THE PARTY thrown for midwife Julie Harmsworth showed just how much her colleagues — and the wider Tavistock community – think of her.

The room at Tavyside Children’s Centre in Tavistock last Wednesday was full of warmth and laughter, as Julie toured the room greeting her guests and taking delivery of armfuls of flowers, cards and chocolates. There was a massive spread of food, with donations from The Original Pasty House, Cakes, Bakes ’n’ Shakes, Dukes Coffee House, Tesco and Morrisons in Tavistock and the centrepiece was a splendid chocolate cake decorated with piped lettering and angels’ wings.

It was made by trainee midwife Emily Hall, 26, who is in her second year of training at Tavyside Children’s Centre. Julie has been Emily’s mentor over the past few years, although she first looked after her when she was a newborn at the now-closed Tavistock Maternity Home.

‘A lot has changed over the years,’ said Julie, who has worked for the NHS for nearly 40 years. ‘Back then you had to be a nurse first to train as a midwife. You did your general training and then you did your midwifery training. Emily is doing direct training now for three years. Julie, now 58, had been a nurse for several years and she decided to train as a midwife in her early 20s. ‘I thought I would like to do some more training, and that was what was on offer —midwifery — and here I am!

‘I didn’t know what it involved at all and I was quite surprised when I saw my first baby being born.

‘It is a big responsibility, because you are caring for two people’s lives but with good support and teamwork you can give the best possible care. I work with a lovely team of midwives and the women and babies never fail to amaze me. They are very strong, women are, just amazing. I always say if the men had the babies, how many babies would there be?’

Julie qualified as a midwife in Wiltshire before moving to West Devon back in 1985 with her husband. Her first job was delivering babies at the old Freedom Fields Maternity Hospital in Plymouth. Then in 1986 she moved to work at Tavistock Maternity Home on Whitchurch Road, where the midwives delivered babies with local GPs on call. Mums with more complicated needs at birth would have their baby in Freedom Fields Hospital then transfer out to the maternity home in Tavistock to convalesce.

‘The mums used to stay in for a lot longer in those days, often for seven days,’ said Julie. ‘It was a bit like a hotel, they had a lovely time. There was a cook and freshly cooked meals and the mums were only two to a room. In the summer we’d open the doors so they could walk in the garden and of course it had lovely views over Whitchurch Down. The mums used to love it — they were very well looked after.’

As well as delivering babies in the maternity home, Julie was also on call for home births. When the maternity home closed in 1995, she and her colleagues continued to attend home births from a base on Spring Hill near Tavistock Hospital.

As a community midwife, Julie attended home births at all hours of the day and night and in all weathers — babies having a habit of not arriving according to schedule.

‘I remember we went to a farm in the middle of Dartmoor in February. Snow was forecast and we had to open six gates to get there. We delivered the baby beautifully, then five hours later it started snowing, and we couldn’t get back out there for ten days. I have delivered a baby in front of a Christmas tree and an open fire, too.

‘We covered a big area as a team – out to Two Bridges and Lifton way and right to the edge of Clearbrook. A lot of the farming families wanted to have their babies at home. They didn’t see it as anything out of the ordinary. So we’d be going down farm tracks in the middle of the night, which was always quite a challenge!’

She said she’s loved ‘all parts’ of the job, with home deliveries ‘the most special part’ of the job.

‘As I’ve got older, I have found it really difficult working all day and then being on call at night. It is hard going to bed at 10pm and then having to get up again at 3am. I much preferred to do the births at home, though. Now we have to encourage the ladies to come here because we were once a team of seven and we are now a team of two — there is a dedicated home delivery team in Plymouth. It’s a real shame.’

Julie, who has four children of her own, said she ‘absolutely loves’ the BBC TV programme Call the Midwife.

‘It is always lovely to see, with some of the processes on there, you think “oh my goodness!”

For the last few years she has not been on call, as babies are no longer born in a maternity unit in Tavistock, or not officially at least.

‘I have been doing antenatal and postnatal care at the children’s centre and work at Abbey Surgery. We have had two babies that were delivered in the children’s centre, although they weren’t supposed to be. They just decided to arrive!

‘I have loved being with the women and babies at such a special time in the women’s lives.and having lived and worked here for such a long time, I’ve looked after two or three babies for the same mums and have built up a relationship with them and been part of their lives — that’s a special thing — and last week, I saw two ladies that I delivered having their own babies and they both said “mum says to say hello”.’

Colleague Denise Bedford, who herself retired two years ago and worked with Julie for many years, firstly at Tavistock Maternity Home, was at the party.

‘She is a wonderful midwife and was a wonderful colleague – tremendous fun to be with,’ she said. ‘Whenever you saw her in the middle of the night, she was always willing to come and assist, whatever had happened.’

Midwife Abigail Davey, who organised the party, said: ‘She has worked in the community for so many years that we couldn’t let her go without marking it. We are extremely thankful for the care to the women and their families that Julie has provided over the many years she has worked for the NHS. As a colleague Julie has shown great kindness and endless knowledge, as well as sharing many stories of how midwifery as a profession has changed over the years.’

Julie said she is taking a bit of time out before she decides what to do next. ‘I’m going to take it quiet for a bit, and then we might go travelling,’ she said. ‘My husband says it’s about time he was looked after!’