Mairead Martin is awarded €10,000 bursary

Senior Midwife, Mairead Martin, from Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda has been announced as this year’s winner of the WaterWipes annual Pure Foundation Fund, which celebrates the achievements of healthcare professionals working in maternity, neonatal and postnatal care.

Mairead, who has cared for thousands of women and families over her lengthy career, has been awarded a €10,000 bursary to advance the care of expectant and new parents and their babies. 

Having worked as a midwife for 32 years, Mairead’s colleague Rachel Gallagher nominated Mairead for her outstanding care given to women and families across Drogheda.

“To me; Mairead is the true meaning of a midwife” Rachel said. “Mairead has an infectious personality, so you can't help but be drawn to her warm and caring nature. Mairead is heavily involved in providing education to women and families and leads the way in all aspects of antenatal education, birth preparation, breastfeeding, and postnatal care.”  

When asked how she felt about being nominated for this year’s Pure Foundation Fund, Mairead said “I was absolutely thrilled about the award, and humbled by the fact that not only Rachel, but so many other of my Midwifery and Healthcare Assistant colleagues had done so as well.

“The staff of the Midwife Led Unit, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, are an amazing team of Midwives, Healthcare Assistants, and student midwives who go above and beyond every single day to provide the best care to women and their babies during the antenatal, intrapartum, and postnatal period.”  

Mairead will be donating her prize money to fund a resumption of water births, in appropriate circumstances, in the Labour ward at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. She also plans to help fund essential training for Midwives, to enhance the quality and scope of the care that they already give to women attending for the antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal continuum.  

WaterWipes^® encouraged parents and healthcare professionals to nominate individuals who played crucial roles in pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care and made a difference in the lives of parents and babies. WaterWipes® received over 360 nominations for this year’s Pure Foundation Fund across the UK and Ireland. The Irish winner was selected by a panel including representatives from WaterWipes^® and charity partners Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Irish Neonatal Health Alliance (INHA).  

Ailbhe O’Briain, HCP Marketing Manager UK & Ireland at WaterWipes^® commented “Reading this year’s inspirational nominations reminds us all why we are all so passionate about supporting maternal, neonatal and postnatal healthcare professionals in the UK and Ireland with the Pure Foundation Fund. We have been so touched by the incredible stories of these individuals who go above and beyond to provide excellent care for parents and their babies. They truly are our ‘Great Protectors’ and we are delighted to support the further improvement of care with the award of this year’s bursary funds.”  

Commenting on this year’s Pure Foundation Fund, Steve Pitman, Head of Education and Professional Development INMO and a member of the judging panel, said “The standard of nurses and midwives nominated for the Pure Foundation Fund Bursary Award was extremely high again this year. This exemplifies the commitment of nurses and midwives to providing compassionate and quality care to babies and their families in Ireland. The INMO would like to congratulate Mairead on winning the Award and all those that were nominated. Mairead was nominated by her colleagues and is an example of a midwife committed to caring for women and babies and a champion for midwifery.”  

For more information about this year’s winner and the WaterWipes® Pure Foundation Fund, please visit www.waterwipes.com/uk/en/community/pure-foundation-fund-2022.