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It was close to midday when THE STAR team visited the labour room at the Victoria Jubliee Hospital earlier this week.

A team of nurses was observed keeping an eye on the few heavily pregnant women, some of whom were hours away from giving birth. Overseeing the shift was Sandy Robinson-Harriot, a soft-spoken and warm midwife, who told the news team that she is living her dream.

"I love what I do and I love it here at Jubilee. I look forward to serving my country and the Jamaican people with every shift," she said. Robinson-Harriot, a mother of two, said she has delivered more than 500 babies since she first entered the delivery room in 2017.

"As I progressed in life, I realised that my passion lay in becoming a midwife, so I left my corporate job and went to Kingston School of Nursing and then I came to Jubilee. I remember the first time I did a delivery and at that time I was a student [so] I was assisted with that delivery. And the moment I heard the baby cry, it was just a joy to me and I knew it was an experience I wanted to have for a lifetime," she said.

Midwifery is more than a career and a pay cheque for Robinson-Harriot, who said she often develops a relationship with her patients. She recalled an instance where she worked overtime to offer comfort to a nervous patient.

"I remember just seeing fear and anxiety in the mother's eyes. I met her in the labour room but she needed a C-section and she told me she would want me to be there with her in the room. So I asked my supervisor if they would allow me to do that overtime, and it was granted. I was there with her during the C-section and that was everything to her, and I felt good knowing that I could offer her some comfort. The baby was small but was okay, and he went to the nursery. From that time I have been following up that baby up to today," she said.

Robinson-Harriot said that she would use her break periods to visit the newborn at the nursery daily.

"I did that just to ensure that his mommy got him to go home with him. I saw the baby recently and I just remember how he touched my face like he was saying that he know this voice," she said.

The endings are not always happy though. She recalled a situation where she had to take two days off from work to grieve.

"I had a passion and I loved that baby. His mother named him Prince and he was my baby Prince. The first time I saw him at the nursery, I had an attachment to him. He was there with us for almost six months because he had some respiratory distress. I made it my duty that every day when I come to work, they assigned me to the nursery and I was assigned to this particular baby. If there was a day I wasn't assigned to him, I would stand over who was attending to him just to ensure that he got care," she said.

Unfortunately, baby Prince passed away on her day off, and the midwife said her colleagues had a difficult time breaking the news to her.

"When I heard the news, I couldn't come to work for two days and I bawled. My colleagues couldn't call me to tell me what I happened but I remember just being at home and I felt like something was wrong, and I called to check up on the baby. My colleagues keep telling that they would call me back. When I eventually heard the news, I instantly felt sick. When I returned to work and looked in the room and I realised that my Prince was not there, tears just flowed," she said.

Between the excruciating labour pains and other personal stress, the midwife said staff are sometimes faced with patients showcasing aggressive tendencies. However, Robinson-Harriot stated that she has her own methods of diffusing the tension.

"We look at each individual differently. When we have a patient who is being a bit rebellious, we find ways how to deal with them and soften them. We are teachers, and I know that we care for persons from different backgrounds, and sometimes the aggression that they show comes from home. So my job is to be there for them and help them to function," she said.

"Just knowing that I get a baby that is healthy and just the mother telling me thanks, is fulfilling for me. It warms my heart," she added.