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AFTER the tragedy of having a stillborn daughter, a woman wanted to reward the care given to her by a Guildford midwife by putting her forward for a national award.

Claire Cardu, senior midwife at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, has been shortlisted for the Mother and Baby Magazine Big Heart Awards in the best healthcare professional category, after she was nominated by Sophia Mason, who lost her baby Chloe three days before her due date in 2009.

Sophia, of Burden Way in Guildford, said she now considered Claire a close friend because of the service she gave to her and her partner Dan Wyatt.

“Claire spent many hours with us and also our families,” said the 35-year-old.

“She made the worst, hardest, most painful days of our lives as bearable as she could. She was understanding, clear and most importantly, she was honest.”

In the following months, Claire was on hand to answer Sophia’s questions, to reassure her and give her hope for the future,

Sophia, who lost her legs and some fingers when she was 16 after contracting meningitis, thought she would never have the courage to go through another pregnancy but changed her mind because of the midwife’s support.

In September 2010, Sophia found out she was expecting again, but 36 weeks into the pregnancy she noticed a reduction in the baby’s movement.

Sophia, who is a make-up artist, said: “Claire insisted my baby was delivered as soon as possible. Claire was my rock – she was there whenever I got scared.”

Her son George was born by emergency caesarean section at 11.11pm on May 18 last year, weighing 6lb 8oz,

Sophia said: “This time my baby opened his eyes and stared at me – it was the best feeling in my life and know I owe it to Claire.

“They saw that my placenta was failing and if George hadn’t been delivered that night I may well have lost him too.”

She nominated Claire for the award because she wanted her to receive the recognition she "so rightly deserves".

“I know I am just one mum who has been blessed to have been cared for by this wonderful midwife,” she said.

“When I lost Chloe, it was obviously a very difficult time but I noticed that some staff had different bedside manners – there were discussions where things were said to me which I will take to my grave and really upset me, while others were a lot more humane and caring.

“Claire has so much sympathy and experience and is such a caring person. I went through one of the worst things people can go through in their lives but my experience was much easier because of her.”

Claire, who trained at the University of Surrey and has been a midwife for almost seven years, said it was "really lovely" to have been nominated.

“Any midwife tries to give the best service they can,” she said. “I think we all try really hard to give people a positive experience when they come in, but when someone has lost a baby it’s even more important.

"I felt so much for Sophia when she came in – I heard her story about having meningitis and felt so sad for her when she lost her baby. It’s nice that she has had a happy ending after all the things she has had to deal with.”

The 39-year-old, who has two children of her own and lives in Petersfield, said she loved all aspects of her job, adding; “It can be difficult when a woman loses a baby but it can still be rewarding because you want to make such a tragic time just that little bit easier to cope with.”

After losing her daughter, Sophia set up the awareness campaign Count the Kicks, which is now a registered charity that aims to improve mothers’ knowledge and confidence during pregnancy.

Sophia said: “Claire was a huge inspiration for me to do this as I believe by working with midwives and ensuring mums are confident and empowered they will be able to call for assistance if they are ever concerned throughout their pregnancy.

"I have been left with scars that will never heal but thanks to Claire, I have managed to rebuild and have another baby.”

The pair will travel to the London Hilton Hotel on Monday (January 16) for the awards ceremony, where the winners of the different categories will be announced.