A local midwife is urging anyone whose heart belongs to midwifery to return to practice or even make the first move towards their dream career.

Angela Goode, who has been a midwife at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven since 2009, said she had dreamed about being a midwife for as long as she can remember.

In 1987, she began her three-year nursing training in Whitehaven.

After, Angela relocated to Lincoln with her partner.

She said: “In June 1992 I began my midwifery training there.

“In the midst of my training, we needed to move from Lincoln to Lancaster.

“I had asked to transfer my course but unfortunately, it wasn’t possible, so I finished my training in Lincoln.

“In December 1993, I qualified as a midwife and I was over the moon.

“In Lancaster, I went ahead and put myself forward for a midwife position in the local maternity unit, but I was turned away as you had to have gained experience where you completed your course.

“I could have commenced my midwifery career at Lancaster if I worked voluntarily gaining experience until a post became available, but at the time it wasn’t something I could afford to do.”

From 1994 to 2002, Angela returned to nursing, before then returning to Cumbria and taking a five-year career break.

Then in 2007, Angela accompanied her stepdaughter to the maternity unit at West Cumberland Hospital.

She added: “As soon as I went to the maternity ward, it was like going home.

“It was the warmest environment, and everybody was so nice to us.

“It really made me think ‘maybe I can do it’”.

Angela contacted the appropriate people to get the ball rolling but was met with the same offer as before, as she had allowed her registration as a midwife to lapse, she now needed to work 750 voluntary hours to re-register as a midwife.

This time around, Angela said she was fortunate to be in the position to go ahead and get started.

“I have now been a Midwife for 15 years and it is the most rewarding job ever.

“I am always amazed and humbled by the strength of women and honoured to be part of an amazing team,” she concluded.

People can enrol on a six-month return to practice course with the University of Cumbria if they want to return to practice.

This is a blended learning course, and all teaching sessions are online.

For more information, contact Denise Evans, practice development lead for midwifery, at denise.evans@ncic.nhs.uk.

READ MORE: Pet shop launches pet food donation scheme to help struggling owners