Two midwives worked together for six years before learning they had a special connection. Sharon Cooling and Katie Wintle were colleagues at Singleton Hospital in Swansea, Wales but hadn’t realised that Sharon delivered Katie at the hospital in 1995.
Image Credit: Metro [Undated handout photo issued by Swansea Bay University Health Board of a picture of Ms Cooling with Ms Wintle as a baby. Sharon Cooling has now retired from Swansea Bay after almost half a century of service. Since 2016 she has worked with colleague Katie Wintle. What neither of them realised was that it was Sharon who delivered Katie when she was born in Singleton Hospital in 1995. The coincidence only came to light after Katie herself became pregnant. Issue date: Friday January 3, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story HEALTH Midwives. Photo credit should read: Swansea Bay University Health Board/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]
Their shared past only came to light after Katie became pregnant herself. ‘I had worked with Sharon for so long, learning so much from her,’ Katie, 29, said. ‘All the while, we didn’t know our special past. ‘Now we’ve found this out, it means so much to both of us.’.
Image Credit: Metro [Undated handout photo issued by Swansea Bay University Health Board of Ms Cooling holding a picture of her with Ms Wintle as a baby. Sharon Cooling has now retired from Swansea Bay after almost half a century of service. Since 2016 she has worked with colleague Katie Wintle. What neither of them realised was that it was Sharon who delivered Katie when she was born in Singleton Hospital in 1995. The coincidence only came to light after Katie herself became pregnant. Issue date: Friday January 3, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story HEALTH Midwives. Photo credit should read: Swansea Bay University Health Board/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]
Katie studied law initially, but knowing how much she enjoyed caring for people decided to retrain as a midwife. After completing her studies in Bournemouth, she returned to Swansea and began working at Singleton Hospital in 2016. When she became pregnant with her son Luca, who was born in 2023, Katie and her family were looking through old photos of the day she was born and suddenly noticed a familiar face.
It was Sharon and on her lap was Katie as a newborn baby. ‘I immediately knew who that was. Straight away I knew it was Sharon,’ Katie said. ‘I learned so much from Sharon, she is such an icon. ‘If you want to know something or needed help on the ward, she was the person to go to. Everything is in line, and she does everything by the book.’.
![[Undated handout photo issued by Swansea Bay University Health Board of a picture of Ms Cooling with Ms Wintle as a baby. Sharon Cooling has now retired from Swansea Bay after almost half a century of service. Since 2016 she has worked with colleague Katie Wintle. What neither of them realised was that it was Sharon who delivered Katie when she was born in Singleton Hospital in 1995. The coincidence only came to light after Katie herself became pregnant. Issue date: Friday January 3, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story HEALTH Midwives. Photo credit should read: Swansea Bay University Health Board/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234858599-c821.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Undated handout photo issued by Swansea Bay University Health Board of Ms Cooling holding a picture of her with Ms Wintle as a baby. Sharon Cooling has now retired from Swansea Bay after almost half a century of service. Since 2016 she has worked with colleague Katie Wintle. What neither of them realised was that it was Sharon who delivered Katie when she was born in Singleton Hospital in 1995. The coincidence only came to light after Katie herself became pregnant. Issue date: Friday January 3, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story HEALTH Midwives. Photo credit should read: Swansea Bay University Health Board/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_234858603-4810.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
