Tyrone Midwife makes it on to the cover of Vogue
A midwife from Co. Tyrone has made it on to the cover of Vogue's July issue.
Rachel Miller is one of three women chosen for the edition, which celebrates front-line workers amid the pandemic.
The 24-year-old is currently working as a community midwife at Homerton Hospital in London.
She grew up on a farm in Northern Ireland, and she now lives in Leyton with her best friend.
Rachel gave an interview with Vogue about what it's like working on the front-lines right now.
She said, 'Every week is different. I could be doing night shifts in the birth centre, antenatal clinics seeing women throughout their pregnancies, or postnatal home visits – checking in on couples who have recently left the labour ward with their newborns.'
Rachel continued, 'I also do on-calls for the home birth team which last 24 hours (from 8am to 8am the following day).'
'I just love being with the women in this really special time in their lives.'
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The hardest moment amid the pandemic
Later in the interview, Rachel admitted the hardest moment amid the pandemic was when her bike was stolen.
She said, 'If you’ve ever watched Call the Midwife, you’ll know the importance of two wheels to an east London midwife, especially when we’re desperately trying to avoid public transport.'
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'Having to carry on working for the rest of the week, maintain good morale, and be that reassuring voice to worried parents was made slightly more difficult.'
Thankfully, Rachel has some incredible friends who managed to raise, 'over £500 online to help get [her] back on the road.'
'Another colleague tweeted the story and within an hour, a local company had donated a brand new electric bike.'
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'It’s just one example of the community support and kindness that I’ve seen over the past few months, and what initially drew me to work in Homerton Hospital and the surrounding area,' Rachel said.
'To say that I’m proud of my work family, and my wider community’s response to this pandemic, is an understatement.'
How the interview came about
Rachel spoke to The Irish Times about her Vogue claim to fame this week.
She told them, 'It’s not really every day you see your face plastered over the news and social media.'
The 24-year-old revealed the interview came about after she ran into some photographers at Homerton Hospital, where she works.
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Rachel explained, 'they herded us in front of the camera, and everyone that was working on shift that day got a portrait taken.'
'We got no hair and make-up like the celebrities usually get,' she added.
'At the time, all we knew was that Vogue was doing a feature on key workers during the pandemic and it wasn’t until a few weeks later they decided what portraits would be on the cover.'
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Rachel didn't tell her family about her Vogue cover shoot until its release.
So understandably, they, 'were as shocked as [she] was, only [she] had a month to get used to the news.'
'They’re really happy, really proud. They’re loving it,' Rachel shared.
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Massive congratulations to Rachel on her Vogue cover!
