Caring ! This is always what midwives practice in their daily work and lives. They tend to forget themselves in order to provide the best care for their families, clients and community in general.

In this paper, we   refer to self-care using the World Health Organization’s :

“The ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider. “(WHO, 2019)

Self-care is important for everyone regardless of what job they are doing, but in the same breath, self-care for midwives can sometimes be quiet moments for themselves alone or in team at the working place.

Midwives are important are very important in promoting self-care with clients and also practicing it in their own lives to make sure they are caring for their own health .

“Why do we tend to forget about ourselves?”

The common misconception that common people has is that self care is self-indulgence or being selfish. Self care means simply taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy  both physically and mentally   you can do well your job , help  and socialize with others. This includes hygiene, nutrition, and seeking medical care when needed.

Self-care requires checking in with yourself and asking yourself how you’re doing and what your body’s asking for. Understanding own body is crucial as it helps to adopt different self care practices that are  more convenient  for yourself.

When to fit in self care?

There’s no  perfect time  of day for self-care. The most reliable recommendations are to try and make time for self-care around the same period each day to build the habit.

Self-care can be in many  types but mainly as emotional , physical and spiritual. It is very important to understand yourself and see what you need.

Emotional self-care: Midwives deals with various emotional moments such as childbirth, child  or maternal loss. In additional of what they can go through in their personal lives, they need emotional self care to overcome daily stress. Many midwives expressed that they can not get time for their  own emotional care as they have to be strong towards their families and those for their clients.

Physical self-care: Midwives have to prioritize   sleep and adopt some physical activities as well as healthy diet.

Spiritual self-care: spiritual self-care  is very important for self-care, this include not only attending  church services but also spending quality time with friends and family and doing outdoors activities.

Take action now, you matter

by Yvonne Delphine Nsaba Uwera , RM