Happy healthy babies are the best reason of all to celebrate International Day of the Midwife today.
More than 4500 babies are born in Tayside every year, a region where midwives have played an increasing role recently.
While some women with high-risk births need a lot of medical help, for many others childbirth happens without the need for dramatic interventions.
“Just a few years ago there would have been very few women going through pregnancy and childbirth without seeing a doctor at some point,” said Kay Forsyth, NHS Tayside’s head of midwifery.
“Now we have quite a number of women who will go through their pregnancy and labour and birth and the post-natal period, without needing to see a doctor.”To contact the group please email mumstheword1@live.co.uk.The aim of International Day of the Midwife is to celebrate and highlight the work that midwives do.
Almost exactly two years ago the Dundee Midwifery Unit was opened on the Ninewells Hospital site providing a more relaxed environment where women not expected to require medical intervention can go and have their babies.
That unit expects to deliver more than 700 babies this year.
Some of the first women to use the DMU started a group called “Mum’s The Word,” so they could stay involved with the staff and help shape services for other mothers-to-be.
The group has since expanded to include mums, mums-to-be, midwives and health professionals who all aim to support women as they use NHS maternity services in Dundee.
Today midwives and mums will gather at an information stand in the main concourse at Ninewells Hospital during the celebrations for International Day of the Midwife
They will be available for informal chats about what services are available during pregnancy and birth.
Midwife Honor Macgregor said, “We want to meet other mums and hear any views regarding pregnancy, labour and birth choices and post-natal care, so that we can make our experiences count and make a difference to future mums and families.
“Every mum using the maternity facilities should feel safe and experience a birth where they feel accepted as an individual in a birth that is unique to them and their circumstances.”
‘Mum’s the Word’ meets every last Wednesday of the month at the Dundee Midwifery Unit at 6.30pm. Mums are welcome to come along for a chat and a cup of tea.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr user markus r.