Keeping it in the family...

Midwife delivers her sister’s ‘really special’ baby at home

BIG sisters are always there for their younger siblings but a midwife in Hillingdon went one step further when she helped deliver her sister’s baby.

It was a special moment when Ayan Elmi delivered her sister Hafsa’s baby at home.

The 37-year-old said the birth of baby, Istabraq, was a real family affair.

“It’s a privilege to be present at any birth but this is really special.

“My mum wasn’t too keen on a home birth but it was my sister’s decision.

“People have some funny ideas about home births but if it is preplanned it is just as safe as a hospital delivery for low-risk women.

“I was present at the birth of my sister’s other children so wasn’t going to miss this one. I was delighted when she asked me to be her midwife.”

Mrs Elmi works at Hillingdon Hospital in Pield Heath Road and lives in the same street. She had the first of her three children as a teenager, but it was eight years before she fulfilled her dream of becoming a midwife.

She did it the hard way, taking a one year access course, where tutors said only the highest marks would give her a chance of successfully applying for a midwifery course.

After duly burning the midnight oil while the children were asleep, Mrs Elmi surprised everyone – except herself – by making the grade.

She recently celebrated her fifth year as a midwife and is now part of a specialist home birth team made up of four midwives in west London committed to giving mothers more choice about where they give birth.

She said: “I have wanted to be a midwife since I was a teenager so when my youngest started going to nursery I decided to go back to college.

“It was tough but it’s something I have always wanted to do and where there is a will there is always a way.

“I would like to see more women consider home birth as an option but a lot more work needs to be done informing and educating people about the choices available.

“You can’t beat word of mouth at the end of the day.

“If someone has had a good home birth they are the best advertisement for our work when talking to other women.”

Hillingdon Hospital was evacuated this week when a fire alarm was triggered.

Patients, staff and visitors had to leave the hospital, in Pield Heath Road, Uxbridge, on the morning of Monday, October 6, after the alarm sounded.

One frustrated patient, Paul Davies, tweeted: “Sod’s law got hospital appointment and end up getting evacuated due to fire alarm going off.”

Mr Davies also described the scene as ‘absolute chaos’.

The alarm was triggered by heat coming from an electrical appliance.

London Fire Brigade was called at 9.50am, but left within 30 minutes. A spokesman described it as ‘a small incident’.