Parenting Powerhouse by Parenting Genie

Japanese Adventures and Midwifery Wisdom from Emma Stubbs

• Parenting Genie

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What drew Emma Stubbs to the world of midwifery, and how did her passion evolve amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic? Join us on Parenting Genie as we welcome this enthusiastic and dedicated midwife who shares her incredible journey from her education at the University of Queensland to her pivotal role at the Royal Brisbane Hospital. Emma opens up about her motivations, the uniqueness of each pregnancy she encounters, and her unwavering commitment to empowering parents through comprehensive education about pregnancy and childbirth. Listeners will be inspired by Emma’s stories and her reflections on the importance of self-advocacy and birth plans in ensuring a positive birthing experience.

But Emma’s expertise isn't confined to the delivery room. This episode also offers a personal glimpse into her adventures living in Japan, discovering the cultural treasures of Kyoto and Tokyo while learning Japanese. Emma’s excitement about joining the Parenting Genie team and her vision for creating a supportive, informed community of parents shine brightly throughout our conversation. Don’t miss this engaging and informative episode filled with heartfelt advice, the value of Instagram Lives for real-time Q&A, and the powerful benefits of personalized care and education for new mums.

Thank you for listening to Parenting Genie Podcast. For more parenting information, visit our website https://parentinggenie.com.au. or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Twitter @parentinggenie.
We value your feedback, so please feel free to reach out to us via email at admin@parentinggenie.com.au.

Carey Donohoe:

Hello and welcome. This Carey from from Parenting Genie, your go-to source for all things parenting From the joys of pregnancy to the challenges of raising a vibrant five-year-old. Every Tuesday, we dive deep into pregnancy and then on Thursday, we switch gears to cover everything about parenting. Rest assured, we're committed to providing you with loads of insights and expert advice every week. Hi everyone, Carey from Parenting Genie. I hope you're all having a wonderful day. Now we have the gorgeous Emma Stubbs on our podcast today. Emma is a midwife and you are going to be seeing a lot more of her. She's going to be going live on our Instagram page every Tuesday evening, so please, let's give a warm welcome to Emma. Hi, emma, how are you going? Hi good, I'm well. How are you? Yeah, good. Thank you so much for coming on our podcast today. We're really excited you're joining the Parenting Genie team, so we're, yeah, so excited. Well, emma, can you tell us a little fun fact about yourself, or something unexpected?

Emma Stubbs:

Yes, a fun fact about myself would be that I'm currently living in Japan and that I'm taking Japanese lessons. Oh, great.

Carey Donohoe:

How are you going? Are you able to speak any Japanese?

Emma Stubbs:

I'm getting there. It's a little bit harder than I anticipated, but I'm getting there. It's they speak very fast, but I think so do we. So, yeah, I'm getting there. It's a little bit harder than I anticipated, but I'm getting there. It's they speak very fast, but I think so do we.

Carey Donohoe:

So, yeah, I'm getting there. Fantastic. So what three words would you use to describe yourself, emma?

Emma Stubbs:

I would say I'm enthusiastic, I would say I'm passionate particularly about midwifery and babies, and that I'm also understanding.

Carey Donohoe:

I would say, yeah, very good qualities to have, definitely. And can you tell us a little bit about your professional background?

Emma Stubbs:

Yes, of course. So I graduated a Bachelor of Nursing and Midwifery from the University of Queensland in 2020. From the University of Queensland in 2020. I then started my graduate role at the Royal Brisbane in Queensland in the following year, and I was in that role for just under two years so far.

Carey Donohoe:

That's amazing. So what did you think about your graduate program? Did you enjoy doing that?

Emma Stubbs:

Yes, it was fantastic. It was, I would say, a very particular, unique time in everyone's life, as it was throughout COVID. But we definitely learned quickly and learned a lot in that year and had a lot of responsibility on each other, but teamwork really played a big role in getting through, and also the beautiful mums we got to work with. But yes, it was, it was an experience, I would say definitely yeah, oh, absolutely.

Carey Donohoe:

It would have been really difficult working in those COVID times, for sure, yes, yeah. Well, what drew you to become a midwife?

Emma Stubbs:

yeah, well, my beautiful mum is a nurse and so was my grandma, so I guess I was drawn to the nursing field from um seeing them go to work every day. But I think that being a midwife in particular is such a beautiful time that we get to spend with, and a special time that we get to spend with mums and babies. Not a lot of people get to experience and witness what we get to do as being a midwife, particularly in birth suite, child health as well, and I love helping others and connecting with other people. Our predictability of pregnancy is also a lot of fun. I know that every second and third time mom would know that no pregnancy is the same, so every day is a different day. You never know what you're going to experience and you always hear about everyone's beautiful birthing stories and what they've learned, and it's a job that you continually grow as you, the more and more you experience. So it's very unique. It's very cool.

Carey Donohoe:

Absolutely, and it's a very vulnerable time in you know parents' lives or mothers giving birth. You know it's nothing like they would ever experience, ever in their life. You know so. It's giving life and giving birth. It's just amazing to be a part of that, isn't it?

Emma Stubbs:

It is, it's very special, it's very cool. It baffles me every time how a woman's body can do that. It's very cool.

Carey Donohoe:

Yeah, oh, it's amazing.

Emma Stubbs:

What is your favourite area of midwifery? Well, what would you say? I would say, um, birth suite is a really beautiful time. Women are so powerful and amazing in those moments and it's truly indescribable um thing you get to witness. When a mom meets its mom and dad for the first time. It's just mum, dad and you. It's really amazing, um. But what I would also feel passionate about is education. Education is so important and so important in anything that you do. So if you're starting a new job, if you're starting a new um, if you're learning a new skill or what you need is information on how you will can be successful at that job and succeed, and information about pregnancy and your baby is no different. So a role we get to do as a midwife is we get to tell people how to do it and how and what is wrong and what not wrong, what should happen and what we can do to make sure that they are informed and have a very active role in their pregnancy and what is normal and what is not normal.

Emma Stubbs:

It's very empowering getting to do that and teach other people those skills.

Carey Donohoe:

Absolutely, absolutely. You know giving birth is the biggest thing someone will ever do. So you know it wouldn't be a good idea to go into that experience and not have had any education. Or you know, yeah, just not looked up anything. You know it would be a very overwhelming, wouldn't it, experience if you hadn't had some sort of education.

Emma Stubbs:

Yes, definitely.

Carey Donohoe:

Yes, what's the most important lesson you have learned so far? Emma, emma.

Emma Stubbs:

So, in my role as a midwife, I would say to always trust yourself and to trust your intuition If you think that something is wrong or you're not sure it's going right, or maybe if someone has mentioned something to you, because you know your body the best and your family members know you the best. So all it would take is a simple question Everyone around you, particularly your midwife or maybe a trusted person, healthcare professional will always be willing to listen and sometimes all it takes is one question that can make you feel so much better about the health of your baby and your pregnancy. So we have lots of women in clinic be maybe nervous to ask questions about what they think is right or wrong, but it's never no silly question, no silly question.

Carey Donohoe:

Yeah, that's right. I would definitely say, and that's my biggest thing yes, yeah, that's great and, as a midwife, we really should be listening to women because, like you said, they know their body best. So if they're saying something doesn't feel right, then it's very important to listen to that, isn't it? Now, I know? You've been definitely and yes, you have been living in Japan. What drew you to Japan? Why are you there?

Emma Stubbs:

yes, um, me and my partner Tong moved to Japan, uh, two years ago, which has been such a cool experience um it's very cool experiencing a different, a different culture, a different way of living. It's um really opened our eyes up to yeah, experiencing a different culture and learning different new things, new languages, new food. It's been really fun yeah, really good.

Carey Donohoe:

What do you think of the Japanese culture?

Emma Stubbs:

overall, there's a lot to be learned from the Japanese culture. They are such a beautiful country. It's such a beautiful race. They are so well spoken, they always dress well, they have beautiful food. They're always very respectful, very well managed. Everything's so tidy, it's very easy, an easy place to live. It's um, it's really fun. It's a very cool experience we've been here two years and there's still so much we haven't explored oh yeah, very cool.

Carey Donohoe:

And where has been your favorite part of Japan so far? Where have you traveled to?

Emma Stubbs:

that's really made you go, wow yeah, I would say one of our favorite places is Kyoto. It's a very unique little town. It's got the beautiful temples, it has amazing food and bars and it's just a little bit smaller than that city, but it's still so great. It's got the beautiful temples, it has amazing food and bars and it's just a little bit smaller than that city, but it's still so great, it's amazing.

Carey Donohoe:

And then Tokyo is a whole different it's such a massive city, it's very, yeah, wow yeah, so yeah, kyoto, and then Tokyo would be number two. Wow, that sounds exciting. What a what an experience to have Emma. Now we're so excited to have you join Parenting Genie, and what excites you about joining our community?

Emma Stubbs:

I am so excited as well, and beyond excited.

Emma Stubbs:

I'm very excited to be given the opportunity to connect with mums and have the dedicated time to provide effective information and knowledge relating to mums and new babies.

Emma Stubbs:

We would run our midwife appointments due to the sheer time, sensitivity and the sheer strain that sometimes our hospital system was on, that sometimes the physical assessments of your appointments so your fetal heart rate, your blood pressure, your fetal movements, which are all such vital stuff um, sometimes to forefront in your appointment and the information and education sometimes was left to the end and all it would take was one one thing to redo or to get interrupted by and informate.

Emma Stubbs:

You just wouldn't have time to fully educate someone, which is sometimes really unfortunate, particularly those first-time mums. Oh yeah, so, yeah. So I believe Parenting Genie is such a fantastic opportunity to provide the time and the dedication from experienced healthcare providers to actually educate you and let you know what is normal, what is not normal, particularly in a feedback sense, so we can work together with women in the community and figure out what they may be struggling with and help themselves really and have a happy and healthy. Out what they may be struggling with and help them help themselves really and have a happy and healthy yes exactly and take control of their birth experience.

Carey Donohoe:

And all of that exactly. Take control. Now. What can parents expect from your instagram lives, emma?

Emma Stubbs:

yes, I would love my instagram lives to be fun, informative and easy to watch. I'd like to create, as I said before, a collaborative space. So, obviously, as midwives, we are equipped with all the information that we've learned from our experience in university, but I'd love to know what other people in the community, particularly people of all ages, are feeling, sometimes a little bit overwhelmed about things.

Emma Stubbs:

I know social media and sometimes move-off appointments can be really full on. You can forget things, you get really flustered. So if you just come home from your appointments and go, oh I'm not really sure about what the move-off is saying about my vaccinations, for example then you can just comment on our Instagram and I can, the next week for, go fully through that, just for an hour of your time, or up to an hour of your time, and from the comfort of your own home exactly so.

Carey Donohoe:

You'd be happy to answer all the questions. If all our families here want to pop some questions in the comments on insta, you're more than happy to answer them. That's good. I'm here to help. I'm here to help. That's'm here to help. That's amazing, wow. Are there any specific issues you feel passionate about when helping families? I know you're big on education. Is there anything else you might feel passionate about?

Emma Stubbs:

Yeah.

Emma Stubbs:

So education also, I feel, goes in hand in hand with being an advocate for yourself and putting yourself in your own, in the forefront of your own care.

Emma Stubbs:

So, as I was mentioning before, um and inform to women about what is about to happen with her um giving birth and also leading up into early childhood life we'll have more of an idea about what she feels about that she may want. More education will allow you to have more options and what you think you want to do. Sometimes, if you feel a bit overwhelmed, you'll just go with the first option that a midwife or a therapeutic doctor mentions to you, which is sometimes unfortunate because it's not always the best option for you. So I feel like having information that you can watch and then maybe think about, talk about with your partner, talk about with your maybe other children, about what what you feel is best for you and the timing of your pregnancy and your baby is also something that's so important and, um, yeah, just empowering people to to know what that they can stand up for themselves, and it is their pregnancy and it's their baby and at the end of the day, it's about what do you think?

Carey Donohoe:

yes, it's their journey. It's their journey. Do you think a birth plan could help with that sort of thing?

Emma Stubbs:

yes, of course. Yeah, in mid in um birth suite, it was always amazing. Sometimes you're just, your waters are just broken, you're in a rush, you can't really effectively communicate what you would like and in those moments, just having some notes written down on your birth plan just about what you would like, you know know what area would you like playing? Would you like only male doctors? Would you like female doctors? It's just like important and just another education of how we can all work together to help you. Is that any day you or that patient in feeling comfortable and feeling safe and happy?

Carey Donohoe:

So yeah, amazing, wow. Yeah Well, emma, is there anything else before we finish up that you'd like to talk about?

Emma Stubbs:

No, I think I'm just. I would like to say I'm just super excited about this opportunity and I feel very, very honoured to be able to given the opportunity to help other people and to share my experiences, and it seems like we have such beautiful um team that we can really draw upon a lot of areas, and we were free because there is a lot of areas it starts from when you first get pregnant to baby, and definitely on breastfeeding everything is so important.

Carey Donohoe:

And five years old, yeah, right up to there.

Carey Donohoe:

Wow, yes right up until everything happens again and you're like, oh my, my goodness, oh my goodness, we're really excited to have you on board really excited, and Emma is young and vibrant and has got so much information, so don't forget to jump on the Instagram Lives every Tuesday evening at 6.30. Don't worry, we'll remind you. We'll pop some notes up on our socials and, if you'd like to have a one-on-one consultation with Emma, just go onto the website parentinggeniecomau and you can book a consultation with Emma, but we might leave it there for now. Thank you so much again for coming on, emma, and we really look forward to your Instagram lives. I can just see just how vibrant and exciting they will be.

Carey Donohoe:

Yes, I'll see you every Tuesday. Yeah, see you later. You have a good day. Bye, bye. Thank you, kerry, here signing off. Thanks for tuning in to today's episode. We're looking forward to hearing from you, so please don't hesitate to send us your questions and the topics you're eager for us to explore. Join us next time for more tips and stories that make parenting a joy. Until then, happy parenting and see you in the next episode.