ROBYN Fraser has had the joy of delivering many of Leeton's babies over the years and it's an experience she would never hand back.
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Mrs Fraser has been working at Leeton District Hospital as a midwife and nurse for many years.
Becoming a nurse wasn't something she had thought of as a career until her mother mentioned it.
From there she decided to give it a go, completing her training at some of the best hospitals in Sydney and Queensland.
Back then it was a requirement to complete midwifery training for those who wanted to work as a nurse in rural and country areas.
Once Mrs Fraser started that training she fell in love with the job.
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"I didn't matter if you wanted to be a midwife or not ... it was a requirement you had to have if you wanted to work in the country," she said.
"When I actually did it, I realised I really liked it.
"I've been a midwife ever since. That was in 1980."
Mrs Fraser worked in Narrandera after completing her midwifery training before returning to Sydney again to work and undertake more study.
When she moved to Leeton with her husband and first child, it was here she started work at the hospital and had two more children.
She said being a midwife was one of the great joys of life.
"You definitely have to love the job to do it because it can be hard, but it's so wonderful at the same time," Mrs Fraser said.
"I've birthed children who now have their own children.
"Sometimes you do walk around town and see the children grown up and even with their own children, it's pretty amazing."
While Mrs Fraser acknowledged there were hard moments in midwifery in nursing, including the long hours, she said Leeton's current birthing model at the hospital was working well for both expecting mums and staff.
She believed the key to attracting more young men and women to midwifery and nursing was putting it front and centre in schools and having the government market and present it as a career with plenty of opportunities.
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