Today, Tuesday 5th May, is International Day of the Midwife and NHS Dumfries and Galloway is celebrating midwives and how they are bringing new life into the world.
Gill Jess, Clinical Midwifery Manager, said: “Babies come when they are ready, so it really is one of the few parts of healthcare that you can’t delay. But equally, we are very lucky that the vast majority of what we do is filled with joy and the wonder of new life.
“Every day, women come to us and leave happy with the new addition to their families, and it’s the best part of being a midwife. It fills us with hope every single day, especially during this difficult time.
“All of our midwives, MCAs and HCSWs work hard every day to ensure mothers and their families receive the quality care that they deserve and even now, they carry on doing this very special job.”
Alice Wilson, Nurse Director, said: “At all times our Midwives and MCAs do an amazing job in preparing women for birth and motherhood and during this COVID-19 pandemic their work in supporting women in childbirth has been even more critical.
“I would like us all to celebrate the great work they do today and every day. 2020 will be memorable not only for COVID-19 but for being the year of the Nurse and Midwife. Although we may feel a sense of loss and disappointment that we aren’t doing much of the celebration we thought we would, I think in some ways what better time to celebrate what we do than during a crisis.
“I invite all Dumfries and Galloway Midwives to share memories or thoughts with me about your training or early days as a midwife, how things feel right now and your hopes for the future.
“We would like to display these (anonymously, if you prefer) later in the year and develop as many as we can into a book for staff to celebrate the year that was 2020.
“Thank you all for yesterday, today and every day.”