‘Calm and reassuring’ midwife wins regional award

A Lincolnshire midwife has won a regional award for supporting a local mum suffering complications in the final days of her pregnancy.

Sophie Ransen nominated midwife Mary McGillivray who went on to win the Emma’s Diary Mums’ Midwife of the Year 2019 for the Midlands region. It is one of the Royal College of Midwives Annual Midwifery Awards.

Sophie experienced ‘sudden pre-eclampsia’ in the final days of her first pregnancy with her son Noah. This was spotted by Mary at her last 40 week check-up.

It quickly became an emergency situation as Sophie needed an ambulance immediately but the ‘Beast from the East’ snowstorm was causing serious disruption and delays.

‘Calm and reassuring’

Sophie said: “I was experiencing a lot of swelling and sickness in the last week of my pregnancy, which I had simply put down to being heavily pregnant.

“When I realised my situation was serious, I knew I needed to get to hospital. The weather had been getting progressively worse and I feared it was going to cause a problem.

“Mary phoned for an ambulance and called my partner Ryan. She also began conversations with the labour ward, explaining the severity of the situation and the need for a bed despite not yet being in labour.

“Mary was calm and reassuring during the three-hour wait for the ambulance, constantly checking my blood pressure and my baby’s heart-beat. She stayed by my side for the entire time.

“Within minutes of arriving at the hospital, test results confirmed pre-eclampsia and that Noah was in distress. The team decided that an emergency C-section was the safest way to bring Noah into the world, which they did and for which I am eternally grateful.”

Mary also continued to visit Sophie at home for the next five days to check on her health, help with injections and remove her staples.

She added: “Mary made a huge impact on my entire pregnancy and was so professional and calm. Despite everything, I had a really positive experience and it would not have been the same if I hadn’t had Mary as my midwife. I cannot thank her enough for what she did.”

‘Means so much to me’

On winning the award Mary said: “I felt very emotional when I heard about Sophie’s nomination and winning the Emma’s Diary Mums’ Midwife of The Year award for the Midland’s region.

“I am totally amazed that someone could remember the care I gave with such clarity. It means so much to me to be recognised in this way and to know I had such a positive impact on Sophie’s pregnancy and birth experience. Thank you, Sophie.”

The 17th edition of RCM’s Annual Awards will be hosted for the first time by TV presenter Alex Jones on March 5.

Mary will join the six other regional winners at a celebratory awards ceremony in London where she will receive a trophy before finding out who is crowned the national winner.