60 seconds with Alina Lau

22 December 2015

Alina Lau is a specialist bereavement midwife at the Royal Free Hospital (RFH).

What does a specialist bereavement midwife do on a daily basis?

A bereavement midwife is specially trained to support complex emotional and clinical care to a mother who has experienced a pregnancy loss or a neo-natal death. I also provide regular training to all staff who are involved in pregnancy loss.

What’s your greatest personal/career achievement?

My greatest achievement has been the recruitment and training of bereavement champions on the wards, continuing the legacy of specialist care to mother and family.

What’s the best thing about your job?

Creating relationships with the mother and acting as a point of contact for the family should they need further support.

How long have you worked at RFH?

I have worked as a midwife at the RFH since 2009.

What would you say to someone who is thinking of a career in your field?

Understand that midwifery means “to be with woman”.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

You are being kind if you are clear, open and honest.

What’s been your best day at work?

On a quiet night shift when we all had time to sit, laugh and eat cooked food from home.

If you weren’t in your current role, what would you be doing?

I’d be a travel writer.

What can’t you live without?

My kitchen stove.

If you were singing karaoke, what song would you pick?

Otis Reading’s “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”.

If you could time travel, where would you go?

Just before when Apple stocks went boom!