Of Crochet and Confirmation Bias
(March 2016) I have long considered myself to be a non-superstitious person, though being a woman of faith (Christian) some might say I am given to believing in things I cannot see but that is another story. Since joining the midwifery profession however I have found myself drawn into ‘playing along with’ if you like, the common superstitions of life as a midwife. I am not just talking about that sinking feeling you get when you see on the calendar that it is a full moon AND a high tide on the night you are booked for a night shift on an already busy obstetric ward. I love to crochet and will take any small opportunity to whip my hook, ball and current project out of my bag. The first time I did this as a qualified midwife though, one of my colleagues mock gasped and asked if I was trying to jinx them all? I was understandably confused and she went onto explain that if you brought something to do such as knitting or crochet then you consign us all to a manic shift wi...