Dedicated midwives take a bow
Dedicated midwives at Paisley’s hospital gathered to celebrate one another as part of a national day of appreciation.
Staff at the Royal Alexandra maternity unit marked the special day, which was first established 28 years ago to give midwives all over the world the chance to connect with others in their profession.
And while celebrations planned by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde ( NHSGGC) had to be cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic, the midwifery teams were still able to celebrate the day.
Staff enjoyed a special cake which was sent to the hospital to acknowledge the work being carried out by staff throughout the pandemic.
A Clubbercise session was also virtually screened to all the units that day for midwives to take part in and enjoy keeping fit and healthy while celebrating the day together safely.
The International Confederation of Midwives first established the idea of the International Day of the Midwife following discussion among Midwives Associations in the late 1980s, then launched the initiative formally in 1992.
Hundreds of midwives have worked at the RAH unit in its 50 year history, bringing more than 140,000 babies into the world.
Every day, the staff who work there play a vital role in the most important time of some women’s lives, providing care for generations of families across five decades.
The Community Midwife Unit celebrated its 50th anniversary in December last year.
Senior midwife Linda Lang, has been a midwife at the RAH for 40 years.
She said: “This is just the best job in the world.
“You get the chance to build up relationships really quickly with women as you are helping them through one of the toughest experiences of their lives.
“We don’t look for people to remember us, we just get to have an amazing connection with people for a few hours at such a special time.”
Evelyn Frame, chief midwife, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, praised midwives across the health board area for their dediation to their jobs.
She also welcomed a number of students who have joined maternity units - including at the RAH - to help during the coronavirus crisis
She said: “All our midwives work hard every day to ensure mothers and their families receive the quality care that they deserve and even now, they carry on doing this very special job in the midst of a pandemic.
“This has meant that student midwives have joined us early into the NHSGGC family and I want to extend a very warm welcome to them and wish them every success in their careers.”
Evelyn added: “Being a midwife is a very privileged job. Welcoming a baby into your family is a major life event and it’s a huge honour to be a part of that.
“Being able to support a woman through her pregnancy, birth and seeing the family at the end is an amazing thing to do and be a part of.”
All our midwives work very hard every day to ensure mothers and their families receive the care they deserve Evelyn Frame