Kentish Express Ashford & District
Midwife’s birth song is an instant Facebook hit
@vickycastleKM A parody video of a midwife’s take on an Amy Winehouse hit is going viral.
Virginia Howes and singer Clea Llewellyn performed a new version of Rehab in front of an audience of student midwives at Ashford’s William Harvey Hospital.
The pair broke into song and dance at the end of a midwifery conference last Wednesday swapping the famous lyrics for new ones, such as “they’ll try to make you push on your back, but you say – no no no!”
The video was uploaded to Facebook and received a whopping 120,000 views in less than 24 hours.
Virginia, an independent midwife, said she wrote the song to empower women to make their own choices in pregnancy.
She said: “I’m overwhelmed that 120,000 midwives might be going round singing our song, but I hope it gets that message across.
“It’s about empowering women to stand up for themselves, have the birth that they want and not be cajoled into the medical model.”
The conference was organised by student midwives Rachel Checkland and Natalie Corden.
Virginia had been a midwife for Rachel’s third birth, after two traumatic NHS births, and said her one-one-care inspired her.
She added: “Rachel felt so empowered by the difference it made that she quit her job as a prison officer and enrolled as a student midwife.
“When she told me she’d organised the conference I just wanted to do something to make it stand out for her.
“We just wanted to make the conference a bit different, wanted people to remember it and what else does that other than comedy?”
Virginia, a 56-year-old motherof-four from Woodchurch, said the five minute video took just 20 minutes to write.
She added: “I’ve always been quite good at putting words to songs.
“My family have done it for- ever and it’s something I just like doing.
“I know it was a success because all the way through, I could hear laughter.
“I didn’t look at the audience because I was so nervous, but everyone stood up at the end and joined in, it was brilliant.
“Different midwife conferences around the country have suggested we join them so hopefully we will be able to go on tour.”
Watch the f ull video at www.kentonline.co.uk.