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

International Day of the Midwife, held earlier this week, marks an extra-special celebration in Worcestershire as it is 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 day, run by The International Confederation of Midwives was The World Needs Midwives Today More Than Ever.

As part of the event midwives and nurses in Worcestershire held 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 Redditch and Bromsgrove.

“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.”