Marie Gerrow

Marie Gerrow, one of our community midwives in the Blenheim team, received a DAISY Award in recognition of the exceptional care, thoughtfulness, and compassion she demonstrated with a family with a previous difficult birth.

Her nominator said: "After a highly difficult birth with our first child, Marie has been a shining star throughout the pregnancy and birth of our second. We were very lucky to meet her during our booking appointment, and the relationship grew from there.

"Marie listened closely to us from the start, showing genuine care and paying close attention to the many triggers for myself and my partner. She offered support not just for this pregnancy, but for the previous experience too.

"Marie never told us what decision to take, instead helped us to walk through options, giving us full information and encouraged us when needed. She approached all of our discussions with patience and reassurance, and gave us as much information and discussion to make informed decisions.  She fought battles for us and advocated for us the whole journey, forming a strong bond with the whole family.

"She understood us and understood what we needed. Nothing was ever too much, and we trust Marie wholeheartedly. We believe that Marie epitomises every behaviour you would want in a midwife. Without her we wouldn't have got though the pregnancy and certainly wouldn't have had the positive birth experience we so deeply desired and achieved. I have no doubt that Marie shows the same care to all of the women she looks after.

"She is perfectly suited to dealing with more challenging cases and previous birth trauma. She is also a fantastic role model for the students she supervises. It's very hard to put into words the impact Marie has had, but it is safe to say she has positively impacted every facet of the pregnancy.

"Although in our lives for a short space of time, she's someone we would keep forever - I've struggled to write this and despite multiple iterations I still don't feel that I have the words to adequately acknowledge the scale of the positive impact that Marie has had on our lives."

Congratulations, Marie, and thank you for all you do.