Melinda Pagden – Nurture Sheffield

Testimony from Gemma and Mike

Melinda is a truely inspirational person and midwife and I feel blessed to have known her for seven years now. Firstly as a colleague and manager, then friend, therapist (providing reflexology and massage) hypnobirthing teacher and latterly my own midwife throughout the duration of my three pregnancies, labours and births.

During my time working with Melinda in the one to one case loading team I learned some incredibly valuable lessons. She brings real joy and love to the midwifery profession. She is not only extremely knowledgeable but also an outstanding teacher which has subsequently shaped the way I practice as a midwife. She is a wonderful midwife who manages to balance professionalism with genuine warmth, affection and sincerity towards her women. It’s clear she cares a great deal about each mother and baby she helps and always looks out for what is best for both.Throughout each of my pregnancies I have been fortunate enough to have had Melinda’s much needed support and she has helped me birth two of my babies at home. The last one being only five months ago. Her calm presence, knowledge and experience along with her hypnobirthing teaching allowed my birthing experience to be calm and empowering. I cannot recommend Melinda highly enough. For me she embraces everything a true midwife should be- family focused, caring, sensitive, warm sense of humour, and at the same time astute, meticulous and probably the most informed midwife I have ever met. She is an inspiration as a colleague and a friend, I hope to enjoy working with her for many years to come.Gemma Melinda has been the midwife throughout the pregnancies and births of my three children and in each instance she has been nothing short of wonderful. She spent a great deal of time during each pregnancy ensuring that both my wife Gemma and I knew exactly what to expect and that we were fully prepared for the birth of our baby. Thanks to her help and guidance we learned a great deal of relaxation and hypnobirthing techniques which greatly helped during the births. She was a fantastic calming influence on gemma but also ensured I was ok and helped me to be fully involved in the process. Looking back, and from my point of view, each birth was an incredible experience due in no small part to the support we received from Melinda. One final element that stands out for me has been the continued help, support and friendship that Melinda has offered beyond the births and we all think of her as a very dear friend to our family.Mike