A LISNASKEA woman has been named Midwife of the Year, in recognition of her incredible work with new mums in Fermanagh.
Brenda McCabe is the ‘Emma’s Diary Mums’ Midwife of the Year 2019’ for the North, which is one of the Royal College of Midwives’ annual midwifery awards. The award gives mothers the chance to pay tribute to a special midwife who made a difference in their life, and Brenda was nominated by fellow Fermanagh woman Sarah Griffiths, from Roslea.
As a mother with cerebral palsy who is a wheelchair user, Sarah frequently came up against a lack of knowledge and a resistance among health care professionals during her first pregnancy. With Brenda by her side for her second, however, she found her stress and anxiety vanished.
“Not only was Brenda completely unfazed by any potential complications as a result of my disability but she went out of her way to research this with me and then assured me there was no reason whatsoever that my baby’s birth could now be an amazing, magical experience,” said Sarah.
Brenda, who has set up local support groups for new mothers, is a huge advocate for good mental health in families and encourages breastfeeding. Sarah said her help and support on her breastfeeding journey helped her and baby Daisy flourish.
Brenda thanked Sarah for nominating her and said she was “an amazing and inspirational person who never sees anything as a problem, she only sees solutions.”
“I honestly believe that fate brought Sarah and I together,” said the community midwife team lead for the Western Trust. “However, I have no doubt had any other midwife in my team had the privilege of meeting Sarah, they too would have provided the same care and attention that Sarah felt I had given.”
Brenda added she was lucky to be a “home grown” midwife, having started her training at Altnagelvin and ended it at the old Erne. She added she had had many inspirational colleagues through the years.
“I can only accept this award as part of a team as it’s team work that enables effective midwifery care,” she said.
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