Alison Clarke, who was awarded midwife of the year at an ACT Health ceremony on Thursday night, says her work with couples whose babies are stillborn or suffer neonatal death is actually very rewarding.
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As well as helping those with high risk pregnancies, Ms Clarke is the perinatal loss co-ordinator at the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children.
"That side of things is a little bit more challenging, especially for late stillbirths when the family sit there at the end of their pregnancy and think they are going to have a beautiful baby but are told their baby has died, and it's devastating," she said.
Mothers who find out their baby has died are in shock and often want caesarean births, Ms Clarke said.
"Their automatic reaction is I need to protect my other children, death is really scary."
Ms Clarke says her approach is to have a "day of death" and "a day of birth" when she encourages the mothers to meet their baby and introduce them to their other children or family.
"We give them ideas to meet their baby and introduce them to others, their children know something has gone wrong" she said.
Ms Clarke says she gets the most reward out of making that difficult time easier, and even special.
"It is very sad but how those families are managed during that time – learning their baby has died, the birth of their baby and spending special time with their baby, can actually come out as a more positive experience for them," Ms Clarke said.
Joining Ms Clarke was Ann Marie Dunk, a wound care specialist nurse from Canberra Hospital, who was awarded nurse of the year.
Ms Dunk was recognised for leading work that resulted in reductions to the numbers of hospital-acquired pressure injuries.
