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A midwife who appeared on One Born Every Minute had an affair with a man whose partner she cared for during childbirth.

Joanne Lumsden worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital, where she featured on the Channel 4 reality show and is understood to have delivered hundreds of Liverpool women’s babies, but failed to declare a conflict of interest.

The mum, who asked not be identified by the ECHO, said she is now ‘haunted’ by the thought of Lumsden holding her newborn daughter - after having had an affair with the baby’s father.

Shortly before Rachel (not her real name) discovered she was pregnant, her partner went on a “lads’ holiday” to Benidorm, where he met Ms Lumsden - who now faces ongoing disciplinary action and is no longer employed by the hospital.

When he returned from the holiday, Rachel said he started acting “strangely” and making excuses to miss scans and appointments related to the pregnancy.

Last summer, Rachel was admitted to the Women’s for a planned caesarian section - but her partner missed the birth of his first child.

Rachel believes this was due to fear of having his affair with Ms Lumsden exposed.

Rachel’s claims are detailed in an official complaint she made to the Women’s Hospital trust, which has been seen by the ECHO.

In Rachel’s letter of complaint, she claims Ms Lumsden cared for her and her newborn daughter - holding the baby and even inserting a suppository into Rachel’s rectum for pain relief.

Rachel said she feels ‘violated’ by what happened and that any happy memories of the birth of her daughter have been tainted.

The day after the birth, when Rachel’s partner had left the ward, Rachel claims Ms Lumsden revealed she met her partner in Benidorm, telling of how she had “rubbed suncream” into his back.

This revelation came just hours after Rachel had given birth, and while she was recovering from major surgery in hospital.

A week later, when a community midwife visited Rachel’s home, the new mum claims she broke down in tears and told her what had happened. Rachel claims Ms Lumsden later called her and revealed the details of the affair - while she was still under the care of Liverpool Women’s Hospital.

The ECHO understands Ms Lumsden no longer works at the Women’s, and the community midwife is also the subject of disciplinary proceedings. The details of that disciplinary case are not known.

Rachel first sent her letter of complaint in November, after she finished breastfeeding and felt able to take the emotional strain. This week, in a letter seen by the ECHO, the Trust apologised for her ordeal and informed her the complaint was upheld.

A spokesperson for Liverpool Women’s Hospital Trust said: “Whilst we cannot discuss the detail of individual cases due to patient confidentiality, we can confirm that disciplinary proceedings were undertaken by the Trust as a result of two members of staff’s conduct.

“The Trust took this action immediately upon being made aware of the incident and an internal investigation was also conducted.

“The disciplinary process undertaken with the members of staff involved is now being dealt with by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC).

“The patient also made a formal complaint to the Trust and we have been in regular communication with them throughout the complaints process.

“We would like to apologise for the upset caused to the patient as a result of their experience.”

The Nursing and Midwifery Council were contacted for comment, but were unable to issue a statement on whether there was an ongoing investigation into Ms Lumsden or the community midwife.

Ms Lumsden previously appeared on One Born Every Minute, being quoted in promotional material for the show saying: “I get to experience the miracle of childbirth every day, and watch couples become a family.”

Speaking to the ECHO about her ordeal, Rachel said: “As a mum who was looking forward to the birth of her last baby, I was subjected to the most horrific ordeal any mother to be could ever imagine.

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“As any woman about to give birth to their baby would understand, I put my utmost trust and confidence into the hands of a midwife who I thought was a medical professional with mine and my daughter’s best interests at heart.”

She added that she believes: “This has amounted to the destruction of a family. Ms Lumsden chose to ignore a series of opportunities to declare the conflict of interest in the many months, weeks and days leading up to the birth of my daughter. Instead she took matters into her own hands and made sure she was present that day.

“As a woman, I am now left with a life-long memory of the midwife holding my new-born baby in her arms with the knowledge that she was having sexual relations with my baby’s father during my pregnancy and being fully aware that I was under the care of her place of work.”

Rachel said: “This will haunt me for as long as I live. This woman held my baby in her arms knowing that she had engaged in recent sexual activity with her father.”

Ms Lumsden was repeatedly approached for comment by the ECHO before publication of this article, but did not respond.

Since publication Ms Lumsden has stated that her professional obligations of patient confidentiality prevent her from doing so.

Back in 2013 the Women’s hospital tweeted its congratulations to Ms Lumsden, who was at that point one baby away from delivering 500 babies.

The ECHO understands Rachel and her former partner are no longer together.

Now a mum-of-four, Rachel’s new daughter is the couple’s first child together - and her partner’s only child. Despite this, he missed out on important appointments and the birth of his daughter for fear of having his affair exposed.

Rachel described her ordeal was ‘horrific’ - but said she decided to share her story in the hope no other women have the experience anything like it.

Now Rachel said she is trying to focus on being positive and staying strong for her children, and that she is looking forward to the future.