I was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, and my childhood was spent in Leicestershire. An early direct entry midwife, I qualified in 1999 and worked for the next 5 years at Sharoe Green Hospital in Preston, within a team specialising in high-risk pregnancies and those expected to have poor outcomes due to fetal anomalies. Then I worked for a further 2 years at Royal Preston Hospital when Sharoe Green was closed and then demolished. I was the midwife present at the last birth there.
In 2006, I moved to the Isle of Man. I was hospital-based again, but spent quite a few years in antenatal clinic, becoming involved in antenatal screening, patient information and education, and a debriefing service, mostly with women who had unresolved issues from a previous pregnancy, and were pregnant again. The regular hours in clinic enabled me to study for my MSc, and I graduated from Manchester Metropolitan in 2017. I had an article published in The Practising Midwife in 2014 that stemmed from my first MSc assignment. My undergraduate degree had been hard work, but during my MSc, I found a new love for studying and education.
In 2022, after completing my PgCert at Hull York Medical School the previous year, and to be closer to my family, I came back to my home county to work at DMU. It has been a daunting transition from practice to education, and it continues to challenge me to get out and stay out of my comfort zone.