DEDICATED midwives working around the clock delivering bundles of joy up and down Worcestershire are being celebrated for their hard work

Today’s International Day of the Midwife marks an extra-special celebration in Worcestershire, being the first since the county’s new midwife-led birth centre finally opened its doors last month.

The team at the Meadow Birth Centre at Worcestershire Royal Hospital is led by Louise Turbutt, who has worked as a midwife for 12 years and said she was delighted it was now fully open.

“It is a fantastic opportunity to be motivating a new team of enthusiastic midwives and welcoming Worcestershire women through the doors,” she said.

“It’s a privilege to support such a motivated and skilled team.

“They have a wealth of knowledge and are passionate to promote normality.”

The unit gives women with uncomplicated or low-risk pregnancies more choice over where their babies are born.

The theme of today’s celebration run by The International Confederation of Midwives is ‘The World Needs Midwives Today More Than Ever’ and as part of the event midwives and nurses in Worcestershire will be holding a Skype session with counterparts from the King Saud Medical City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Community midwife team leader with Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust Claire Layton said she was proud to lead such a dedicated team, which cares for women in Droitwich in Evesham both before and after their babies are born as well as facilitating home births.

“I lead a team of fantastic midwives,” she said. “I am a midwife first and foremost and the majority of my time is spent doing clinical work.

“Running a team requires a lot of organisation – my team know what they are doing, I just make sure everything and everyone is and knows where to be.

“I love my job – I really admire the midwives I work with and their dedication and hard work, it is a pleasure to be able to work with them.

“Equally I enjoy working with women and their families – there is never a dull moment.

“The most satisfying part of my job is supporting women through their home births – when baby is delivered and all is well. “The happiness you leave behind when you walk away after a job well done.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about a career in midwifery are invited to attend a recruitment day at Worcestershire Royal Hospital on Saturday, 13 June. More information about the event will be available at www.worcsacute.nhs.uk closer to the time.