Happy International Day of the Midwife. Today, we’re saying a huge thank you to all our Royal Free London maternity colleagues and joining them in celebrating midwifery at our trust.   

Staff will be coming together to mark the occasion at various events happening across our hospitals today, joined by our Royal College of Midwives representatives.   

Julie Hamilton, group chief nurse, paid tribute to staff: “International Day of the Midwife is a day to celebrate and recognise our amazing midwifery staff at the Royal Free London. You make such a positive impact on the families you care for.  

“It’s great to see staff coming together to champion and celebrate our midwives today.” 

To recognise the incredible work of our midwives, maternity support workers and student midwives, we asked colleagues to share a bit more about their roles and what it means to be a midwife.

Messages from our midwifery staff  

Amne Khalid, student midwife, said: “Being a midwife means being caring and having a lot of patience. It’s important to communicate well with women and families too.” 

Siew Quek, retention support midwife and labour ward coordinator, said: “Being a midwife is a very rewarding job. Every day is different, and it can bring lots of joy. I always feel very proud to be part of a women’s journey to having a family and proud to be there for them.” 

Roseline Nai, maternity support worker, said: “I really enjoy looking after women and their babies, and working with such a great team.” 

Chloe Reid, midwife, said: “Being a midwife for me means being able to empower and support women in the transition of being pregnant and becoming a mother.” 

Helen Maraitis, maternity assistant worker, described her role: “I help our midwives take care of women before and after deliveries. We make sure babies are fed and clean, show mothers how to look after the babies and take care of their health.” 

Jenny Woods, maternity matron at the Royal Free Hospital, said: “It’s a real privilege to be a midwife and it never loses its magic. We have a diverse group of midwives who are very caring, kind and conscientious – they want to do well by the women they care for. I’m really proud of the teams we’ve built and it’s a pleasure to see colleagues develop and reach their full potential.” 

We’ll be continuing our celebrations next week for International Nurses Day.