"Birthing experience"

I have had three babies over the last 6 years, all with the care and support of the midwives in Cowal Maternity Unit. Two of my labours took place in Dunoon with delivery in the birthing pool. These were wholly positive experiences where I felt heard and able to give birth naturally without any pressure to consider interventions to speed things along. 

I am very fortunate to have had three green pathway pregnancies and had hoped to deliver my third in the birthing pool like the first two but as my last baby was 2 weeks overdue and I had been advised by the consultant team to consider induction at 39 weeks, I ultimately ended up delivering in the RAH.

While the numerous midwives I came across at RAH were all lovely, due to the volume of patients, I couldn’t help but feel like I was in a production line in comparison to the quiet minimal intervention experiences I had had in Dunoon. It appeared to me that the focus within the larger unit is to get the babies out using various interventions when perhaps with some patients it would be more beneficial to wait for nature to do its thing with babies coming when they are ready.

The Cowal aftercare I feel is invaluable, knowing that you have a familiar midwife visiting every day for those first 10 days after the birth really helps to make you feel confident knowing any questions or concerns can be addressed immediately. Having delivered in RAH this time I was advised they normally carry out only 3 visits within those crucial first 10 days. 

Ultimately the team in Dunoon have made me feel welcomed and comfortable during all of my pregnancies and I would like to thank them all for their brilliant personal service.