Poole Maternity Unit sister carries babies for same family

Twenty six years ago, Caroline Boyd of the Poole Maternity Unit helped a mum and her baby Lydia to their car.

Baby Lydia Armstrong is now all grown up and Caroline has now helped mum Lydia and her new baby to the car.

Lydia and baby Reggie (Image: UGC)

University Hospital Dorset posted a picture of the family on its Facebook page to celebrate 75 years of the NHS and the post has had thousands of likes. 

Caroline said: “It was a great privilege to be a part of this moment for this family again 26 years later.”

Caroline was a student nurse in 1997 when Lydia was born, she qualified in 1999 and five years ago transferred to a ward that helps premature and underweight babies.

Lydia worked on the midwifery ward and while at her mum’s house, she found the photo from 1997 and asked one of her colleagues if Caroline was still working there.

Lydia started training as a midwife in 2021, she soon transferred to support worker on post-natal and remet Caroline, when she did her interview and Caroline is now her boss.

Lydia said: “I’ve always liked jobs in care, I originally was going to do a career in dance and was gutted I would not be going down the midwifery route.”

A little while after transferring, Lydia mentioned the photo to Caroline and in October 2022 Lydia found out she was pregnant.

When Lydia announced her pregnancy, she and Caroline arranged to recreate photo when baby Reggie was born.

Caroline said: “I feel like I have to take all of Lydia’s descendants to the car now.”

Baby Reggie was born on Tuesday June 27, 2023, weighing 9lbs, Lydia says they are both doing very well and he’s very good baby.

Caroline enjoys her ward and says a maternity ward is the happier side of a hospital and it is nice to see people “come in as a couple and leave as a family”.