One of Wales' only five male midwives urges more men to consider job amid wider staff shortages

One of Wales' only male midwives is calling on more men to consider the job - with just five registered here - as overall staff shortages put pressure on the workforce.

Mark Smart, who now works at the Grange Hospital, initially faced challenges getting into midwifery, with men not allowed into the profession until the mid-eighties.

But since qualifying in 2005, he has worked with thousands of families.

His plea comes at a challenging time for the profession, with Welsh midwives voting in December to strike over pay and conditions.

More than 95% of midwives and maternity support workers in Wales the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) voted for industrial action short of a strike, based on a turnout of 55% of eligible members.

More than nine out of 10 (just over 91%) of the RCM voted in favour of strike action.

Members outlined concerns over rising demand in maternity services coupled with dwindling resources.

As of September 2022 there were 2,236 midwives registered in Wales - up by 173 since 2018.

In 2021, an RCM survey revealed more than half of UK midwives were considering leaving their job with 57% saying they would leave the NHS in the next year.

But Mark, who wanted to be a midwife from a young age, hopes men and people from all backgrounds can be a part of the solution.

Mark described his journey in the job: "When I was around leaving school I wanted to be a midwife but I found out that men weren't allowed to be midwives.

"So basically I went to work in industry, did that for a few years, got made redundant and then one day I saw an article on male midwives and I thought 'there we are!', so I had a chat with my wife and the rest is history."

He said bringing new life into the world is the biggest appeal of the job, but has faced some difficult days.

"I can remember looking after somebody whose baby had died and I was the only midwife available.

"The baby did deliver eventually and they didn't want to see the baby and I can remember having a chat with the husband saying 'I really think you should because you might regret it later on'.

"So he had a chat with his wife and they agreed, so they saw the baby and had some time with the baby.

"Then about eighteen months later, I looked after her again and delivered a live baby that time, so things like that really stick in my mind."

Siân Bailey, senior midwifery manager at the Grange Hospital, is involved in recruiting new members of staff.

"We've always had challenges recruiting into maternity and midwifery and in Wales we're all after the same pond of fish as in the midwives that are available," she said.

"We're lucky in Aneurin Bevan because we live near the Severn Bridge so we do have midwives who live in England come to work for us here.

"We're always recruiting, we're never going to be 100%, I don't think anybody who works in the health authority will ever be 100% because people leave to travel, they leave because they're going in a different direction in their working environment, and because they've had a promotion or retired, so we're always looking for new staff."

Siân wants to highlight just how important the role is.

"Midwives really are all singing all dancing, we do a lot of roles," she said.

"It's not just about delivering babies, it's all about booking them in, taking their history, taking their bloods, signposting them to different parts if they've got underlying conditions.

"We also work in theatre, we also scrub, we suture, we cannulate, we do scans. You name it, midwives do it."