During his career as a GP Obstetrician, Dr Roberts has delivered, according to his estimation, well over 1500 babies with his first delivery at Mudgee Hospital on September 24, 1987.

“I haven’t sat down to count them, I will one time. But I think it’s at least 1500 but it could be quite a bit more, we will have to look it up and see’ he said.

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“I guess you get involved with a  lot of deliveries helping other doctors so it’s quite a few.”

While some have called this career pivot a ‘retirement’, Dr Roberts is quick to set the record straight, insisting he isn’t going anywhere for a while yet.

“As of the first of January, after 31 years I’m stopping doing obstetrics but certainly continuing my general practice for at least another ten years hopefully, health allowing,” Dr Roberts said.

He cites two main reasons for calling it a day on obstetrics.

“It’s probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve medically had to make.”

“One of the reasons is that now we have two new young doctors who've come to Mudgee and are really keen to get their practices up and running and I think it’s in their interests that they get more work.”

“Secondly. I’d rather stop obstetrics while I still love it and felt like I was at the top of my skills rather than drifting off or resenting being called in the middle of the night.” Dr Roberts said.

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Dr Roberts spoke about what has changed, and what hasn’t in the world of obstetrics and parenting in the last thirty years.

“It has changed quite a lot I think it’s probably safer, we monitor patients more closely and we’re more aware of problems that happen,” he said.

“Ultrasound is incredibly better, it used to look like a snowstorm when it first came out now you can see the most intricate details of the heart, the placenta and so it’s really advanced obstetrics a lot.”

When Mudgee Guardian Editor, Ben Palmer asked for stories from those that have worked with him, the related Facebook post was flooded with positive comments.

“Thank you Dr Roberts for all of your amazing time. You were there when I was delivered by caesarian 24 years ago and eight months ago helped deliver my little girl, also a caesarian. I felt so relieved hearing your name going into theatre, and grateful that my little Marli was one of your last deliveries,” Anna Fekkes wrote.

“You have given up so many special occasions, days and night with your own family and friends to make sure new families get to take their new little ones home. Forever grateful for all the time you have given, what an amazing Doctor and Human.”

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Shelly Barnett said,“Doctor Roberts has been my GP for my three children born in Mudgee. I even travelled back from Queensland to have him deliver my second daughter ‘Lucy’, named after Dr Roberts’s own daughter.”

“If Dr Roberts is retiring from delivering babies, I retire from having them.”

Dr Roberts was initially unaware of the support on social media, as he doesn’t use it.

“Well I’m very overwhelmed by that. I’m very touched,” he said.

“It makes me feel happy that I’ve made some difference to some people’s lives. I have to say that’s the thing that I enjoyed the most in obstetrics was the relationships I had with families over many years and their children.”

“I feel very honoured and fortunate that people have trusted me in a time when things are extremely important in their lives and I hope in some way that I’ve been able to help them in that way.”

Dr Roberts also wanted to stress how important the staff he works with have been to him.

“I feel this very strongly; being a GP obstetrician; it’s really teamwork sort of thing and the midwives I’ve worked with over the years have just been so caring and so supportive and they’re the real heart and soul of obstetrics in Mudgee and my role a lot of times was really just in the background and the midwives have literally done the majority of the work,” he said.

“I’d like to thank my GP anaesthetist that come in and do epidurals at all hours of the night and help us when we’re having emergencies and their skills I can’t speak highly enough about them.”

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“And the theatre staff who are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week their whole lives are affected by obstetrics and we call them in quite a lot and they come in at the drop of a hat so quickly and they’re so thorough and caring and skilful with what they do as well.”

“It obviously goes without saying that my fellow GP obstetricians, I couldn’t have done without them because you can’t do anything on your own that’s for sure.”

Dr Roberts’ final thought came to him one night when thinking about past challenges.

“At around 2001 we had a really bad dispute with the state government about indemnity insurance and doctors all over NSW were giving up obstetrics, giving up rural medicine and it was happening here as well,” he said.

“I think practice in Mudgee reached the depths then, probably around and fortunately we got a good agreement and things moved on from there and we’re now in a situation where I’m the most optimistic I’ve ever been about rural practice.”

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“We now have lots of doctors, with more in the pipeline, we now have young people wanting to do obstetrics which I’ve not seen before.”

“We’ve got a new hospital coming, so I have to say I’ve never been more optimistic about the future for Mudgee as far as obstetrics goes and in general.”