A Heinz Park man dreams of becoming a qualified midwife after he safely conducted four emergency home births in his neighbourhood.
Tashreeq Perry is famous in his community for his feeding scheme and delivering babies.
The 24-year-old says he was first drawn to midwifery in 2018 when his mother was pregnant with his baby brother.
“I fell in love with this because I read about it and also did a little course on the birthing process,” he says.
“My mother went into labour and sent someone to call me and I knew I would have to implement all I’ve learned to help deliver the baby.
“I was so scared as it was my first time.
“I laid her down and told her to relax and I saw my brother’s head crowning.
“He was ready to come out, so I guided my mommy on when to push, and then I turned him sideways when he came out.
“It went quickly, I tied the umbilical cord with a shoelace and put it in the packet next to her.”
Mom Waashiela Charles, 41, says: “It was a scary experience as it was the first time giving birth at home.
“My water broke at home and the baby was already crowning and then Tashreeq came to assist.”
Since then he’s delivered three more babies and even has a routine.
Tashreeq says he places a towel under the mother, another towel on his lap and a refuse bag close by, all the while guiding the mother when to push.
“The refuse bag is to put the placenta in while the cord is still attached to the baby,” he explains.
“I place it in a blanket next to the baby so when the paramedics come, I tell them it’s inside the bag and they can follow up further.”
His latest “patient” was Ronelle Diamond, who gave birth at her home around 4am last Monday.
“I knew the baby wasn’t going to wait and so I asked my mommy to call Tashreeq,” says the mom.
“When the paramedics arrived, I was already done with the birth and the ambulance driver told me Tashreeq did a good job.”
Tashreeq adds: “If someone has a first aid kit for me, I could use that as I now only have one glove left.”
Tashreeq says like any profession involving helping people, midwifery is a calling and he’d like to answer it.
“I would like to get a bursary to study to become a full-time midwife,” the humble young man says.