Forum stages meeting

STOBSWELL Community Forum stages its latest meeting tonight.

Organisers have urged members of the public to turn up and raise any local issues which are concerning them.

A spokesman told the Tele: “We are always interested in hearing from new people at the meetings.

“It i s always good to see new faces and we can take up any concerns they may have.

“We are also always on the lookout for volunteers to help with the projects we have lined up over the next few months.”

He added: “In recent times we have had special guests at our meetings, including a very popular night with Dundee City Council leader John Alexander.

“He took on board a lot of questions and suggestions for the area from parking problems to the amount of rubbish piling up.”

The meeting takes place i n Ar thurstone Library, starting at 6.30pm. DEVOTED student midwife Sasha Carroll shunned her own 21st birthday bash to deliver her 40th baby at Ninewells Hospital.

And that took her to the required number of infant deliveries – meaning she is now fully qualified.

What made the occasion even more special was the fact she was being mentored by veteran midwife Tracey Garden, who had delivered the birthday girl all those years ago in the same hospital.

Sasha, from Broughty Ferry, said: “I am in my third year as a student midwife and you need to deliver 40 babies to qualify.

“So although it was my 21st birthday, I really wanted to reach that number.

“It was quite exciting and quite memorable.

“And working with Tracey as my mentor has been quite an experience because she delivered me.

“She always says she cannot believe it was so many years ago – and to keep it quiet.

“My mum, Karon MacGregor, knows Tracey well after bumping into her so many times over the years and seeing me grow up, then training and working with her.”

Tracey put back her birthday celebrations until the weekend and is now gearing up for her graduation ball in Aberdeen.

She added: “It will be a special celebration with my birthday and qualifying after delivering my 40th birth within a week or so.

“It is quite incredible when you think of it.

“The baby was born at 17 minutes past midnight and so into W e d n e s d a y w h i c h w a s my birthday. I was on the night shift on Tuesday after putting in for it. “It was as if it was meant to be.” Tracey, 44, congratulated Sasha on her success and said: “It is all quite bizarre that I delivered her when I was a young trainee too.

“We all know each other from Broughty Ferry and I would see Karon and Sasha about the place as she was getting bigger, from going to school, to leaving and then to when she said she wanted to be a nurse. I am the senior charge midwife and although we don’t work together all the time, it just seemed every time I was in the delivery room it was with Sasha.

“She would always remind me that it was me who delivered her all those years ago.

“I started i n 1994 back i n Ninewells too and there have been an unbelievable amount of changes. Back then there was no birth pool, certainly not in Dundee.

“Now Sasha is going to be one of the first in a new programme that is being rolled out where a small team of midwives and students will work with the mum-to-be throughout (the pregnancy) and will be based in the community rather than the hospital.”