Don't Tell Me I Can't…...become A Midwife In My 60s

She’d worked in teaching and finance, but Claire Slater wanted a change

Watching a mum cradle her newborn baby in her arms for the first time, I can hardly believe I helped play a part in bringing this new life into the world. As far as job satisfaction goes, I don’t think it gets any better. It’s strange to think that, as happy as I am, I very nearly ended up never fulfilling this dream.

Growing up in the 1960s, I’d always liked the idea of becoming a midwife because I loved babies. But back then, to become a midwife, you didn’t have to go to university and my parents were keen for me to further my education and get a degree. So, when it came to applying at 18, they encouraged me to follow a career in teaching instead. So that’s what I did.

After leaving university, I worked as a primary school teacher and in November 1975, I met my husband Mark. We married in 1977 and our daughter Elizabeth was born in 1978, followed by John in 1980, Tom in 1984, Rosie in 1987 and Kate in 1989.