A MIDWIFE is encouraging people to follow their dreams after completing a life-changing volunteer placement at a maternity hospital in Thailand.

Mum-of-two Ozden ‘Ozy’ Cansfield, 36, from Backford in Chester started her dream job at Wirral Women and Children’s Hospital following many years working as cabin crew for Virgin Airlines.

She took the brave decision to quit her comfortable career four years ago and decided to return to education with the hope of turning her dream of being a midwife into a reality.

She completed a foundation course and started a Midwifery degree with the University of Chester which included on the job training at Arrowe Park Hospital.

Ozy then set off on a trip of a lifetime where she spent fifteen days volunteering at a hospital near Bangkok.

She said: “Having been fortunate enough to have had an amazing training experience at Wirral Women and Children’s Hospital, I wanted to expand my horizons by seeing a different approach to midwifery. It was an eye-opening, rewarding and unforgettable time that I will never forget and it really made me appreciate how lucky we are to have our amazing NHS.

“Things are done very differently in Thailand and maternity services are much less developed than they are in the UK. Their care was much less personalised with the same process being followed for all women.

"The hospital had only recently started allowing dads into the delivery room and after being born, babies were placed in shared cots in a separate nursery away from their mothers as opposed to having the skin to skin contact that we strongly encourage in this country.

"However breastfeeding rates are much higher in Thailand and the passion and dedication I witnessed among many of their doctors and midwives was just as strong as that of my colleagues here in Wirral.

"One amazing midwife had only recently had a child herself and I was overwhelmed to see her rushing to express breast milk for her own baby in between delivering other women’s babies.”

Now she has been offered a full time position at Wirral Women and Children’s Hospital in Arrowe Park. 

Reflecting on her achievement Ozy added: “I am so excited to finally be working as a midwife and hope that my journey will inspire anyone hesitating about changing direction.

"The support I received from the Trust throughout all of my training was fantastic; so much so that I never even applied to work anywhere else.

“It was hard work and I sometimes questioned if I could balance my studies with the needs of my family, however friends, relatives, tutors and hospital colleagues consistently helped me to believe in myself.

“Thanks to a bit of determination and a very encouraging husband, I like to think that I’ve shown my children that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.”