Mel Grant
Becoming a Mum for the First Time
Much-loved Pindara Private Hospital Nurse
Unit Manager, Mel Grant, shares her journey through
pregnancy, birth and choosing to become a mum for the
first time, on her own, at age 38.
hat is your role at Pindara?
I am the Nurse Unit Manager of Ward 5E which cares for patients requiring a range of different
surgeries. I am responsible for bed management, budgets, ensuring quality patient care and staff
W
satisfaction. I could not be more proud of the team I work with in Ward 5E – nursing, medical, allied health
and environmental staff – they epitomise Ramsay Health Care’s vision of “people caring for people.”
Your journey into parenthood started a little differently to some others, when did you decide you
wanted to have a baby on your own?
I seriously started thinking about it two years ago, at age 36. Working in the medical field I was aware that a
woman’s fertility starts to decline in her early 30s, with the decline speeding up after age 35.
What were the reactions of your family and friends?
Initially I was very hesitant to talk to people about this decision. The first people I discussed it with were
my family and I could not have had a better response. They were very supportive and helped me in working
out what I needed to have in place to ensure it would work. I then told a few close friends and was again
surprised to find out how supportive they were of my decision. This journey is not the normal path and the
stigma that has been attached to single parents in the past did make me apprehensive, but the support and
positive attitudes from those close to me showed me that I could do this and hopefully others would accept my
decision and be happy for me.
How did you start on your journey? Did you have trepidations or were you resolute and focused?
Once I had made the decision that I wanted to have a child on my own, I spoke with my GP who arranged a
blood test (AMH level) which checked ovarian reserve and confirmed that my egg count was starting to drop.
I was fortunate that although it was in decline, my level was still relatively high. This further reinforced my
decision to begin this journey. The main trepidation I had was if I would financially be able to care for a child
on my own. After thinking seriously about this and making an assessment, I knew I could manage. I then
became committed to making my dream of having a child come true.
64 Pindara Magazine ISSUE 14 | 2018