Linda Wike Ljungblad

I am a midwife and have written a doctoral thesis on preparing midwifery students for newborn resuscitation. It is important to identify the need for, as well as initiate appropriate actions within the first minute after birth, globally referred to as "the golden minute". Midwives are present at most births and are therefore the profession most often responsible for this assessment. Situations that arise suddenly are the most challenging, as the midwife may not have had the opportunity to prepare. Midwifery students begin their training for this as students and continue to practice throughout their midwifery careers, as it is a lifelong learning process. These skills are perishable and must be practiced in short sessions with high frequency. The skills must become reflexive, so that the midwife reacts and works on "autopilot" when a newborn is not breathing after birth. In my doctoral dissertation, I present a tailored workshop for midwifery students with the motto "keep it simple", followed by the mnemonic: "stimulate-ventilate-collaborate". I have 20 years of clinical experience from various delivery departments in Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Tanzania. Before becoming a midwife, I worked as a neonatal nurse, and it was here that my interest in training and education in newborn resuscitation began in 1999.