Coronavirus: The ‘absolutely amazing’ midwives delivering miracles

“It’s quite hard to come in and keep that brave face on with everything that’s going on, but this is one of the most important times of a woman’s life and we just want to reassure them,” says Kathryn Harding.

She is a manager on the maternity ward at Liverpool Women’s Hospital and as we chat via Skype to mark International Day of the Midwife it’s clear to see how much she loves her job.

The COVID-19 pandemic has altered every aspect of working life, but one thing shines through from talking to Kathryn and that is her determination to provide the same level of care for every woman about to give birth.

She said: “It’s just about reassuring the women that we are there for them and to give them the best possible experience they will ever have. We want to make sure our patients are reassured we are doing everything we can for them.

“Our staff have really stepped up to the mark and should be very proud of themselves. We are so proud to be midwives and the way we are working at the minute, we couldn’t be any more proud. We look after our women and give them all the care they need.”

Since the NHS put itself on the highest level of alert over COVID-19 on 29 January local midwives and maternity services in the UK have helped to bring almost 160,000 babies into the world.

Katy Rogers, 36, from Liverpool, gave birth to Lydia and Naomi via c-section a week ago and hailed the midwives who cared for her as “absolutely amazing”.

Her husband Phil couldn’t attend the girls’ births so Katy had to walk into the hospital by herself.

“When I was dropped off at the front door I must admit I cried when I walked in,” she told me via FaceTime.

“But the people at the reception saw that I was upset and saw the situation and someone actually walked me to the area I needed to be in, so I didn’t have to walk in by myself.

“Everyone in that waiting room had their birthing partners waiting downstairs in the car park. The midwives were absolutely amazing. When you are in the hospital you don’t even know any of this is going on, apart from the PPE they are wearing.

“It was business as usual and the support could not have been better.”

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A survey released today by the Royal College of Midwives shows that 94% of midwives and student midwives feel valued by the British public.

“I think it has been very uplifting seeing positive birth stories and the joy of birth,” said Gill Walton from the Royal College of Midwives.

“Women have been posting pictures online of their newborn babies and also midwives themselves saying how proud they are of the women they have been caring for, the way they accepted the new circumstances.”

(c) Sky News 2020: Coronavirus: The ‘absolutely amazing’ midwives delivering miracles