Why I chose to be an Independent Midwife

My Philosophy

My Qualifications

I live in Oxford with my husband, 2 daughters and various animals. When I'm not working I love spending time with my daughters and that generally involves animals of some sort, often horses and I have had to conquer a lifelong fear where they're concerned! When I get the time I like to read -anything and everything- unfortunately I hate putting a book down in the middle so my reading has become confined to holidays. If I have any other spare time I tend to spend it socialising. As anyone who knows me will tell you, I do love to talk.

Why I chose to be an Independent Midwife
I have been a midwife since 1989. I trained in Bath but I have worked in Oxford, my hometown, ever since I qualified. I had a break of 3 months in 1989 when my first daughter was born and a break of 6 months in 1996 when my second daughter was born. Other than that most of the intervening 16 years have been spent as a community midwife.
My aim and my passion have been to give women and their families continuity of care from booking through the birth of their babies and into life as a family. If it were not for the enormous pressures on midwives working in the NHS I would have done that forever. Unfortunately as time has gone on I have found it more and more difficult to give women the care they deserve at such an important and wonderful time in their lives. This finally led me to the conclusion that the only way I could continue as a midwife and retain some sanity was to practice as an Independent Midwife.
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My Philosophy
Being a midwife is an amazing job! I never cease to feel honoured and privileged to be a part of such a miraculous yet "everyday" process. Women constantly impress and inspire me with their ability to deal with so much in their lives. Never is their strength and courage so evident as in the course of their pregnancies and the birth of their babies. My aim is always to help and support women to find this inner strength and use it to find their own ways to birth their babies in the way that they choose. My aim is to inform, guide and support, give advice when it is looked for but never to undermine women's innate ability to understand their own bodies and make the choices that are appropriate to their lives. Top

My Qualifications
I was a registered nurse before I trained as a midwife. I subsequently gained a BA degree in Women's Healthcare and have passed a recognised course to prepare me for dealing with obstetric emergencies (ALSO). I am registered with the NMC, our governing body. Midwifery is a very tightly regulated profession and I have a supervisor of midwives who ensures that my practice is up to date and my equipment in good working order. I am also a member of the RCM and of the Independent Midwives association. Top