A DEWSBURY woman has been appointed as the new head of Calderdale Birth Centre.
Jill Norris was inspired to become a midwife after the birth of her own children.
Jill, whose two sons who are now teenagers, ditched a career in catering to re-train in midwifery in 2000.
She said: “Having my own children made me look at what I was doing in life and I realised I wanted to do something with a little more meaning.
“Midwifery is a fabulous career that enables me to work in partnership with women and their families to empower them to achieve the birth experience they want.
“It has inspired me, and I am sure it will continue to do so.
“I am very excited about being part of both the birth centre and the rest of the team in the Children’s and Women’s Services within Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust.
“We have a very women and family-centred service, aimed at providing a whole range of choices.”
Jill is heading up the team at Calderdale Royal Hospital, having transferred from Dewsbury District Hospital.
About 700 to 800 babies a year are born at the birth centre, which was re-located and upgraded in the summer of 2008 to provide more choice for women and their families.
The team is set to be strengthened with the recruitment of more midwives.
All the rooms have en-suite facilities and are designed to offer both privacy and dignity in a home-from-home birth setting.
There is presently one birthing pool, which is very popular with women who use it to provide support in labour and for delivering their babies and a second pool is about to be installed.
Jill added: “It is an impressive service and I hope I can help to make it even better working with the excellent team we have here and I hope to be able to build on the fantastic work already being carried out.”
