A WOMAN has vowed she does not wish to work as a midwife again after a disciplinary committee heard she ignored signs that a baby was in danger of being stillborn during a birth at Basingstoke hospital.

Geraldine Foley, 44, was found guilty of misconduct by the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Health Visiting and Midwifery (UKCC).

Although she escaped with a caution, during her evidence Mrs Foley said she did not want to return to midwife work.

The latest - during which the baby survived - followed mistakes Mrs Foley made during the stillbirth of two other babies.

Mrs Foley, who admitted misconduct, accepted she was not competent to work as a midwife. But she pleaded to be allowed to continue working as a registered nurse caring for the elderly in a nursing home.

Mrs Foley told the committee: "I no longer wish to practice as a midwife. I do not trust myself.

"These incidents have made me ashamed and guilty. But I always try to work to the best of my abilities. I wasn't competent. I cannot deny that."

Mrs Foley, who qualified as a nurse in 1984 and started working at the hospital in 1990, appeared before the UKCC for failing to monitor a foetal heart rate adequately, failing to keep adequate notes, and failing to call for medical assistance when there were signs of foetal distress during a birth.

The mother of the baby at the centre of the case was admitted to the delivery suite on June 16, 1999, and connected to a foetal heart-rate monitor just before noon.

During the birth the heart-rate monitor recorded a dip from 160 beats per minute to just 65bpm, signifying the foetus was in distress. At this point the midwife did not call a paediatrician as recommended.

The committee heard that a sister was eventually called to the unit by another student midwife at 12.45pm. She helped give oxygen to the baby, who survived.

Chairman Eunice Foster said the committee was issuing the misconduct caution because it did not feel the midwife was a danger to the public.

She added: "Although your actions are regarded as professional misconduct, your name should not be removed from the register.

"It is a very serious matter to be found guilty of misconduct and you must understand the committee does not condone or excuse your actions in any way."