KATHERINE Ryan would have trained as midwife if her career in comedy hadn’t worked out.
The Canadian star said she discovered her fascination for the job after giving birth to her daughter Violet, 14, when she was at the start of her career.
In an exclusive interview at The Sun’s Who Cares Wins Awards, Katherine, 40, said: “I always say that if I could do anything in life that could bring me true satisfaction in life it would be midwifery.
“They are like good cop and bad cop.
“I had a midwife who was like, ‘Whatever you want,’ and I had another who was like, ‘No, this is what we’re going to do,’ and I think I would definitely be the bad cop.
“I would love to do it if I was a bit smarter, well maybe a bit stronger and a lot smarter.”
Katherine, who also has a son, Fred, two, and a nine-month-old daughter, Fenna, gave birth to all three of her children in the UK.
Praising her experience of having her children under NHS care, Katherine, said: “Violet was born in an NHS hospital, almost in a mini cab and I didn’t have a midwife because I came in in such a rush, it was all a blur.
“With Fred we had planned to have him at home but we decided I was too old so we went to hospital and he was delivered by a midwife.
“And for Fenna, we just decided we loved midwives so much that we would give birth at home and we just had a totally midwife-led birth with Fenna.”
The tot, who was born in December, was born back to back – with Katherine admitting she thought she would have had to have an emergency C-Section if she was in hospital.
She added: “Fenna was born in a way we call sunny side up. It was a longer labour but the midwives were there until 3am and they got her out.
“I think if I had been giving birth, consultant led, in hospital I think someone would have said, enough is enough, time to go in.”
Katherine, who had a civil partnership with her partner and the father of Fred and Fenna in December 2019, Bobby Koostra, said she formed a close bond with the midwife who helped with her last delivery.
She said: “I am still friends with my midwife.
“She lives near me, we are still in contact, it is a very close relationship. It is very tribal giving birth.”
Katherine handed out the Best Midwife prize to Valentina Burnett during the Who Cares Wins Awards, which aired on Channel 4 last night.
Valetina was nominated by Natalie Doyle, who suffered a bleed on her brain when she was 39 weeks pregnant.
Natalie collapsed at home and was in a coma while her daughter, Gracie, was delivered by C-section.
Valetina, who had surgery for a brain tumour in 2018, cared for Gracie until Natalie was well enough.
Katherine heaped praise on Valentina and said more needed to be done to celebrate the work by the country’s 57,000 midwives.
She said: “Dealing with such a new vulnerable life would terrify even the strongest of people and they stay cool and get the job done.
“Midwives turn it around, they get the job done and then they are teaching you to breastfeed.
“They are doing the jobs of ten doctors. Midwives are transformative and often life-saving.
“There are many unsung heroes in the NHS and midwives should be counted among them.”
