Mary Kenny

Community Midwife at St Mary’s Hospital, Manchester

Mary Kenny grew up in Merseyside before moving to London to train as a nurse. 

After 3 years of training Mary began her career as a staff nurse in the Casualty Department and worked there for 18 months before moving into a midwifery training course. She qualified in 1989 and then moved back to the North and joined the midwifery department at St Mary’s Hospital. Initially Mary began as a rotational midwife before finding her niche as a community midwife. 

As a community midwife Mary’s role is to act as a first point of contact for pregnant women to assess, risk manage and arrange their ante-natal and post-natal care. Mary manages a team of 7 staff in a geographic area that covers the ward of Mosside and Hulme. 

Mary also passes her knowledge and skills onto a new generation of student midwives from the University of Manchester. The students are allocated from the University for their clinical practice to train within the Hospital to achieve the required experience to go on the register to be a midwife. 

After a career that has spanned over 20 years Mary’s contribution was recognised in 2010 when she was nominated for the Community Midwife of the Year awarded by the British Journal of Midwifery. The award aims to highlight the work of Community Midwives who provide outstanding maternity care for women in a community setting and who have shown an unfailing commitment to ensure women receive the best antenatal and postnatal care.  

Mary’s long term goals are to increase the home birth delivery rate in her community by informing, encouraging and empowering women through education and support. Above all she wants all women to feel safe and confident during their pregnancy.