A midwife known for appearing on Channel 4's One Born Every Minute was accused of having an affair with the partner of a woman she cared for earlier this week.

Joanne Lumsden, who works in a Liverpool hospital, was earlier this week accused by a mother at the hospital of sleeping with her partner while on holiday in Benidorm. The woman, 'Rachel' (not her real name) told The Liverpool Echo that the affair caused her partner to miss the birth of the child and a number of antenatal appointments at the hospital. Friends of Joanne are now defending the midwife after she was attacked online, saying that she is “dead against cheating” and the story has left her “ in absolute bits”. “I’ve been mates with this midwife for many years and she is the most lovely person ever,” one friend told those who were criticising her online. “I can’t say exactly why she’s told the mother but I guess it’s due to the fact that she’s dead against cheating! “Maybe she thought the woman had the right to know what her fella was really like. Let’s be honest here, he obviously knew he had a girl. How’s Joanne meant to know?” Another friend responded to a Facebook post about the story, saying: “I know for a fact that Jo is in absolute bits over this and her family, who are lovely people too.” The man had gone on the holiday with friends shortly before Rachel found out she was pregnant. He behaved suspiciously when he returned from the holiday and found excuses not to go to appointments, Rachel claims. When Rachel went in for a planned C-section last summer, he also missed it and the birth of their child. Joanne cared for Rachel and the baby in the hours after the birth, even giving her a rectal suppository. "As a woman, I am now left with a life-long memory of the midwife holding my new-born baby in her arms with the knowledge that she was having sexual relations with my baby’s father during my pregnancy and being fully aware that I was under the care of her place of work." The Liverpool Women’s Hospital Trust confirmed it was looking into a formal complaint of a nurse's failure to declare a conflict of interest.