"A great homebirth experience"

I was registered with the homebirth team from the very beginning of my pregnancy, though I wasn't straight away sure I wanted to go through with the homebirth itself. This is my third baby and I have now experienced three very different pregnancies and labours. 

Karen, my midwife, was a font of knowledge. She was so informative and supportive, giving me the confidence that whatever I chose, was the right choice. I did go ahead and plan to have my baby at home after asking a plethora of questions!! No question was too silly for Karen to answer. 

Home visits were an absolute god send for myself, as I already have two children - arranging clinic visits and child care would have been an extra burden which I appreciated not having to consider. 

As I approached the end of my third trimester, I was beginning to struggle with pelvic and sciatic pain. Karen provided acupuncture weekly which I was sceptical of at first but very pleasantly surprised to find worked well. I was also given oils for aromatherapy, which felt like a real luxury! 

I ended up going two weeks overdue, and Karen provided me with information and web resources on inductions and going post term within my first week of going over. 

When the time came, thankfully I got to fulfill my wish of a homebirth. Kylie was on duty, who I was familiar with as she had come over in the days building up while Karen was on annual leave. 

Kylie's presence was welcome and calming. She gave me the space to go with my body and reassured me throughout. My baby girl arrived in the birth pool with just Kylie and my husband there, it was so special and intimate. Rhiannon arrived shortly after my baby's arrival and was so kind and made me feel like she was genuinely happy to be there.

I felt well informed, looked after and cared about the entire way through my pregnancy, labour and the weeks following. The homebirth team really are a "team" and I felt that if Karen wasn't available, I would be comfortable with absolutely any of the team taking over my care. They were approachable, available and ready to listen at every point throughout the last nine months. 

I would highly recommend to anyone to at the very least speak to the homebirth team. I went into this with a very open mind that I may still have the baby in a hospital, but the home care throughout the pregnancy alone was worth it. I never felt pressured into following through with the actual homebirth, and they were happy to take me on knowing I may choose not to use them when the time comes. 

Massive thank you to Karen, Kylie, Rhiannon, and Mary and Laura who came round to check on the baby and myself in the first few days.