"Outstanding care for our homebirth"

I don't feel I have words that can fully explain how incredible the Glasgow homebirth team and particularly Gilian have been in their provision of care for us. 

From my first contact with the team via phonecall through our antenatal appointments, birth and postnatal care, every interaction has been helpful and informative but also thoughtful and holistic. We carried a certain amount of trauma from previous miscarriages and a previous unplanned caesarean birth. The language that was used towards us in that hospital and the decision making process had left us disempowered and had hugely impacted our first year as a family. 

Then we decided to trust the many rave reviews we had been given and push to speak to the homebirth team. What a night and day experience. From this moment forward we received patient-centred care which was grounded in sensible decision making, all of which they were happy to discuss with us. We found this to be a genuinely collaborative experience where we were heard and enabled to make informed decisions. 

Each midwife but particularly Gil showed us professional compassion and support whether this was related to our previous birth trauma or helping our toddler who found appointments particularly scary. 

At every step before, during and after labour, we were given clear guidance on different options, consequences and reasoning. We were spoken with, not to. The benefits of the continuity of care that we experienced as a result of the communication within the team as well as to us cannot be understated. 

The home birth team did more than help us welcome our second child into the world safely they honestly restored our faith in the NHS as a system. My greatest wish would be for all women to experience this level of care.