"Wonderful birth experience"

I had a fantastic experience at Lothian Birth Centre at the Royal Infirmary and I wanted to share my thoughts - to help anyone considering where to give birth and in the hope that some of the wonderful staff might see this and know how grateful I am to them. 

This was my first baby and I was, naturally, pretty nervous about birth. I arrived at the birth centre around 2am, having phoned around 45 minutes earlier. I was greeted by a midwife and a student who already had a room all ready for me. The lights were dimmed and it was really calming. They let us choose music and sorted out the pain relief I requested really quickly. I laboured for the rest of the night and was so well cared for. There was always someone around and they kept a great eye on me and baby without me feeling that they were interfering in my labour or headspace. 

I had a change of midwife team in the morning, and had another wonderful pair of midwife and student. They were with me for the rest of the day - getting me into the birth pool; guiding me through pushing; stitching me up; helping me feed my baby; getting me and my husband food; helping me shower; and getting everything sorted for discharge. 

Throughout the entire process I felt in control and supported. For example, they helped me with advice on how to push but let me determine when I should do that. Every member of staff that cared for me had read my birth preferences and they made reference to them throughout. I was pretty open to changing my mind as things went along, but the fact they had read my preference sheet made me feel so seen. 

When my daughter was born she needed a little help with her breathing. I had imagined this moment ahead of time. I'd imagined all the doctors running in the room after the red button is pressed and I had always found the thought so scary. But the actual experience of it was far from scary.

The midwife was so calm when she explained what was about to happen and everyone who came in the room was lovely. They were moving quickly but not panicked. They each introduced themselves with big, reassuring smiles on their faces. Once my baby had had the care she needed, she was quickly placed back on my chest for skin-to-skin and we stayed like that for hours, while the midwifes provided all of the rest of the care we both needed. It was magical. 

Once everything that needed done was done, and we had had some dinner, I was asked whether I wanted to go to the ward overnight or go home. I asked to go home and our wonderful team sorted out the discharge checks and paperwork really quickly. We were on our way home by 8pm. 

The staff at Lothian Birth Centre could not have been better. I will be forever grateful for my experience that day and in awe of midwives for the rest of my life. What an incredible bunch! Thank you so much.