"I gave birth to my first child at West..."

What I liked

I gave birth to my first child at West Middlesex Hospital in September. I was lucky enough to be part of the 'caseload midwives' scheme, which means that ever since I was registered with West Middlesex, I had a single dedicated midwife who provided all my antenatal and postnatal care as well as being the midwife leading on the delivery. All the antenatal and postnatal care appointments were at my own home, and when I first went into labour the midwife came to my home to assess how I was.

The service was exceptional. My midwife was a very caring, dedicated, professional person who made both me and my partner feel confident and assured despite natural anxiety for a first pregnancy. As a result of the trust we developed in her and the great care we received from her and the other professionals on the actual day of delivery, I was able to successfully deliver my baby using only a TENs machine and gas & air for pain relief, despite the fact that we had to have a syntometrine drip and the baby presented in back-to-back position. Also we had the confidence to go home only 6 hours after delivery so I didn't need to stay in hospital overnight.

What could be improved

The only thing that I think could be improved is that the caseload midwife service was made available to all women who are registered to give birth. Certainly from my own experience the service meant that I had less medical intervention than might normally have been expected for my circumstances, and I didn't stay in hospital overnight, so in addition to the fact that the personal experience I had was very good, it would also be less of a drain on overall hospital resources.

Anything else?

I cannot recommend the caseload service at West Middlesex Hospital highly enough.