Royal seal of approval: University of Northampton Midwifery student chosen to meet the Princess Royal

A second year Midwifery student from the University of Northampton has been selected to attend a prestigious midwifery conference in December, where she will have the opportunity to meet HRH Princess Royal at a private reception.

Student Lottie Blunden is one of 10 people who have been chosen to meet Princess Anne during the Royal College of Midwives and the European Midwives Association (EMA) annual conference, being held in London on 2-3 December. The Princess Royal is the longstanding patron of the Royal College of Midwives, a role she took on in 2003 following the passing of her grandmother, the Queen Mother.

Lottie was one of hundreds of student midwives from across the UK and Europe who applied to be a student steward at conference. Lottie explained: “My tutors helped me tweak my application, and the Course Leader wrote me a letter of support and I emailed it off, but I was not expecting to hear anything. However, I received an email to say I had been chosen, along with nine other student midwives from Finland, Holland, Denmark, France, the UK and Croatia. I actually don’t know why they have chosen me to meet the Princess Royal – it is a mystery to me!”

Lottie joined the University of Northampton as a mature student after having a family. She explained: “Although I always wanted a challenging, rewarding role, that involved supporting women and providing public service, it wasn’t until I had my youngest children at home and received wonderful midwifery care that I considered becoming a midwife myself.  During my first degree year I have become interested in practice and research that supports normality for women, in low and high risk settings.  I am looking forward to learning more about both at the conference.”

“I think the midwifery programme at Northampton is excellent, and the tutors are very supportive, dedicated and knowledgeable. The taught programme content is very innovative, and well thought out.  I love practice too and have had some excellent mentors in the hospital and community settings.  Being a student midwife is incredibly hard work, but very rewarding!”

Melanie Cole, one of Lottie’s Midwifery lecturers, commented: “Lottie always makes the most of all the learning opportunities available within the BSc (Hons) Midwifery programme and the wider university community. Her positive attitude has resulted in Lottie being selected to be a student steward at the Royal College of Midwives and International European Midwives Conference (EMA) in London. As Lottie’s personal academic tutor it’s great to see her fully embracing our principles of ‘Being Brilliant’ and I look forward to seeing Lottie carrying out her duties at the conference and hearing her share her experience on her return.”

To find out more about the Royal College of Midwives and the European Midwives Association (EMA) annual conference, click here. To find out more about the Midwifery undergraduate course, click here.