Maria joined the Trust as a midwife in 1999 and three years ago became the home birth lead - working to support women and their partners as they give birth at home.
Maria said: "We were the first Trust in the country to have a lead for home birth, so it was a bit daunting to begin with. Saying that though, I have always passionately believed that there's nothing quite like a home birth and it's a great start to a life - that belief made it a lot easier."
Maria works full time hours, but is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. She said: "The important thing about being a home birth midwife is that the women I care for have a one-to-one service. They see the same midwife for every appointment and because of that, I have to be flexible in the way that I work. When they need a midwife, they need a midwife - it's that simple.
"I can be called out at any time, day or night but you do get used to it. I've got grown up children and a very understanding husband, so it works for me. It can be demanding, but what matters is that those women and their children get the very best of care.
"My working day begins before I leave the house as I need to organise my diary and plan my day ahead before I set off. I visit people in their homes, so to avoid driving back and forth, I like to get a logical plan organised - although that plan goes straight out of the window if someone goes into labour!"
Despite how demanding it all sounds, Maria is still very passionate about what she does. She said: "I knew for a long time that I wanted to support women in choosing the birth that they want, and that includes offering women and their partners the chance to have a safe birth at home. The NHS offers a fantastic service to those who want to give birth at home, and it's a privilege to be a part of that.
"I have seen some amazing things and I'll always be thankful for that. It's an incredible job and something that I get an enormous sense of satisfaction from."
