Jessica Tripp

I’ve always grown up in Sydney on the Northern Beaches, but I moved out to Mulgoa for a few years. I have always lived on acreage, so I grew up horse riding, which is still a huge passion of mine.

Throughout high school, I knew I wanted to be involved in health care. I considered doing nursing, but I always had midwifery in the back of my mind. After finishing school in 2015, I took a gap year and travelled to Thailand. I went onto a labour ward there, and just fell in love with supporting women in birth so that’s when I decided to do midwifery. Since then, I’ve grown even more passionate about midwifery – it is even better than I thought it would be. Now, I can’t imagine doing anything else. 

I chose UTS because I always knew that this university was reputable, especially with nursing and midwifery. I researched the degree and found that the employment rate of graduates was high, and that students learn and practice in world-class labs. Likewise, UTS is one of a few universities that does direct entry into midwifery, which is what I really wanted to do. 

As a midwife, I am passionate about continuity of care, which means to provide women with care from the start of their pregnancy, through to their birth and up to the postnatal care. This type of model of care promotes physiological labour and birth too, which I am also passionate about.

While it is a lot of work, being a midwife is so rewarding. You build really strong relationships with the women you are caring for and you get to know them really well. It’s amazing to be a part of their journey and the moments you share with them are so meaningful. One woman told me that initially, she thought she couldn’t do natural birth but that working with me gave her the courage and self-confidence to do it. Another woman I cared for stayed in contact with me even after I stopped providing professional care as a student, and I was able to attend her daughter’s first birthday. The relationships you can build are incredible, especially with people who are from different walks of life. 

In my career, I hope to participate in midwifery group practice (MGP), which is where you provide antenatal, labour and birth as well as postnatal support for multiple women at any given time. As part of my placement, I am working at a hospital that gave me the chance to participate in a student-run swim clinic. This clinic uses a MGP model to show students what it is like and to train us in that model of care. 

While I would like to do further study at some point, I am excited to work and to make a difference. I would love to work in a MGP model of care and to do clinical work first before returning to do research in midwifery. 

For future students, I would say to keep a journal – one that is separate from your professional portfolio. Write down all the amazing experiences, as well as the difficult ones, just to remember and reflect on everything. Make friends with everyone in your cohort and share your experiences together; the friendships that you build with the people in your degree are amazing.

Find out more about studying Midwifery at UTS.