What an amazing woman Nicolette ("Colly" to her family) Peel was - and an incredible example of courage and determination, to her family, as well as to so many of her friends, colleagues, and parents whose babies she helped to bring into this world.
Nicolette Jennifer Kemp Moore was born on the 29th of March 1972 in Newton Abbot, Devon, and died on the 31st of January 2023 in Tameside.
As a young woman she trained as a primary school teacher in Leeds then Scarborough, then worked as a teacher and special needs teacher. In 1998, she went to Vietnam with Voluntary Service Overseas to work on a primary school teacher-training project. She returned with the man who later became her husband, James Peel, and they had three children; Joe, Ella and Frankie.
Between Ella and Frankie, the family moved to Spain and it was there in 2007 that Nicolette was first diagnosed with breast cancer. She and the family returned home for treatment and so began their cancer journey, which came to an end earlier this year.
Nicolette was a fighter and was determined to make the best of whatever life had to give her. Very soon after Frankie was born, she was diagnosed with a recurrence of her breast cancer, and it was then that she met and became friendly with Mair Wallroth, who sadly died from cancer very soon after the birth of her second child.
In memory of her friend, Nicolette set up a charity, Mummy’s Star, with Mair’s widowed husband, Pete Wallroth, in 2013. This is the only charity in the UK and Ireland dedicated to supporting mothers and birthing people diagnosed with cancer during pregnancy or within 12 months of giving birth, and their families, aiming to offer advice, support and financial assistance.
Nicolette decided to retrain to become a professional midwife at the University of Salford, achieving a first-class honours degree in 2016. She immersed herself in all aspects of midwifery and commented that her first birth as a student midwife struck her as extraordinary because of the connection it afforded her with the woman in labour.
“To be there with her, coach her through it, and show her that she could do it was poignant,” she explained in one interview. In midwifery, Nicolette had found her true calling, and was known and respected among her peers for the level of care and compassion she offered all of those she cared for.
In that same year, Nicolette was awarded the RCM President’s Volunteer Award, becoming the first student midwife to speak at the RCM conference, where she was given a standing ovation. This was followed by the prestigious Chief Midwifery Gold Award in 2018 which was presented to her by Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent, The Chief Midwifery Officer for England. This was only the third time that this award had been given, such were Nicolette’s achievements.
And then, as a further acknowledgement of all her talents, she received the honour of an MBE in 2019, and also received the Kate Granger award for compassionate care.
All this was achieved while coping with cancer treatment and raising her family with James.
Her family couldn’t allow Nicolette’s death to pass unnoticed after such a lifetime of devotion to midwifery and so thought it would be a suitable legacy to have an award in her name.
Hence when a colleague, a professor of midwifery herself at the University of Stirling, told us about the Iolanthe Midwifery Trust, we made contact and now the award is about to be launched, with the first funding being given to Iolanthe on the anniversary of Nicolette’s birthday, 29th March 2024. The award of £2000 per annum for 10 years is a contribution from both her family and from Mummy’s Star, for which we are grateful to Pete Wallroth, Mair’s husband, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the charity.
The Nicolette Peel Midwifery Award is to be given to those “working to improve the maternity care of vulnerable pregnant women and birthing people”, who include but are not limited to the following:
• Pregnant women or birthing people with cancer or other life-threatening diseases
• Pregnant women and birthing people who are struggling with addictive substance use
• Migrant pregnant women and birthing people
• Pregnant women and birthing people who have difficulty reading or speaking English
• Pregnant women and birthing people who are younger than 20
• Pregnant women and birthing people who experience family violence or intimate partner violence
We are delighted to announce the award and look forward to its launch at the Iolanthe Awards Ceremony online, on 22nd November 2023.
You can find out more about Mummy's Star and the support it offers, here.
This article was provided by the family of Nicolette Peel