Seventy-eight-year-old Matilda Morant (right) sits beside her granddaughter Bobbeth Powell and Powell's two-month-old baby, both of whom she delivered in Harmons, a community in Manchester. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer

She has delivered hundreds of children over the years and is eager for more. No, they aren't all her own, although, believe it or not, she has delivered eight of her own 12 children.

Matilda Morant, 78, an untrained midwife, is considered a com-munity hero in her hometown of Harmons, south Manchester, which is miles from any hospital.

After climbing a steep, rocky hill and surviving a few encounters with vicious-looking dogs (resi-dents claim they have no teeth), The Gleaner last Friday found Morant in her yard, hunched over a wash pan, doing her weekly chores.

Gift from god

Morant explained that her special skill was a gift from God.

"I went to my bed and dreamt that I saw two nurses and they told me to watch what they are doing (delivering babies)," Morant told The Gleaner.

She said she watched attentively in her dream and, when it was time for her to have her third child, she decided that she was going to deliver it herself.

"So when I was in pain and got into labour, I bathed myself and then went on the bed to lie down," said Morant, who will turn 79 next month.

She said there were three stages of pain and that she was well aware when she needed to push.

"After the baby was born, I put the baby one side and sort out myself, removed the placenta, then I bathed the baby, cut the navel string and did the other things," she explained.

Back in those days, trans-portation was a major issue in the community and many pregnant women would rely on Morant to rescue them. Although there is a primary health-care facility in the community, the building is in dire need of repair and the residents are seeking assistance to renovate the facility so it can house a resident nurse.

No mishaps

"No one was in the district to do it and when the mothers got sick, they called me," she said.

Morant has lost count of the number of children she has delivered.

"I can't say how many of them I have delivered, but it's plenty - a couple hundred. I deliver mother, her daughter and her grand-children. Sometimes, one mother will have 12 or 13 children and me deliver all of them," Morant said proudly.

The community hero bragged that she has never had a mishap while conducting her deliveries.

"Sometimes, they come for me in a taxi and I do everything for them. I wash their nappies, cook porridge and make sure that everything is right," said Morant, smiling.

She said she does not charge a fee for helping people, but appreciative persons sometimes reward her for her efforts.

Morant was born in the community of Harmons and went to St Jago Primary School. She worked as a domestic helper for some time and has never been trained as a midwife.

The last child Morant delivered was her great-granddaughter two months ago. Her granddaughter Bobbeth Powell, whom she also delivered, told The Gleaner she preferred to give Morant full charge over her children's entry into the world.

Powell was awaiting a taxi to go to the hospital, but time was running out, so Morant decided to take control.

"She has more patience with you and I am more comfortable than when I am at the hospital," said Powell. Morant has delivered four of Powell's seven children.

"I was not afraid because my grandmother prays for you before she delivers the child," Powell told The Gleaner.

"I feel good when I see the children who I delivered. They all respect me and most of them call me Mama. It's my children in a sense, but it's not my birth," she said.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com