70-year-old midwife hailed an 'NHS Hero' for delivering babies on lifeboats

Delivering babies on lifeboats in the early hours of the morning are all in a day’s work for 70-year-old Betty MacIntyre, who has delivered hundreds of babies in extreme circumstances for 50 years.

Betty MacIntyre hailed an 'NHS Hero'. Credit NHS Heroes Awards

The NHS Highland Rural Midwife has travelled by car, ferry, helicopter, lifeboat and even quad bike to reach expectant mums in the Scottish Western Isles.

On 21 May, she was honoured for her incredible service at ‘The NHS Heroes Awards’, which marked the National Health Service's 70th birthday.

Ms MacIntyre, from Oban, covers North Argyll and four remote islands. She said: “It is a huge privilege to have helped a baby into the world and each one of those babies is special to me.

“We’ve had some harrowing journeys going over on the lifeboat and the ferry. Depending on the weather you can get absolutely soaked to the skin, but I love the drama of it all. It’s a very special job and a joy to help a baby into the world.”

Throughout her career, she has delivered a baby in a horsebox, on a pier and three generations of families. She is also specially trained in emergency obstetrics and carries additional life-saving hospital equipment because she is often hours from specialist medical support.

“There have been many times where babies have been born not breathing and I’ve had to resuscitate them,” she added. “When you hear that baby cry there is nothing like it.”

Ms MacIntyre and her team deliver an average of 500 babies every year, including 50 born on remote island homesteads and farms.

She builds a relationship with each of her patients so they feel supported and comfortable giving birth at home, and even offers FaceTime appointments and virtual breastfeeding advice online.

Despite battling cancer ten years ago, which forced her into early retirement, she returned to work once she got the all-clear. She now works as a bank midwife at least three days a week.

“I thought ‘I can’t not do this!’ I feel like I could go on for another 10 years. I’ve delivered hundreds of babies and each one is special. We’re like one big family and I’ve loved every minute of it,” she said.

At the NHS Heroes Awards, which aired on ITV on 21 May, Prince William paid tribute to all NHS staff and volunteers, saying: “We owe you all a huge thank you,” adding, “the National Health Service is one of our country’s greatest treasures and something we should all be immensely proud of.

“Perhaps the most wonderful thing about the NHS is its people. The skill, care and dedication they provide every day is truly inspirational."