London Ambulance Service midwife reflects on “humbling” relief mission in hurricane-hit Jamaica

A midwife from London Ambulance Service has returned from a six-week humanitarian mission in Jamaica, where she helped care for pregnant women and new born babies.

Deploying after disaster

Camella Main flew to the island with the UK Emergency Medical Team to help care for communities left devastated by Hurricane Melissa – the strongest storm to hit Jamaica.

UK‑Med, a frontline medical charity, manages the UK Emergency Medical Team (UK EMT) for the UK Government, delivering emergency healthcare in humanitarian crises.

Born in a carpark

One of the most challenging moments in her deployment was when a woman at 30 weeks pregnant arrived in a remote mobile clinic where Camella was working. The woman promptly delivered the baby in a carpark.

Camella said: “The baby was gasping but then stopped breathing. I had minimal equipment and there was no ambulance available but we improvised with what we had and got them to hospital.

“Both the mother and baby survived and are doing well.”

“An honour to help”

Hospitals and clinics had been flattened, electricity supplies were unreliable, and access to clean drinking water and fresh food was extremely limited.

She said: “It was such an honour to be asked to help. Pregnant women are the most vulnerable in a disaster – they can’t necessarily get out of harm’s way; some will be giving birth as the disaster strikes.

“As soon as I heard about the hurricane, my first thoughts were for the women and their babies.”

Temporary clinics under gazebos

Many of the island’s midwives were juggling looking after patients and trying to salvage what they could from their destroyed homes.

Camella said: “It was so upsetting to see so much devastation – people are continuing to struggle to meet their basic needs.

“I worked in mobile clinics which meant setting up a gazebo and using a sun lounger as a bed to check over patients.

“I was seeing more than 20 women and babies a day – some for antenatal appointments and some postnatal.

Extreme situations

At London Ambulance Service, midwives provide specialist expertise by supporting ambulance clinicians with maternity training; developing guidelines; and improving care for pregnant women and newborns in emergency situations.

Her experience working for an emergency service proved invaluable during the charity-funded mission.

She said: “We saw some extreme situations in Jamaica and working in emergency care at home and learning from my ambulance colleagues in London really helped.”

UKEMT were deployed across Jamaica to support overwhelmed health services, providing emergency medical care and helping restore essential maternity provision in the hardest-hit areas.

Reflecting on her time in Jamaica, Camella said: “It was tough at times but deeply humbling. I was with a great team and I will never forget how grateful and welcoming the Jamaican people were.

“Midwifery is about helping women to become mothers in a safe and empowering way; it was such a privilege to help bring new life into the world in the midst of such devastation, and see how it was bringing hope to those communities.”