"Continuity of midwifery care"

I was one of the first few people to be part of the Continuity of Midwifery Care in the Southern Trust (Team Emerald). This was my second pregnancy so I was able to compare it to my first pregnancy care experience.

This care plan is fantastic, it was a much better experience having a small team of midwives overseeing my pregnancy.  

My main point of contact was just fab - so caring and down to earth, as were the rest of the team.  I got to meet the majority of them at the coffee morning across from Brownlow Health Centre.  That was a great idea to get chatting to other expectant mums and to put a face to the name of the team members.  Meeting the team throughout the pregnancy helped build a rapport with them all and made me feel so much more comfortable at appointments.

I really liked the fact that I could text my point of contact any time I needed support/help,she always responded promptly and always kept me up to date on support groups etc in my local area.

The midwife I had during labour is a credit to the service - she had such a calming way about her and made me feel as at ease as you can be when pushing a human out of you! 

So all in all I would 100% recommend any expectant mother to opt for this care plan.  It is well organised, leaves you feeling reassured and well supported. 

The only negative feedback I have is nothing to do with my care from my team but from my experience during labour at CAH.  

When I had initially went into the admissions team my waters had broken, I was 5cm dilated and contracting every minute and a half so I was in quite a bit of pain.  They gave me Gas and Air whilst waiting on my midwife to arrive.  I asked for Diamorphine but was told they couldn't give me it, and I had to wait for my own Midwife.  By the time Grace got to me, which wasn't a long time to be fair, but felt like eternity due to the pain, she said it was too late for me to get any further pain relief as baby was well and truly en route.  

The admissions team also did not move me up to the labour ward, this also had to wait for my midwife.  So when they got to me I was promptly put into a wheelchair and whizzed up to the labour ward, huffing and puffing like a mad woman.  Nothing was going to make me comfortable but I feel I should have been brought up as soon as they realised I was in full labour rather than having to just sit there and wait.

Then when we did get into the Delivery Room, there was a part missing from the Gas and Air apparatus so I had no pain relief whatsoever for a period of time.  These rooms should be sitting completely ready for the next person coming in.  

I got the feeling from the hospital staff that it was a case of 'them and us', regarding their feelings towards the CoMC team and their service users, as though I was the CoMCs problem and they could just sort me out. 

Thankfully my birth story is relatively positive and there were only a few minor issues with it as a whole.

Thanks again to Team Emerald, you're all great!