TWO mums had their own special reasons to be thankful for the skills of health workers on International Day of the Midwife.
Both Debbie Black and Stella Cherry gave birth to baby boys within the comfort of their own homes on Bank Holiday Monday.
But while Mrs Cherry's was a planned home birth, Mrs Black's first child came somewhat unexpectedly.
"We had been planning to have a water birth at the City Hospital," said Mrs Black, 33, of Kenrick Road, Mapperley.
"We went there at around 2am and the midwife examined me and said I wasn't in fully established labour, and I was sent home. It was just one of those things.
"We'd returned home by 3am and within two hours, things had progressed very, very quickly. We rang the hospital to go back in but it had got to the point of no return.
"After that, it was a 999 job."
Mrs Black gave birth to son Dexter Christopher in her bed at 6.58am on Monday.
Her husband, Leon, 38, and mother-in-law were at her side, as were paramedics and two community midwives.
Dexter weighed 7lb 8oz and arrived two days early.
Mrs Black, who works for city centre-based health and social care recruitment agency Cardea Resourcing, said she would consider planning a home birth in the future.
She said: "Because we were prepared for a hospital birth, it never entered my head that I could have him at home. Dexter just didn't want to wait.
"The paramedics and two midwives were amazing and kept me calm.
"They told me what was going on and that everything was OK.
"They were just really reassuring and really professional."
Mrs Cherry, meanwhile, gave birth to son Benjamin David at home in Eastwood on Monday.
He is a second son for Mrs Cherry, 25, and husband Jake 28, and arrived at 11.41am.
He weighed 9lb 2oz and was five days early, with Mrs Cherry also giving birth on her bed.
She said: "My first one was a hospital birth but we planned for this one to be at home.
"The first time, it was quite a rush to get to hospital but this was a lot more relaxed.
"It was nicer to give birth at home."
After two examinations in the early hours, two qualified midwives and a trainee midwife all helped to deliver Benjamin safely.
Around 200 babies are born at home in Nottingham every year.
NUH currently has around 70 community midwives operating in and around the city.
Carole Posaner, a community midwife team manager with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We are really striving to increase the number of home births and give mums the choice of not just giving birth at the QMC or City Hospital."
She added: "I think it's wonderful that they had births on what happened to be International Day of the Midwife. It's a day when we try to remember midwives for what they do and have done for us."
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