Story
I started my midwifery training at Sheffield Hallam University back in September 2015, as a young single parent. I knew the next three years was going to be the most difficult, I had no choice but to follow my dreams and find myself lucky enough to land with the job of a lifetime & provide my son with the best possible future I could give him - becoming a midwife.
This was also the same year I was introduced to my placement provider - Rotherham. Being from Sheffield and having a car, I wanted to give students new to the city the ease of accessing placements to be as simple as possible, as well as being near enough to childcare. This I knew was something new to experience and I was intrigued as to how they work as a team in comparison to maternity services I had experienced elsewhere.
Since, I have witnessed first hand the extent these midwives go to provide optimal care for women and families during antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal period. Especially in times where workload and demand can outweigh what the service can supply.
Throughout my training I have experienced difficult times and I have always had constant, unconditional support to ensure I fought my way through and achieved the best that I possibly could, even if these midwives have issues of their own.
I have had the opportunity to create relationships with women and families that use our service, many reporting that the maternity care is second to none, but if the labour ward was made to look more homely this would improve women's experiences during the birth of their baby/babies.
Therefore I feel as though I have a great responsibility to say thank you to the trust, to the maternity services as a whole and the women of Rotherham by trying to do just that. I intend to provide either a new birthing bed or a new pool for women in labour, to enhance their experiences and to show how much I appreciate what has been done for me.
The charity is here to help patients at Rotherham Hospital and in the community. Thanks to the generosity of the people of Rotherham, and of colleagues at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, the charity continues to be able to buy what the NHS funds cannot or should not afford.