Ashlie Kelly

When did you leave Archbishop Beck?

2010

What does your job entail?

I work for the Midwife At Home Team. We care for women at all stages of pregnancy but especially aim to educate, empower and support women to labour and birth in their own environment, reducing the need for medical interventions and bringing birth back to its most natural form.

What do you value in people?

I value honesty and the ability to learn and improve from mistakes.

What barriers and challenges have you overcome during lockdown?

A challenge I am coming across more frequently during lockdown is a decrease in people’s mental health. Becoming new parents can be challenging at the best of times. During the pandemic, women feel a lot more isolated and therefore are not getting the family and friend support network that they need to thrive.  The challenge that I face is recognising the signs, ensuring they get as much support as possible from myself, sign posting them to self-help groups and referring them to other appropriate teams.

What has been the highlight of your career to date?

My highlight so far is being called to my first ever home birth. On arrival I very quickly realised it was not going to be straight forward as it was an undiagnosed breech (baby was the wrong way around coming out bottom first). This position can cause a lot of issues during birth as the baby can get stuck. This is my highlight as I have never seen or helped a lady birth in this position before and therefore had to utilise the skills I had been taught in university to help bring the baby into this world safely on my own.

What are you most proud of in your career?

I am proud of getting into midwifery at all. Midwifery is very competitive with a lot of applicants using the details of their own children’s births to impress interviewers. As I don’t have any children I am proud that I was able to show them how passionate I am and how well I can empathise with someone going through one of the most vulnerable times of their lives even though I have never experienced it before myself.

What do you like most about your job?

My favourite part of my job is looking at the expression of relief, joy and awe on the faces of the women and their birth partner when I hand them their baby for the first time.

What are your memories of your time at Archbishop Beck?

I have so many amazing memories of my time at Archbishop Beck like traveling to many parts of the world as part of the dance ensemble alongside the school band. During my time at school I also met my lifelong friends and partner who I have now been with for 12 years.

What advice would you give your teenage self?

I would tell myself not be disheartened by rejection and just keep trying. I always knew I wanted to be a midwife however I didn’t get accepted on my first application. Instead I chose to do nursing first to gain more skills, although I was advised not to do this as it may come across as though I am not dedicated to the profession, I knew I needed to grow more as a person and as a professional before I tried again. As a result I was successful in gaining a place on my dream course and feel it has made me a more confident and competent practitioner as a result.

What is your favourite film?

The lord of the rings trilogy

What is your favourite song?

Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen

What is your favourite book?

Pride and prejudice- Jane Austen