A mother of four who is a newly-qualified midwife has been awarded runner-up prize at a national award ceremony.

Sally Seaman, who works at West Middlesex Hospital, was awarded second prize in the category Student Midwife of the Year at the British Journal of Midwifery Practice Awards 2007.

Mrs Seaman is a direct entry midwife who did not train as a nurse first. She enrolled as a student midwife at West Mid after the birth of her fourth child.

She showed exceptional quality as a student and had several articles on midwifery published, before going on to gain a first in her midwifery degree.

Speaking about why she decided to train as a midwife, she said: "Having had four children, I found that the care that my midwives gave me was fantastic and really inspired me to take it up as a new career.

"The support that I have received at the West Mid throughout has been excellent. I am really pleased that my training has gone so well and am looking forward now to starting work as a qualified midwife."

Tonie Neville, associate director for midwifery and quality, said: "Sally has been a student of exceptionally high quality and we are all really pleased that she received recognition for her work at the Midwifery Practice Awards.

She will be a great asset for the Queen Mary Maternity Unit and I look forward to her working here for a long time to come."