The mum and daughter midwives

“hen I started out as a W midwife, aged 23, we all wore white uniforms with white hats, tights and shoes. It wasn’t the most practical of colours for what is often a messy job, but things were very formal then. We called every mum-to-be Mrs X – even if she was really a Miss – and she called us Nurse.

“I was still in training when my supervisor said I was ready to lead at the next delivery. I had butterflies at the thought, but I was also extremely excited. For as long as I could remember, this was what I wanted to do – and it was the culmination of years of training. Although I hadn’t needed a degree or even A-Levels I’d had to qualify as a nurse before taking a year-long midwifery conversion course.

“In my time, it has always been normal to have the mum’s birthing partner in the room but over the last few years more friends and family have been in the delivery suite to cheer mums on. That’s had to change with Covid-safe practices, and to be honest it’s been a

Sharon’s first uniform, right, was a bit impractical! Left: a touch of festive sparkle as a student nurse reminder of how much easier it is to engage with the mum when there aren’t loads of (albeit well-meaning) people distracting her.

“We ditched the hats years ago and I now wear a sky-blue tunic over navy trousers and I’m on first name terms with all my patients. “The majority of births are ‘normal’ but, however senior we are, we all spend one week each year in training to update our skills so we’re prepared for anything that comes our way. One big change has been in the way that stillbirths are handled. I came into the profession towards the end of the era when mothers didn’t always get to see their stillborn, let alone hold them. Fortunately, we now recognise

‘The majority of births are ‘normal’ ... but our training prepares us for anything’

how important it is to have time with the baby and keep the baby’s memory alive by talking about them. “It’s also important that midwives get support

Hannah (32) and her husband Gary have two sons. Hannah qualified as a midwife in 2019 and now works at the same hospital as her mum

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“rowing up, I was always in awe of my mum. In my eyes she was ‘working with babies’ and I couldn’t think of anything better to do. Of course, by the time I applied to study midwifery at university – a requirement for the profession when I was 18 – I knew there was more to the job. But I still wanted to do it, and I was disappointed when I didn’t get in. I had almost straight As in my GCSEs, and was expecting good grades in my A Levels, but mine was one of 4,000 applications and others had more relevant experience.

“I ended up taking a degree in education and qualifying as a teacher before finally reapplying to study midwifery in my late 20s and – dauntingly – embarking on a career in the hospital where everyone knew me as ‘Sharon’s daughter’.

“To qualify I’d had to assist 40 low-risk births, so it wasn’t too alarming to be let loose on the ward on my first official day as a midwife. I knew there were people I could call on if I needed help, but it all went smoothly and that was a real boost to my confidence.

“Since then, there have been plenty of more dramatic births. One lady didn’t even get into the delivery suite. She had the baby in the doorway!

“We see more potential complications now than when Mum started out. Risk factors – such as being older, or having diabetes or a higher BMI – are all more common now. But we draw up

Hannah as a trainee midwife individualised care plans and ensure the safest possible care. “As Mum has said, bereavement care has come on a long way since her early days. I actually did my final year dissertation looking at bereavement training and that has helped me support many families. It’s a very upsetting time, but midwives can make those precious moments with their baby special and memorable.

“We give the parents a lovely memory box containing photos, a toy, and the baby’s tiny footprint. And we also paint the baby’s name on a pebble that joins

‘At times it’s hard not to shed a tear, but we are all human’

other babies’ pebbles in a designated bereavement room that was funded by other grieving parents.

“At times it’s hard not to shed a tear, but I try to remind myself that we are all human. Families would rather we showed our emotions than acted like robots.

“If a shift has been tough we now have a specialist midwifery advocate to turn to for support. That’s very helpful and reassuring, because they understand how overwhelming the job can sometimes be.

“We have nearly double the number of births that Mum had when she was starting out and we do a lot of the medical procedures that used to be carried out by doctors when Mum first began. There is definitely a lot more paperwork, too, but this prompts us to make sure that our patients are receiving the correct level of care to suit their individual needs. I like to be as hands-on as possible through the birth to reassure and comfort the mum-to-be.

“A moment of particular joy for me was supporting a woman and her partner who had undergone many rounds of IVF and were finally having their first baby. Even though the labour didn’t go quite as expected they were both overjoyed with their care and came in a few weeks later with a lovely card and present and to thank us all once again.”