A popular specialist breastfeeding midwife at Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust has been told that her job is secure, but 16 other senior nursing jobs are still hanging in the balance.

Bella Dale, the only midwife whose job is to offer breastfeeding advice and antenatal care, was told at the end of September that the post she has held for eight years might be withdrawn. She faced the prospect of being moved to another job within the trust, but the post itself would have gone.

But Ms Dale - who has worked at the hospitals for 20 years, and whose official title is antenatal and infant feeding specialist - received a letter on Friday saying her post was no longer considered at risk'.

Around 800 people had signed a petition saying Ms Bale and her post should remain.

She said: "I'm delighted as I truly believe the post is an integral part of maternity services and the support that has been shown by the mums of Barnet would seem to confirm this view.

"Part of a midwife's professional responsibility is to promote breastfeeding and, in an ideal world, every midwife would be able to give the support the infant feeding team gives. But with the current working patterns, they don't have the time."

Around 81 per cent of all mothers who deliver their babies at Barnet, Chase Farm and at the Edgware Birth Centre, breastfeed their babies, a much higher average than the 65 per cent of women across the country who breastfeed.

Shelley Levene, mother of four-month-old Dylan, said she would not have been able to breastfeed had it not been for Ms Dale.

She said: "She's the most amazing woman ever. She is renowned across north London and her post is vital."

A hospital spokesman said the hospital had kept Ms Dale's post after listening to what staff had said during the consultation process last month.

An announcement concerning the fate of the remaining 20 nursing jobs is expected shortly.