part of my job is training and educating parents in the importance of a holistic nurturing of babies, and to put into place a strong foundation as the first set of building blocks — and then seeing the babies flourish."

Holly Austin, after her first placement with twins: "I was very emotional after my first placement, I loved every single minute of it. I was working with a new mum with twins and yes I supported her a great deal, but honestly, I learned so much in return too."

What they wish they'd known

Two answers came up repeatedly. The first is that experience doesn't transfer as neatly as you'd hope:

Loraine found the same in her placements: "Each baby is different — for example, one baby had never been out of the house, another had reflux issues."

The second is about how little support families actually receive. Christine Hedge, asked what she wished she'd known as a newly qualified maternity nurse: "I wish I had known how little postnatal support mothers and parents of multiples receive."

And Lesley's, which is worth holding onto if you're currently anxious: "The only surprise was that I needn't have worried about anything!"

Their advice to new maternity nurses

The most consistent advice is about relationships with parents, not technical skill:

Lesley's advice is about presence and tact — the skills nobody warns you matter most: learning "how to be discreet in the family home and not invade their personal space, giving them time alone", and how to raise issues "tactfully without making them feel inadequate".

And two practical ones. Sareeka: "Invest in an iPad! It's brilliant when you need to find information quickly, or if you can't sleep at 2am and want to read or watch something." Her other essential is other maternity nurses — "It helps to have someone to talk to at 3am if you're flustered."

Where it led

For most, the route into paid work ran through supervised placements and the references they produce. Holly moved fastest:

Lesley — the one who felt all odds were against her — got the outcome she hadn't dared expect:

Angela is now registered with an agency and contracted for twelve weeks. Katy is registering with an agency and stacking further qualifications — sleep, postnatal depression and birth trauma, breastfeeding, multiples. Kirsty finished her placements "confident in providing quality care to any family I work for in the future".