June 18, 2010

Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca

Moms-to-be needed by UFV nursing students

If you’re a pregnant woman who will be having her baby in a Fraser Valley hospital between September and April, you’re in high demand by University of the Fraser Valley nursing students.

Mothers-to-be who will be having their babies in the Fraser Valley are once again invited to help a UFV nursing student learn about pregnancy and childbirth from the patient’s perspective. Women having their babies at Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Surrey Memorial, Ridge Meadows, Peace Arch, Langley Memorial or Royal Columbian hospitals are eligible for this program.
Countless UFV nursing students have had the opportunity to shadow a pregnant woman through doctor visits, prenatal classes, labour and delivery, and the postnatal period through the Moms-to-be program over the past 15 years.

“It’s been a wonderful opportunity for our students. It gives them a chance to experience the pregnancy and birth process up close from the perspective of the mother and her family,” said UFV nursing professor Marlene Upton.

The students complete this component of the program while they study the theory of maternity nursing and before they take clinical training in maternity wards.

Women who are due between September and April and who will be having their babies at Fraser Valley hospitals are eligible to participate in the Moms-to-be program.

If you agree to participate, the student nurse will meet you (and your partner if applicable) for a “get to know you chat.” The range of prenatal experiences the student may be involved with include a visit to the doctor, a prenatal class, and providing support for you and your partner during all of your labour and delivery, and a visit afterwards.

UFV first-year nursing student Charlene Martyn is a mother of three herself, but she still found it very valuable to be matched with a mom-to-be early in her nursing studies.

“Seeing pregnancy and birth through someone else’s eyes helped me make the transition from someone totally absorbed in my own pregnancies to someone who will be a professional helping others through pregnancy and birth,” she says. “I had to set my own experience aside and think about how others experience the process.”

Martyn feels that the mom-to-be with whom she was matched also got some value from the experience.

“Our relationship gave her the opportunity to have someone to talk to who was not emotionally involved in the pregnancy but was still a layperson, not a medical professional yet. I was able to sit with her, listen to her, and learn from what she had to say. She was expecting twins, so she had a lot of concerns. She also went to a midwife, so that gave me a chance to observe that kind of appointment.”

Since nursing students do a maternity ward rotation in their second semester, Martyn says that it’s very valuable for them to have the mom-to-be experience beforehand.

“A lot of my fellow students didn’t have much experience with pregnancy, birth, or babies, so it’s really crucial that they get some exposure before beginning their formal maternity training. It’s an excellent way for them to observe how people make the transition into parenthood.”

For more information, or to volunteer, call UFV’s Health Sciences Centre toll free at 1-888-504-7441, local 2817.

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