AT THE ROYAL Richard Babington spends five days behind the scenes at the Worcestershire Royal Hospit

IN an ideal world, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Paul Moran would have very little to do on The Royal's maternity ward.

The 36-year-old only gets involved with births if there are complications.

"Childbirth is a natural process, which can usually be dealt with by a good team of midwives," he explains.

"You only want to see a consultant if there's a problem."

This doesn't mean that Mr Moran is under-worked - far from it. As one of four consultants in the department, he is constantly in demand.

He says the consultant's reputation for being constantly on the golf course is well wide of the mark in the modern NHS.

"Things have progressed," he says. "The amount of responsibility has changed, and many more things are now done at consultant level.

"The consultant has a much more involved patient contact role than he used to have," says Mr Moran.

In the past, patients would not dream of contacting consultants directly when in hospital. Now, it is not unusual for Mr Moran to get two or three calls a day from anxious mums when he is on duty.

"By the end of the week, you are on first name terms with some of the mums," he says. "Our job is getting harder, but it means patients are getting treatment from the most senior member of staff."

Mr Moran steps in to help out with high-risk patients, and deals most frequently with problems such as high blood pressure and urine infections.

He also carries out surgery when necessary and gets a lot of enjoyment from sorting out complex problems.

"It's nice to know that we've used our skills to help mother and baby," he says.

'I tried to talk myself out of it'

AFTER bringing up four children of her own and working as a childminder, Kathy Dewhurst decided she was still keen to be surrounded by small people.

The 42-year-old became a midwife in Worcester two years ago, after considering the profession for a long time.

"I tried to talk myself out of it, but it was something I always wanted to do really," she says.

"I'm glad I did it. When it's busy it can be stressful, but on the good days it's the best job in the world."

She says that even though midwives witness childbirth every day, she always reminds herself that each birth could be the first for the parents that come in.

Mrs Dewhurst was surprised by the sheer range of duties that the job involves.

"You need a lot of different skills," she says. "I thought it would be mainly about caring for patients, but there's an lot of paperwork.

"We're always reading and trying to update our knowledge. A lot of people have a perception that it's all about loving babies, but it's about liking being with women as well.

"We spend more time with them than with babies."

LUCY Rowe is aiming to fulfil an ambition she has held since the age of 14 by becoming a midwife.

"I've always wanted to be a midwife, and I had to follow the dream," says the 24-year-old.

During her three-year training course, she has worked at both The Royal and the Kidderminster Birth Centre, and has also been based at University College Worcester.

She should become a fully-fledged midwife this summer, and hopes to get a job at The Royal in October.

"The midwives here are really open and approachable, and the new facilities here would make a difference to any job," she says.

Miss Rowe is always learning more about the demanding role.

"The nature of the job surprises you every single day," she says.

"That's why I wanted to get into it. It's a challenging job, and no two days are the same."

Working alongside experienced midwives, she has gradually started to become more responsible for decisions.

"You spend the day checking that mothers are all right, bathing babies and making sure mothers and babies are bonding properly," she says. "It's a whole package."

Baby ward is an isle of joy

WITH death and illness on all sides, the maternity ward stands as the one place at The Royal where happiness truly outweighs misery.

Every day, its rooms are full of parents witnessing one of their lives' greatest moments, or excitedly preparing for the monumental event.

However, there are also plenty of people who suffer complications during pregnancy, and many young mums-to-be who are totally unprepared for the pressures of parenthood.

Luckily, there is a huge team of midwives and some dedicated consultants at the hospital, all helping to ensure each birth goes as smoothly as possible.

Overseeing the day-to-day running of the department is senior midwife Elaine Newell, who has been in the post for four years.

She is responsible for the labour ward, the post- and ante-natal wards, the neo-natal unit and the transitional care unit.

Her job is hugely varied, and is affected by the random nature of childbirth, which means it is impossible to predict how busy each day will be.

"We can have one to 12 women on the labour ward at any one time," she says. "But you can't predict who will be coming in on a certain day.

"We have a rough idea, but some people deliver prematurely. It's really a finger in the air job."

As well as making sure the right numbers of staff are in place, Mrs Newell has to ensure the department's budget is spent appropriately.

Matron

Her role is similar to that of a modern matron, and although she spends much of her time doing paperwork and management, she still gets the chance to work as a midwife one day a week.

The hospital's midwives work on a rotational basis, taking turns to serve on each ward, but they are very flexible and can move to where the need is greatest.

Mrs Newell, a 40-year-old mother-of-two, admits the job can be stressful, but says it can be very rewarding.

"It's a really special time for the women who come in, and it's a privilege to be able to share it with them," she says.

"You couldn't do the job if you didn't think that was the case."

Of course, midwives have to deal with devastation as well as delight - and staff have to use their natural compassion to cope in these situations.

"Miscarriages are fortunately quite uncommon now, but they do still happen," says Mrs Newell.

"Midwives are taught about it, but it's only with experience that you learn to deal with it.

"How do you teach someone how to deal with someone who has lost their baby?"

She says midwives have to display empathy and sympathy, and need to have an in-built perception of how to address a certain situation.

"Some women want the midwife with them and holding their hand when they give birth, and others just want them to stay in the corner," she says.

"They need to be intuitive and make decisions quickly."

'I even had an en-suite bathroom!'

THE new facilities at The Royal made a huge difference to Christina Wright when she gave birth to her second son, Oliver.

She had her first son at Ronkswood, and the contrast between the two buildings - and the births - could not have been greater.

One-day-old Oliver arrived after a relatively straightforward, six-hour labour, unlike his older brother, who took a whopping 52 hours to enter the world.

"They were total extremes," says Miss Wright, aged 35, who gave birth six days late.

"I've been very well looked after, and the delivery room was very nice. I even had an en-suite bathroom!"

Her first, marathon, birth took place at the old Ronkswood hospital, in run-down surroundings.

Although Miss Wright, a schoolteacher, knew what to expect after the first time, it was still just as exciting for her and her partner, Andrew Johnstone, 36, who works in IT.

"It was just as good," she says. "I was just as shocked and excited."

Now ready to go home

Wendy Ottley gave birth to Emma nine weeks early, when she weighed 3lb 14oz.

The tiny youngster had to fight for her life in an incubator on the neo-natal ward, after being delivered by Caesarean section.

She is now three weeks old and 7lb heavier, and mother and baby are getting to know each other on the transitional ward.

The pair have to form a bond before they can go home together, and Emma needs to be feeding properly. The staff on the ward try to give nature a helping hand.

The birth was a very worrying time for both Miss Ottley, 34, and her partner, 37-year-old farmer Matt Field.

"I knew it wasn't the right time for it, but everyone was very helpful and explained everything," says Miss Ottley, who works as a physiotherapist.

"The midwives couldn't do enough for you - they answered all my questions. They've seen it all before, I suppose."

The strangest thing for the new mum was not being able to see Emma straight away.

"I can't really explain the feeling," she says.

"We were both in tears. I wanted to see her, but I'd just had an operation and she was taken to the neo-natal ward. I had mixed emotions."

Miss Ottley was taken down to see Emma, her first child, the following day. Now, after almost four weeks in hospital, she is looking forward to going home with her baby daughter.

"I've got a midwife next to me all the time to answer all my stupid questions," she says.

"It's like having a built-in expert on childcare to help me through this."

Praise for midwives after fast Caesarean

NEW mum Emma Hallam has nothing but praise for the midwives who helped her through her first birth.

Five-day-old Benedict was delivered by Caesarean section because of complications before birth.

Bank manager Mrs Hallam, aged 30, says she and her 42-year-old husband, Chris, also a bank manager, met a consultant to discuss whether to opt for a natural birth or go for a Caesarean.

"I think it was nice that they didn't make the decision for us," she says.

"They gave us the facts, and we decided that Caesarean was the right birth for Benedict."

After meeting the consultant on Wednesday, Mrs Hallam, from Hallow, had the operation two days later.

"I had it very quickly," she says.

"I was impressed by that."

She admits she was terrified by the prospect of going under the knife. "I'd never had an operation before, but the staff talked me through it."

The high level of care continued after the operation.

"We had trouble with breast feeding, but the midwives have been brilliant," said Mrs Hallam, who is from Hallow.

"They spent a long time with us, and they focused on me as well as the baby. I didn't feel like the attention was just on him."

Mrs Hallam is now getting used to motherhood. "I love it. He's a really good little boy, and his dad thinks he's the best thing ever."

GP mum is just glad it's all over

Jenny Steven has had an exhausting experience of childbirth.

The 34-year-old GP from Martley gave birth to Isabelle eight weeks early, and was admitted to hospital several weeks before the birth because of complications.

She had an emergency Caesarean section, and she says the hospital staff have done everything possible to improve Isabelle's chances of survival.

"Their professionalism kept our spirits up," she says.

The pair are now on the transitional ward, and the three-and-a-half-week-old baby has grown from 3lb 9oz to 4lb 7oz.

Initially, after such a difficult pregnancy, Dr Steven was just glad it was all over.

"There was a sense of relief after such a long time anticipating her arrival," she says.

"I heard her squeak, and then she went over to the neo-natal intensive care unit.

"It was strange, but I didn't find it traumatic. All my family were seeing her, and I knew she was being well looked after."

Isabelle is now making good progress, although she went through a worrying spell of shallow breathing.

"She's remembering to breathe now," says Dr Steven, whose husband, Robert Steven, 27, is also a GP.

"She has a strong baby. Because she was premature, she wasn't demanding food initially, but now she's starting to get more vocal."