Sharon Cooling has now retired from Swansea Bay after almost half a century of service. Since 2016 she has worked with colleague Katie Wintle.
What neither of them realised was that it was Sharon who delivered Katie when she was born in Singleton Hospital in 1995. The coincidence only came to light after Katie herself became pregnant.
“I had worked with Sharon for so long, learning so much from her all the while, we didn’t know our special past,” said 29-year-old Katie.
“Now we’ve found this out, it means so much to both of us.”
Now a midwife sonographer, Katie initially studied law but loved to care for people and wanted to make a career out of it.
She trained as a midwife in Bournemouth and later moved back to Swansea to work in Singleton Hospital in 2016. From that time on, Katie and Sharon worked alongside each other on the labour ward.
Katie added: “I learned so much from Sharon, she is such an icon. If you want to know something or needed help on the ward, she was the person to go to. Everything is in line, and she does everything by the book.”
Sharon recently retired from Swansea Bay UHB after almost 49 years of service. Her NHS career started in 1975 when she was aged 17, before going on to train as a student midwife in 1984 and qualifying in 1986. She worked as a midwife in the Swansea Bay area ever since.
It was Katie who discovered that Sharon was her mum Sally’s midwife. The story came to light when Katie was pregnant with her son, Luca.
Katie and her family were reminiscing on old photographs of the day she was born and noticed a familiar face.
“I immediately knew who that was. Straight away I knew it was Sharon,” said Katie.
Her mum Sally had sent Sharon a copy of the photograph after Katie was born.
Sharon said: “As soon as I saw the photograph, I instantly recognised it and pulled out my copy. I have a box of things that women have given to me over years. I remember the day Katie was born, the room we were in and her parents really clearly.
“I was very surprised to learn this after working together for so long. It’s not every day that you come across someone who pursued the same career as you, and that you were there when they were born.”
[Lead image: Swansea Bay University Health Board]
