Véronique Lecointe: Kindness as a guiding principle

Is midwifery a calling? “It wasmore of a default choice at first,” admits Véronique Lecointe, who had originally planned to become a general practitioner. After failing the medical school entrance exam following her high school graduation, the young woman turned to the entrance exams for physical therapy, nursing, and midwifery—and passed all three. Faced with this second chance, Véronique Lecointe chose midwifery. It was a revelation.“It certainly wasn’t the career I had intended for myself, but I immediately felt at home in it.” Her place was then, and for the next three years, at the midwifery school in Reims, where she earned her state certification.“Three wonderful years”during which she discovered everything that defines the essence of this profession, which she immediately found joy in practicing.“Interacting with the ‘moms’ and their newborns is incredibly emotional. I realized just how much we could offer them during those very special moments when emotions are heightened and feelings are raw.” This revelation propelled her to the top of her class at the graduation ceremony in 1980.

Kindness

Véronique Lecointe then embarked on a rich and varied career path that took her from Reims to Montpellier, via Tours and Paris, alternating between working as a midwife in hospitals and practicing privately. It is a profession that, even today, is sometimes not given the recognition it deserves.“Midwives practice a medical profession listed under Title V of Book I of the Public Health Code, and are the primary care providers for physiological births. This includes pregnancy registration and medical monitoring, childbirth preparation, ultrasound, delivery, postpartum care, as well as preventive gynecological care, contraception, and medical termination of pregnancy… A midwife can fully support a woman throughout her reproductive health journey.” Always with the same core principle in mind:“compassion. The idea of a birth free from violence is deeply rooted in midwifery training and practice; it is central.” Encouraging the expectant mother, respecting her, reassuring her, congratulating her throughout labor, and supporting her.“Every moment of the birthing process should be nothing but joy,” states the midwife, who describes a profession where one must“put oneself aside, not put oneself forward.” Working behind the scenes, with compassion.

A caring approach that demands a wide range of skills.“You have to know how to earn patients’ trust, which requires a great ability to listen,” explains the midwife, who emphasizes that her profession requires not only very dexterous hands but also“big ears to listen carefully.” And then the ability to find the right words to speak to mothers and expectant parents. A multifaceted profession that requires initial training where the humanities, psychology, and ethics play a major role in the curriculum, thereby enabling a better approach to complex situations. “For example, providing interdisciplinary care for very young pregnant girls without their parents’ knowledge. It’s a situation every midwife has encountered at least once in her career, ” says Véronique Lecointe.

Confidence in their abilities

To pass on this knowledge and expertise, and to ensure that these interpersonal skills endure, she decided in 2006 to pursue a career in teaching.“I enjoy mentoring students throughout their educational journey, from their bachelor’s to their master’s degree,” explains the associate director of the Montpellier campus of the UM’s Department of Midwifery, who is also president of the National Conference of Midwifery Educators. “I teach students that a midwife must never compromise her professional independence in any way and is bound by confidentiality regarding everything that comes to her knowledge in the practice of her profession—that is, not only what is entrusted to her, but also what she has seen, heard, or understood. Not to mention personally providing, with conscientiousness and dedication, care in accordance with current scientific evidence as required by the patient and the newborn. For this, they must have full confidence in their skills.” A confidence that is also earned over time and through experience.“A midwife is like ‘a fine wine’—she gets better with age,” jokes the woman from Champagne. Until she becomes a grand cru, honored this year with the rank of Knight of the Legion of Honor for her 39 years of service as a midwife. A prize-winning vintage.