Cathy Fraser, midwife and lactation consultant has retired after 32 years at Echuca Regional Health.
Photo by
Bree Lambert
After 43 years in nursing, 36 in midwifery and 32 of those spent at Echuca Regional Health, midwife and lactation consultant Cathy Fraser is hanging up the scrubs on a career that has seen her care for the babies of mums she supported many years ago.
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For Ms Fraser, the best part about being a midwife is working with families and continuing to care and support them beyond the hospital room through home visits.
“I get to see people with three or four kids,” she said.
After moving into home care about eight years ago as a midwife and lactation consultant, her role took her beyond the hospital walls and into the community, travelling as far as Mathoura, Elmore and Stanhope.
“Some days we could do a couple of hundred kilometres.”
She became a familiar face in the living rooms of new parents, providing support during the early days of parenthood and a child’s life.
Today, Ms Fraser finds herself being recognised by mothers, as babies born about 30 years ago at the beginning of her ERH career, are now having babies of their own.
Reminiscing on her career, Ms Fraser said that despite being warned by her mum, who is also a nurse, about going into the profession because of the shift work, she eventually gravitated in her mum’s footsteps.
Her journey to midwifery and lactation wasn’t straightforward, initially spending two years studying physiotherapy before realising it wasn’t for her and later discovered her passion for midwifery.
Reflecting on her time at ERH, Ms Fraser said that more than half her life has been spent within the hospital’s walls and, in particular, the Rose Baker Wing in the old ERH maternity unit.
“I can remember every inch of that ward because I was there for 20 years,” Ms Fraser said.
From navigating the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic where consultations took place over the phone and from the car or masked up in family homes, to supporting new mothers, her presence in the community has touched the lives of many families.
As she leaves behind the maternity unit for a well-earned retirement, Ms Fraser looks forward to spending her time with family and travelling.
Her farewell was marked with a celebration, where maternity unit manager Karen Taylor honoured her service with a poem, thanking her for her contributions to ERH and wishing her well in her next chapter.
Karen Taylor maternity unit manager and midwifery team presented Cathy Fraser with a farewell gift for her 32-year service at ERH.
Photo by
Bree Lambert
