I'm less nervous now delivering babies than when I was newly qualified in BBC Two's documentary series The Midwives.
I've found that my confidence has built really quickly with the job.
I feel honoured to be the only healthcare professional in the delivery room responsible for caring for the mother and her newborn child.
New midwife Jess attends her first Caesarean section
It's an empowering, intimate moment looking after women in their most vulnerable time.
Being filmed over six months gave me a real incentive to show the viewers a true insight into the pressures and emotions of being new in the role.
I felt the camera didn't get in the way of my ability to perform as a midwife - actually the experience of being filmed sharing that moment with new parents was fulfilling.
Similarly to Chloe, the first year student you'll see in episode two, I asked a lot of questions, especially during my first few weeks working on the antenatal ward.
This, with the support of the midwives helped me to grow in confidence.
I can relate closely to Chloe because for both of us knowledge of the job grows with you.
The questions you ask at the beginning are different to the questions you ask towards the end of your training and when you've just qualified.
You tend to just double check when newly qualified and even if it's something I already knew I was never too scared to ask.
Being a student has its ups and downs. You'll see in the series that Aurelie is struggling through her year of training, which I can personally relate to.
It's possible that part of the challenge for her was what we call the 'second year blues' although some student midwives can experience this at any time.
Aurelie Santu, Jess Shaw-Roberts and Chloe Badham
It is a period during your training where you hit a brick wall and where completing your training feels like an impossible task.
I had a high dropout rate in my group of student midwives. Forty of us started in September 2008 and only 26 graduated in December 2011.
The midwifery course is extremely tough: you practice for 37.5 hours a week, 45 weeks of the year for three years.
On top of the full-time lectures and placement you have what feels like a never-ending amount of academic essays, reflections and written skills to complete!
During my second year I experienced the blues when I was not enjoying one area of practice along with writing an essay that I was struggling with.
I nearly quit. It would have been the worst mistake of my life because looking back it was one glitch and I hit many smaller ones on the way.
Becoming a midwife was the best thing I have ever done.
I encourage anyone who is thinking about becoming a midwife to be entirely sure that you are ready to commit, and to be a student but not live like a student - and that you are up for the challenge.
It's a great challenge to beat and overcome! Anyone who is in their training: stick to it. It's worth it.
Jess Shaw-Roberts is a midwife on The Midwives.
The Midwives continues on Tuesday, 7 August at 9pm on BBC Two. For further programme times, please see the episode guide.
Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.
