For as long as I can remember I have been that child fascinated by medical programmes and books. My mum worked for over 40 years in the NHS, and I used to love hearing her stories of the staff, patients, and procedures. As I grew up, I followed my passion for sports and completed a Sports Management degree, qualified as a lifeguard and Swimming Instructor, and pursued a career in Blue Chip Sporting Events Management; I was at the Grand National the year of the IRA bomb scare and spent the afternoon and evening knocking on doors of houses around Aintree trying to find beds for hundreds of hospitality guests who had been evacuated from the stands, talk about community spirit! And I also gate crashed a post F1 party hosted by Damon Hill!
Why I wanted to be a Midwife
When I married, I quickly decided that I wanted to start a family and after a rather rocky start to my first pregnancy (Hyperemesis Gravidarum), I became fascinated with all things pregnancy and would spend as much time as I could discussing things with the Midwives (we had longer appointments almost 25 years ago). I quickly fell pregnant again following the birth of Alice but sadly suffered a miscarriage early in my second trimester, I was utterly devastated but again did what I do best I asked questions and did my research. Shortly after my first loss I became pregnant and had Tom and in less than a year I gave birth to Emelia – 3 babies in less than 3 years and my family was complete, or so I thought. I fell pregnant again when Emelia was still only a toddler but faced another miscarriage, again total devastation, but had my gorgeous young family to pull me through.
All of my own obstetric history (Hyperemesis with all three babies, kidney issues and a renal stent inserted during my second pregnancy, and a premature birth with Emelia) and the care I had received led me to explore an entirely new career; Midwifery. I completed an Access to Higher Education course for Healthcare Professionals and was accepted to university, graduating with my BSc (Hons) and securing a job straight away at a large Teaching Hospital which gave me the best possible start to my career. I have worked across all areas and wards within both large and smaller district NHS Trusts including antenatal, intrapartum, postnatal, community and specialist Clinical Educator. Following a chance conversation with an ex-colleague, I joined My Expert Midwife as Lead Midwife for Education and have been blown away by the opportunities I have been offered outside of the NHS. It really is astonishing that a career that is perceived by much of the world as “delivering babies” genuinely has so many options. My current role takes me the length and breadth of the UK as a speaker at National events, as an educator to several major retail partners, as a Social Media presenter and as an expert commentator for many national and international digital and hard copy media titles, it has been some time since I was present at a birth but the Nursing and Midwifery Council values my skills and contribution to Midwifery Education sufficiently to revalidate me every three years, and honestly, cut me through the middle like a piece of rock and it will read Midwife!
The best thing about being a Midwife
Without a shadow of a doubt the thing I love most about being a Midwife is the positive impact I can make on women and their families, no matter the situation or the outcome; it is so important to me that I have made sure each person has been left feeling they have had my full and undivided attention. My own history of pregnancy provided me with so much insight into the rollercoaster of emotions that so many women experience that I was able to bring a different level of empathy to my practice which fuelled my passion for Midwifery even more.
I also love, love, love working alongside incredible multi-disciplinary teams (Midwives, Support Workers, Obstetricians, Anaesthetists, Operating Department Practitioners, Neonatal Nurses, Paediatricians, Sonographers and many, many more) who are all focused on the same goals – providing a service that is woman-focused, evidence-based, working to the highest standards at all times, and most importantly working as one!
The hardest thing about being a Midwife
It goes without saying there are some incredibly tough times in Midwifery, thankfully the magical highs totally outweigh the lows. Shift working literally knocked the stuffing out of me and I honestly never adjusted to night shifts – sleeping during the day was just not me, I’m too much of a daylight worshipper! But Midwifery has opportunities to suit everyone, and I am in such an incredibly fortunate position to now have a career as a Midwife that allows me to work “office hours” and to flex my time to suit my life.
And without a doubt the burden of responsibility as a Midwife can become overwhelming and utterly exhausting, it’s so easy of going down rabbit holes of “Could I have done better?” “Did I make the right decision?” “Did I do enough?” that you forget to invest in yourself. However, remembering that you are a part of a bigger team who are always available to offer support, advice and a kind word is so important to maintaining perspective and keeping physically and mentally well.
