Lameez is a mother’s best friend

‘Women are

LAMEEZ Wright was 5 years old when her aunt bought her a nurse’s uniform and a first-aid kit to play with.

Now, 50 years later, she is one of the most experienced midwives at Mowbray Maternity Hospital, where she assists with the delivery of babies and grooming the next generation of midwives.

After finishing school, the Sherwood Park mother of one did a first aid training course which confirmed her love for nursing as a field. After school, she enrolled for nursing training.

“I started my nursing career in 1981 at the then Nico Malan Nursing College and completed my practical training at Groote Schuur Hospital in various departments,” she said.

“I became a registered midwife in 1991 at Mowbray Maternity Hospital.”

She went on to complete post-graduate studies in psychiatry, nursing management, advanced midwifery and neonatology at Stellenbosch University.

Wright has been a nurse for 36 years, 27 of which she spent in midwifery.

She recalled how a mother of 8-year-old twins called her proudly on the street to show her the children she had helped bring into the world.

“That is a rewarding feel- ing. I have delivered so many babies, it is hard to know each one.”

Wright said she had once visited a woman who had just had a baby and recalled how she had helped with the birth of the new mom many years before. “That shows you how long I have been a midwife,” she said.

The hospital delivers between 800 and 1 000 newborns a month and the work of midwives cannot be underestimated.

“Midwives play an incredibly important role and have historically been the first health resource for pregnant women around the world; that is why I am exceptionally proud to be a midwife,” Wright said.

No two days were the same because each pregnancy and birth process was different, she said.

“For some women it is a natural birth and they are ready to go home after six hours. Some patients need more care and support.”

Among the most challenging aspects of her work she counts supporting a woman through a lost pregnancy or a partner of a woman with a complicated pregnancy.

“We have to show compassion when counselling patients all the time.”

The hospital is the country’s largest maternity specialist facility offering maternal and neonatal services.

The facility also provides obstetric and neonatal clinical support to five midwife obstetric units in False Bay, Gugulethu, Hanover Park, Mitchells Plain and Retreat.

On the commemoration of the International Day of the Midwife, Western Cape MEC for Health Nomafrench Mbombo said: “Women are at their most vulnerable during labour and while giving birth.

“It requires a special person with unique qualities to assist women during the labour and delivering process.

“Midwives therefore play a vital role in ensuring women and their newborns are healthy and safe during pregnancy and childbirth.”

noloyiso.mtembu@inl.co.za

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