This is a new section of the web site which shall be regularly updated
I
decided to go for a home birth quite a long way into my pregnancy
after reading a book called 'Birth Your Own Way' by Sheila Kitzinger.
I was worried about how a hospital birth could lead to unnecessary
interventions if things were not going according to their schedule,
and I also liked the idea of my baby being born in a home not a
hospital. My hospital weren't prepared to guarantee me a home birth
and as the pregnancy progressed I got the feeling it was less and
less likely. So I started looking for an independent midwife who
would be able (if everything went to plan) to deliver my baby at
home. I met with a couple of midwives and chose to use Stephie because
I felt we got on well that she wasn't too pushy and was prepared
to listen to me (I'm not a very assertive person!). And so it all
began. The prenatal care was good for lots of reasons. Stephie was able to cover things in lots of detail, was always at the end of the phone, and provided a consistency of care that I would never have got through the NHS route, as I would have been seen by so many different individuals. This was great for me because it was my first pregnancy and I needed a guide in this voyage into the unknown. As my due date approached she suggested I go to the Active Birth Centre with my husband which we did and they gave us a very clear picture of how the labour might generally be expected to go. Based on this Stephie and I talked about my birth plan and she helped me organise things such as pain relief. She was very keen on optimal foetal positioning so in the last few weeks I slept on my side crawled round the living room on hands and knees and never lay back on the sofa - it was a real drag at the time but I had reason to be very grateful later. I think I was incredibly lucky with the way my labour went. It took only 5 hours and I think that is partly thanks to the foetal positioning exercises and the positions for labour that I learnt at the Active Birth Centre. I used a tens machine initially and then got into the bath and when Stephie arrived I used the gas and air she brought. There was another midwife with us, my husband and a close friend. It was as painful as I had expected but I did feel well prepared for the experience. I think I was a bit in shock straight after the birth but the midwives were brilliant and sorted everything out including tidying all the mess away. Alec was born at about 3pm we both washed and then I was shown how to breastfeed him. It was a staggeringly brilliant experience and my husband and I spent the rest of the evening marvelling at the little person. Stephie stayed until 7pm and then left the 3 of us together. I was so glad we were in our own home. It was a surprise just how valuable the postnatal care from Stephie was. She visited every day and again was always there at the end of the phone including in the middle of the night if we needed her. I found breast feeding Alec was a skill to be learnt and there were concerns over a sticky eye which cleared up without the need for antibiotics. She also helped me to take care of myself by encouraging me to rest and let others do the cooking and so on (internet shopping - Tesco direct was brilliant). As the days went by we learnt how to care for our baby and our confidence increased and Stephie's visits became correspondingly less frequent. Towards the end of the first postnatal month they were frankly more social than anything else! Taking on an independent midwife was a big decision for us because it was so pricey and lots of friends and family didn't really understand our reasons. Looking back it was definitely money well spent, it meant we had the home birth we wanted and lots of information and support from someone we were able to get to know well and learn to trust. |
I
am a teacher of young children by profession and some would say
"level headed", and conservative by nature. I believe
in the motto "if it 'aint broke don't fix it" and I
had a straightforward delivery for my first child, so why did
I choose an independent midwife at all (which I didn't know existed!)
and opt for a home birth? Well there was more than one reason for choosing an independent midwife. The first being that when we had our first child, although the delivery was absolutely fine we had, in our view extremely poor after care from the national health system and so wanted someone who would look after us AFTER the birth as well as before and during. Reason number two was because we were in the process of selling our house and did not exactly know where we would end up, and so wanted to ensure continuity and minimise the risk of having notes lots in the system. This I hoped I would get from having an independent midwife. And thirdly to put the icing on the cake my "due date" was December 25th 2002 and lets face it, who wants to deliver a baby on that date? So I searched on The Web for a private midwife and contacted Stephie Shepherd who covered the area where we lived at the time. She came and discussed our concerns with us and my conclusion was that she would give me the care and continuity that I hoped during the month after the birth. At this point we still planned a hospital delivery. During the next few months we did move out of our house and moved in with my parents for some time. Stephie followed. Finally we moved into our new house (by this time late October). Again Stephie followed. And the notes never got lost! Then there was the Christmas period. During the seasonal run up to Christmas (and my due date of the 25th) My husband worked hard selling Christmas trees and I worked hard unpacking boxes and Stephie worked hard at trying to get me to rest. Then 2 weeks before my due date I read an article about the "super bug" in our hospitals and I got thinking. If Stephie can deliver this baby at home would this not be better for the baby and me? After all we have a new bathroom (which happens to be considerably larger than our last one!) we are further from the local hospital and I would not have to worry about whether there would be someone to deliver my baby or not at whatever time it decides to arrive and any bugs in my house are mine and I am totally used to being exposed to them. So after some discussions with my husband we decided on - the unconventional idea these days, of a home birth. I contacted Stephie who was delighted with the decision and we met the second midwife who was going to help at the birth. Then December 25th came and went. So did the 26, 27, 28 and then in the evening of the 29th the contractions started. We phoned Stephie who advised us to have something to eat and try and get some sleep. Soon after supper and an unsuccessful attempt at sleeping my waters broke. And before long Stephie arrived and found me in the bathroom, breathing heavily. As she unpacked her gear I was expecting for her to tell me what to do or where to stand so that I could be examined or poked or prodded as I was during the birth of our first son in hospital. But she just stood and observed. By now she knew me well enough to know what was happening by just being in the same room and watching me. She called in the second midwife who arrived soon after. Following some walking around in the bathroom and a change of position Son number two was born at 11.45pm weighing in at 9lbs 8oz. The following day (Dec 30th) we had a visit by Stephie at a time, which was sensible for us considering the previous nights events and for the next month we saw her on a regular basis. I am now successfully breast-feeding and at three months down the line have time to look back and reflect on the benefits of having Stephie to guide me through the pregnancy and birth. The whole process was far more relaxing and less stressful right from the start, as I did not have to pack up my toddler and march off down to the surgery every week as Stephie came to me at a time suited to us that week. We formed a bond of trust between us and by the time the birth came it seemed far less daunting and I felt very much in control. Stephie kept us both far more informed about choices for the pregnancy and the labour and when it came to the birth my husband, he tells me, felt much more relaxed than last time because he was told what was happening. We could make informed choices about drugs etc that I wanted used or not. It was all much more relaxed because there was no travelling to and from the hospital and consequently after the birth I believe that I healed more quickly than before and coped better generally. All in all a very good experience! Thank you Stephie |