Midwife

From FiranMUX

Overview

MIDWIFE

The midwife plays a very important role in the world of Firan. Medical sterilization is unheard of, and women typically give birth to their children at home. This results in an increased possibility that the baby, the mother, or both will have complications during the birth process. The midwife assists a mother and/or baby during labor and birth which could reduce infant mortality and deaths of mothers. It also includes basic pre-natal care in the form of suggestions on diet and personal care.

Midwives are generally women. While a man could have the knowledge, it is rather socially frowned upon that he practices it. Labor and birth is not a situation where many women would wish to have a male present that is not their spouse. The job is highly stressful, and midwives have to be emotionally tough, especially when a baby, or mother, or both, do not surive the birth process. In addition, they have to be able to garner the trust of the mother fairly quickly, and as such are usually adept in a variety of social skills.

Equipment

The most powerful tool a midwife wields is knowledge of her craft, but it is useful to carry extra bandages and a bowl for heating water (RP props), as well as keeping on hand some swaddling and a baby pack or two for those mothers who haven't made or purchased their own.

Attributes and Skills

ATTRIBUTES: INTUITION Midwifery is a newly developing skill for Firans and people with this skill are few. As such, a midwife must often rely on her intuition to decide how best to proceed in cases of difficult birth.

SKILLS: MIDWIFERY Having a midwife present during pregnancy and at birth can affect the rolls mother and baby make for outcome and health of labor. See the helpfile for the midwifery skill for more information.

SKILLS: CHILDCARE

Game commands

@birth is triggered at the appropriate time via code, or, can be triggered by a wiz in the case of inordinately late pregnancies (or through spending CP to trigger an early birth). They will force you to check your Intuition + Midwifery at the appropriate difficulty level.

Suggested Roleplay Ideas

• Schedule regular meetings with your expectant mothers to ensure they're taking good care of themselves and everything is developing well.

• Keep a journal/scrolls with information on each client and record their cravings, cramps or other pertinent information. Review these scrolls frequently to develop an understanding of normal habits for the women of Anarinuell.

• Create a network of midwives, either for your district/clan, or the city/Republic with the goal of improving pre and post-natal care for all mothers. Include relevant crafters in the circle such as tailors or leatherworkers (for swaddling clothes and baby packs) to provide for all of the basic needs of a child. Work with the appropriate orphanages to streamline the adoption process, in the case of unwanted children, etc.

• Share the wealth (of knowledge)! While you should always seek to improve your own skill, look into training others in the art of the midwife.