One of the six case-studies in our Joyful Jobs cover story this issue, midwife Amina Hatia uses her nurturing instinct to help people flourish as parents via various roles in the NHS and charity sector.
Back in her 20s, Hatia was heading for a career with the BBC as a broadcast journalist. She was already mum to her firstborn daughter, Saraa, following a pregnancy and birth which, she feels, were taken out of her hands. “I did what was expected of me,” she says. “It was OK, but I didn’t really know much about the world, or about myself, and I wasn’t really listened to.”
Her second pregnancy, however, would prove both inspirational and transformative. Says Hatia: “When my second daughter, Amber, was born, I had an amazing midwife, who made me feel so safe that I had a completely different birth experience. I was able to do it without needing pain relief, which was incredibly empowering. I felt like I could climb Mount Everest!
“I saw how having a positive birth experience can be absolutely lifechanging, and I remember thinking: ‘This is what I want to do with my life.’ I started midwifery training two years later.”
Hatia is particularly passionate about supporting disadvantaged parents and those whose native tongue is not English – and has even passed the baton on to her daughter.
Image: Sam Bush
