Wolverhampton midwife retires after 42 years

Midwife Barbara Kapoor says she loves the job just as much now as when she started 35 years ago

A Wolverhampton midwife retiring after 42 years in the NHS says she loves the job as much as when she started.

Barbara Kapoor, 60, has delivered about 4,000 babies in the city over a 35-year period.

Her final day coincides with a party to celebrate the 10th birthday of the Midwifery Led Unit at New Cross Hospital, where she is currently based.

Mrs Kapoor told BBC WM she was "sad" to be retiring, but hoped younger colleagues would continue her legacy.

Mrs Kapoor once featured as Midwife of the Month in a pregnancy health magazine

"42 years is a long time and I think it's time to hang my uniform up and hand over to the young blood now," she said.

"Maybe they have learned something from [us] legacy midwives. I hope that they've learned a lot from us and that they can continue what we did."

She started her career in 1980 as a general nurse at the Royal Hospital, Wolverhampton, but soon fell in love with obstetrics .

"When I saw the passion the midwives had, and I saw my first birth with a very experienced midwife, I thought, 'wow this is amazing'," she said.

"I couldn't wait to finish my general nursing and start doing what the other midwives I saw doing.

"The joy of sharing that very special experience with a mother and father... and being part of their life in that way is just absolutely amazing. And they will never, ever forget you."

One abiding memory is of caring for two generations of the same family, Mrs Kapoor said.

"I've actually looked after a lady and birthed her son, and a couple of years ago I looked after him and his wife and birthed their child... that's how old I am."

Support from her colleagues and "fantastic managers", she said had kept her going through challenging times, including the Covid pandemic.

"As a midwife, you've got two families. You've got your family at home and you've got your family at work. We go through thick and thin together," she added.

"Everyone is there for you - highs, lows we cry together, we chat together, we debrief together. And if it wasn't for that we couldn't continue."

Manager Lyndsey Durkin said she "couldn't be more emotional" about the retirement of her "much-loved" colleague.

"She has been there throughout the whole transitional journey from Royal Hospital to New Cross Hospital and still is - to this day - amazing with babies and parents. She thoroughly deserves a break now," she said.

Despite it being her last shift, Mrs Kapoor said she was not spending it with her feet up.

"I started on duty at a quarter past 7... and I was in with a lady 10 minutes later. That's work for you," she said.

"The passion I've felt about being a midwife is the same as I felt when I was a student."

The "foodie" now plans to teach Indian cookery classes in Albrighton, Shropshire.