"I felt the midwives were with me every step of the way"

From day one of my antenatal care to our discharge postnatal we experienced the most, exceptional, professional, considerate and responsive care from the Aberdeenshire community midwife team. In particular my midwife Julie, who I can not thank enough.

Throughout my pregnancy, labor and first few weeks after birth, a time where as a woman, physically, hormonal and emotionally the vulnerability can feel overwhelming, I was listened to, valued and cared for to the highest possible standard. Having had some time to reflect, I feel it is because of the considerate and attentive care i received, that I have been able to take on the challenges of early motherhood, with a feeling of confidence in my ability and ultimately impacting positively upon my long-term mental and physical health.

Throughout my pregnancy, I looked forward to my antenatal appointments. I was an older mum and had worried about this but Julie was able to put me at ease, with her wealth of knowledge and genuine concern I felt at ease from very early on. Seeing Julie every appointment enabled me to build a sense of trust and I felt I could talk openly about any concerns I may have had. We were able to talk about my previous births and through birth plans at length.

Julie, and often student midwives who accompanied her, were always present and responsive to anything I was worried about, meeting me with information and support, providing an abundance of reassurance. I felt as though the team always had time for me, appointments were never rushed and throughout I felt my voice was heard and valued. Ultimately, a mum needs to feel safe, with Julie and her team I felt this in abundance.

I was lucky enough to have access to the midwife led unit in Inverurie for my birth. It is an incredible space, designed it seemed with the birthing parent at the heart of it. From the feeling of calm the room emanated, with lights and soft colors to the height of the bed, I honestly felt I was in the best possible environment to give birth.

There was a range of tools to support an active birth and again, the midwives responded with and encouraged the use of equipment - always it seemed to enable me, the birthing parent, to be more at ease. This summed up my care during birth, which was again, responsive, engaged and considerate to my needs and wants. I felt the midwives were with me every step of the way, listening attentively and responding with compassion, enabling me again to feel safe and confident within my own ability.

Having Julie there as my midwife for birth was very lucky and as we had spoken at length about birth plans, she knew what I had wanted. But also Sarah and Emma, who were wonderful, managing to support and again enable in a truly responsive way.

I can't reiterate enough how positive my birth felt and I put this down to the exceptional care I experienced during my labor and birth. Small things, like Emma taking some photos, Julie talking me through things we had already discussed and offering a level of care that felt above and beyond. Most of all, I appreciated the reassurance and approach to responsive care this team has.

After 2 previous births which had not been so positive, it was such a wonderful feeling to have a story where I felt confident and able, the most magical experience for us all as a family. I cannot ever be more grateful for this experience, and especially to Julie for her generous abundance of care.

After birth was as equally as special and again, we are so grateful that within precious few hours we were cared for responsive and with a genuine passion.

In the first few days after we were visited by some really fantastic midwives who gave time and effort to support me, specifically with feeding. Again, nothing felt rushed and I felt we were important and valued. Even though the baby was admitted to hospital, Julie had explained and met me with her usual approach, letting me know what would happen, which enabled me to not feel so anxious.

I feel that due to this care I am able and confident, but ultimately I look back with pride and appreciation to the team. This has greatly impacted my mental health for the positive - having a diagnosis of GAD and depression, this was a concern but so far so good! It is also, I believe down to the care and because of that confidence that I have been able to face some of the feeding challenges I have faced with strength and belief.

We feel that there is no where on earth, for any amount of money could we have received a better, more considerate approach to our care. We are so grateful to have had this time.