Westmeath midwife wins national award

(Above) Midwife Aisling Dixon.

Community midwife Aisling Dixon from Athlone has been awarded the WaterWipes Pure Foundation Fund, which acknowledges excellence in midwifery and nursing.

Aisling was selected for the award by a panel of representatives from WaterWipes, the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Irish Neonatal Health Alliance (INHA).

The Pure Foundation Fund recognises excellence in midwifery and nursing, acknowledging the incredible work of midwives and those nurses involved in the pregnancy, birth and postnatal journey.

Aisling and Bernadette Darcy, of Mayo University Hospital, were selected as the two Irish winners.

To celebrate their outstanding work, each has been awarded a Pure Foundation Fund trophy and €2,500 for their department to continue to improve the care of parents and babies.

Aisling, a self-employed community midwife with the Community Midwives Association, was nominated by colleague and fellow midwife Nanni Schluenz.

Aisling enables women to access homebirths, as well as support them in the hospital for post-natal check-ups and appointments.

Evidence-based care and woman-centred services are key tenets of Aisling’s work and she strongly believes in providing women with the information they need for making personal choices in their pregnancy journey. Nanni said, "It is incredible what she gives to midwives, mothers and babies equally."

Responding to the announcement, Aisling said: "I am so grateful to my colleagues in the Community Midwives Association for nominating me and to WaterWipes for this award.

"My love for normality in pregnancy and birth and breastfeeding began during my midwifery training and I remain very passionate about providing midwifery-led continuity of care to women. I am delighted that this bursary will help midwives support home births across the country."

Judging panel member Ailbhe O'Briain, WaterWipes HCP Marketing Manager UK & Ireland commented: "We were thrilled to see so many outstanding nominees who are doing incredible work across the country and it was a very challenging decision for the judging panel to select two winners.

"This has truly been a year like no other and so many healthcare practitioners have risen to the challenge. We set up the WaterWipes Pure Foundation Fund to recognise the hard work of midwives and nurses involved in baby and infant care – Aisling and Bernadette are true champions of their profession," she said.