‘Babies don’t know there’s a pandemic – they come anyway!’
Midwife Amina Hatia, 45, from Hertfordshire No matter what chaos was going on in the world around us, babies were still being born during the pandemic, and I got to be part of those magical moments.
It was especially poignant working with mums who’d had multiple miscarriages or struggled to conceive.
I’d apologise that they’d had to give birth under these circumstances, but one said, “I don’t care because I’m finally walking out of a hospital with a baby.”
I’ve been a midwife for 15 years, but a few years ago I moved off the wards and began working on Tommy’s helpline, helping those who’d lost babies either in pregnancy or shortly after birth. During the pandemic calls increased by up to 80% as expectant mums felt more anxious. When there was a call out for people to return to the wards, I went back to the hospital too.
It has been busy, but what has been wonderful is people’s gratitude. I went to the supermarket before a shift and stood in line to pay, and the whole queue told me to go ahead of them. It’s those little moments that made me feel emotional. We really are all in it together.