It can be really stressful to have a lot of tiny lives in your hands at any given time. But a report from the UK’s Royal College of Midwives shows overstretching of midwives and excessive workloads is pushing some to quit.

This report comes from a survey of over 2000 midwives in the UK who have left or considering leaving the profession. Both groups said they are not happy about staffing levels or they are not satisfied with the quality of care they are able to give.

Some comments from the midwives in the report might sound familiar:

“I am tired and worn out and am concerned that if this continues that I might make a tragic mistake.”

“I feel midwives are undervalued and although most midwives do their utmost to provide the best care possible it is frequently impossible to cope with ever increasing workloads and expectations.”

Is it any wonder that some of the sentiments are being echoed right here in Australia? For years midwives have spoken out about the lack of support they receive and what a difference it would make if there were more helping hands.

Denis Whan, a clinical midwifery educator at Wollongong Hospital, recently told the Lamp how frustrated they were.

“We had midwives crying on wards because they were so stressed from overwork. But management wouldn’t even acknowledge we were critically short-staffed.”

Do you feel like your work is valued? What difference would you like to see at your place of work? Please tell us your stories in the comments section below.