Chance meeting with midwife at clinic in East Africa inspires journey to qualify in dream role
Middlesex University midwifery student Rosie Berhane has shared her inspiration and ambition for a career supporting women and babies for International Day of the Midwife 2025 on Monday 5 May.
A chance meeting with a midwife at a clinic in Eritrea, where Rosie is originally from, inspired her to pursue a dream role caring for pregnant women.
The third-year midwifery student came to the UK when she was 18 and was inspired by her chance encounter when she visited the clinic where her aunt gave birth. Rosie learned that the woman had studied midwifery in the UK and returned to Eritrea where she offered her expertise in childbirth to the clinic.
Rosie said: “I happened to meet this person who was making such a difference, providing information and helping to empower women going through childbirth. I was interested to hear about her training and thought it would be something I’d like to do.”
Back in the UK, Rosie graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics, and took time out to start a family.
In 2020, Rosie, who is from North London, completed an online Access to Midwifery course, and then received offers from three universities to study for a degree in midwifery.
She decided to train to be a midwife because of an interest in healthcare and her own experience having three children. She said: “All the midwives were amazing and made such a positive impression on me. For my third child, the midwives supported me to have fewer interventions safely and as natural a birth as possible. My birthing experiences will stay with me for the rest of my life; it is your most vulnerable and happiest time, and the midwives made all the difference.”
Of her university offers, Rosie chose Middlesex because the university was quick to respond to her questions and provided support and direction. “Once I was shortlisted, I was interviewed by two lecturers and their passion for midwifery shone through; I knew Middlesex was the right place for me,” she said.
Rosie started her degree in September 2021, with online learning during the Covid pandemic, before being able to study on the Hendon campus in her second year. In her third year, Rosie and her fellow students had access to the new state-of-the-art Nursing and Midwifery teaching facilities which opened in 2022 at West Stand within the StoneX Stadium.
Rosie said: “The West Stand facilities are second-to-none with the latest teaching facilities and a simulated hospital where students learn midwifery using a simulation doll that imitates a woman going through labour, giving birth, and medical emergencies. This means students are able to try things and learn from their mistakes in a safe environment that is just like a real hospital, which is so important for their training and confidence.”
The midwifery course is half theory learning in the classroom and half on placement in an NHS setting. Rosie has had placements with the Edgware Birth Centre and Royal Free Hospital, Hampstead, in an antenatal clinic, labour ward, postnatal ward, in the community, and was present at a home birth. Her placements have included gaining experience on gynaecological and neonatal wards.
“My personal highlight was the home birth,” she said. “I saw what professional midwives could achieve. It was just the woman and midwives working in partnership to deliver the baby, while also having a back-up plan and strategies in place to ensure a safe delivery. Seeing that, I admired their work even more.”
Other highlights are the support of Rosie’s student peer group at Middlesex University, who come from a range of backgrounds and ages, and her supportive lecturers. She said: “My tutors bring a lot of passion and knowledge to their teaching; they have had careers as midwives and some are doing further research, so they have a lot of knowledge and experience. They help us to think like future midwives and to become change-makers, thinking how we might want to improve aspects of maternity care.”
As one of the Student Voice Leaders on her course, Rosie was able to make suggestions on how the course can be improved. She and fellow students provided feedback on providing more access to the West Stand teaching facilities, inviting more special guest speakers, changes to make assignments more effective, and training midwives in the Newborn and Infant Physical Examination (NIPE) which traditionally only paediatricians performed, much of which has already been implemented.
Rosie hopes to qualify later this year after she completes her placement hours at the Royal Free Hospital and in the future hopes to specialise in neonatology, caring for very sick babies. Her advice to anyone thinking of studying midwifery? “It is very thorough and demanding training, so you need to have passion and never forget your ‘why’. Ultimately, it is a very rewarding and fulfilling career.”
