Finding her calling close to home
How Coventry midwife is empowering women in healthcare
Born and raised in Coventry, Mara Tonks found her calling close to home. As someone from a big family and a midwife for an aunt, Mara had always wanted to be a midwife from when she was a little girl.
Now Director of Midwifery and Neonatal Nursing at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust, Mara oversees teams supporting thousands of families each year.
Her journey began at Coventry University, the institution that shaped both her personal and professional life.
“I chose Coventry because it’s my local university; I was born and raised here,” she said. “When I started my adult nursing degree, I was only 17 and still living at home with my parents. Staying local meant I had their support while taking such a big step.”
Mara graduated with a BSc in Adult Nursing in 2001 before returning to Coventry University to complete a BSc (Hons) in Midwifery Practice in 2005. “Having done my nursing degree at Coventry University, it felt natural to return for midwifery. I already knew the environment, the teaching style and I trusted the course.”
But beyond the classroom, Mara’s most cherished memories from her time at university are the friendships she made. “My four best friends now are people I met on my nursing course. More than 20 years later we’re still inseparable. It was my first real taste of independence, meeting people outside my school network, navigating adulthood together. Those relationships shaped me.”
University also helped her to find her voice. As part of a large cohort of around 120 students, Mara learned how to speak up and articulate her views clearly. “You had to listen carefully in lectures packed with students. But you also had to be ready to make your voice heard when discussions came. That skill of being confident in a room full of people has never left me.”
A journey through the NHS
After qualifying as a midwife, Mara spent several years gaining clinical experience before noticing a job advertisement that would change her trajectory; a Delivery Suite Coordinator role at Leicester Royal Infirmary. “Working in such a large, busy hospital really appealed to me from a career development point of view. I wanted to push myself and I knew it was an opportunity to grow.” Mara commenced her MSc in Midwifery Practice (De Montfort University)
She was successful and became a matron, working across antenatal and specialist midwifery services, quality standards (maternity accreditation), and public health services. One aspect of her role involved bringing together three maternity organisations, aligning their guidelines, staffing approaches and risk reduction strategies. “It really taught me the importance of collaboration,” she said. “You simply cannot improve maternity services in isolation.”
While Mara enjoyed this development, she missed the hands-on element and the Labour ward side of midwifery. After joining Kettering General Hospital as a matron, she was encouraged into a succession plan that saw her rise to Deputy Director and eventually Director of Midwifery.
Years of commuting finally led her back to Coventry when the role at UHCW became available. “Working for my local trust feels incredibly meaningful. This is my community. These are my people,” she added.
But even after all these incredible achievements, it’s the people close to her that matter most. “There's no doubt about it, the highlight of my career was being present at the birth of my nephew. My sister is my best friend in the whole wide world and being there for her as a birth partner alongside her husband was absolutely magical.”
Leading with empathy and purpose
Mara’s leadership style has evolved throughout her career, shaped by experience, reflection and the challenges of the healthcare system.
“I’ve definitely become more empathetic,” she said. “COVID showed us so much about what compassionate leadership really means and how important it is to understand what your teams are facing.”
She describes herself as a transformative leader, using coaching-based approaches to support colleagues. “I don’t want to fix problems for people; I want to empower them to develop their own solutions. That’s how you build confidence and resilience.”
Recruitment is an area where she is particularly value-driven. Having faced age-related barriers early in her own career, she is determined to ensure others aren’t held back. “When I qualified, I was young, enthusiastic, working full-time and picking up extra shifts. But I still felt I had to prove myself before I’d be considered for opportunities. Now, when I recruit, I look at values, potential, leadership qualities, not just length of service.”
Innovation in maternity care
One of the most exciting projects Mara is developing at UHCW is a virtual reality “patient avatar” training tool. Based on a real woman’s maternity journey, the avatar allows staff to practice communication, counselling and conversations in a realistic, immersive way.
“It means staff can complete short training sessions anywhere, at home, on a break, without needing large classroom groups. It’s modern, flexible and genuinely transformative for training.”
Shaping the future of women’s health in Coventry
Looking ahead, Mara sees collaboration with women and families as key to the future of maternity care. “We need to design services with women, not just for them. Families are complex and diverse, and our services must reflect and respect that. I'm very much here to empower women to make sure that they are listened to in their care delivery choices.”
She also continues to work closely with Coventry University, helping shape training and ensuring student midwives are prepared for modern practice. “It feels full circle, being able to contribute to the same institution that trained me.”
Find out more about studying Nursing and Midwifery at Coventry University.
