It is 2am when the phone rings. It's the hospital's maternity team telling me one of my homebirth mums has gone into labour.

I used to worry about waking up when I first joined the team but am instantly awake like someone's flicked a switch.

I pull on my blue scrubs, go downstairs and ring the mother and hospital to say I'm on my way. I'm joined by a second midwife at the mother's home as we always work in pairs.

Midwifery is a very intuitive profession and on arrival I gauge how the mother is feeling both mentally and physically.

Childbirth is the most natural thing in the world and things unfold at their own pace at home whereas hospital deliveries can take place in a more pressured environment.

The fastest birth has been 20 minutes after I've arrived and the longest more than 24 hours. Once the baby is delivered, I put her skin-to-skin with the mother and give mum and dad some time alone. I later offer the father the option of cutting the cord although some mums do it themselves.

It's a beautiful time. I always feel elated after a birth. It's a real privilege to be part of the most intimate and life-affirming moment of a woman's life.

I help mum have a shower and get into bed with her newborn. I always stay for a couple of hours to make sure there is no further bleeding and mum passes water.

I then head back to the hospital, restock the car with any materials and spend around one-and-a-half hours writing up my notes and booking an appointment for the newborn.

It's only a five-minute drive home. My son is interested in what I do and always asks how things have gone and whether his earlier prediction of whether it is a boy or girl is right. He's got a pretty good average of 75%.

I came to midwifery relatively late after spending most of my nursing career in intensive care. I had to retrain and took a considerable pay drop but it was well worth it. People often procrastinate about a career change later in life but to do something you really love is well worth a leap of faith.

The biggest challenge is juggling my role as a midwife and advocate of the mother with that of the obstetricians who often prefer births to take place in the controlled environment of a hospital

Hillingdon hospital delivers around 4,000 babies a year but only a fraction of these are home births. What is important is to give the mother the choice of where she wants to give birth.

Every mum is told about our team when they initially book with our hospital for a check-up and make a decision from there. If they agree to a home birth, they come under our care for the duration.

I am right where I want to be at the moment and love what I do. In future, I would probably like to be a private midwife. It's not like you are ever going to be out of work.

I always reflect on my day's work and ask myself how it went, what I have learned and what I can do better next time. The birth of a child is the most important event in an adult's life and I want to help mum and dad have the best possible experience.

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