A MIDWIFE has revealed the recipe behind becoming successful in the profession -- be a man!

Simon Bibby, of Accrington, has been named a top midwife in a contest after being nominated by a woman.

The former Airtours holiday rep was delighted and saw the funny side of the prize he was awarded for first place -- a selection of Oil of Olay pampering products.

Simon, a 35-year-old team leader, is Royal Bolton Hospital's second male midwife, alongside former truck driver James Tudge who joined the female team in 2000.

Simon admits some women are shocked when they first see him, but said they soon get to know him.

"They just want someone who is nice to them," he added.

First time mum, Carol Lindley, aged 31, of Osborne Close, Farnworth, nominated Simon after seeing the Asda-run competition advertised at the supermarket. She wrote a letter saying how supportive he had been.

Carol said: "I had suffered a traumatic pregnancy and my sister-in-law had a stillbirth at 33 weeks. I was therefore very nervous when I was pregnant with Alex and Simon was always available for me to drop in and have as many check ups as I needed.

"It was a very scary time and he helped me a lot. Unfortunately, he didn't deliver Alex because he spotted that he was a breech baby and I had a Caesarean section. But Simon was fantastic."

The father of three, who is also a grandad, loves working with children but claims many men ignore going into midwifery because it is not the trendy option.

He went into nursing after leaving the holiday industry because he is a caring person and wanted a more rewarding job. He then chose to specialise in midwifery because he would be involved in 'very special moments'.

He said: "I'm a midwife first, and I suppose a man second. I've lost count of the number of babies I've delivered since I started in Blackburn eight years ago.

"But midwifery still has this image of Hattie Jacques carrying a little black bag. It's changing slowly now. Mothers are being urged to make their own choices.

"But there is a general shortage of midwives and it would be nice to see more men in the profession, although, I must admit I don't mind being around women all the time."

He added: "I don't feel I'm anything special. But I feel very pleased to get this award. I feel very privileged to share these special moments in people's lives. To me its an honour."

Only 102 of the UK's 22,548 midwives are men.