"I got the birth I wanted; felt very informed..."

I chose to give birth to my second child at Melton and it really was the right decision. My husband and I dropped in on the off chance at 37 weeks pregnant and were welcomed in for a tour and chat with a midwife which allowed me to put the last few queries to rest - I'd had my first at a big hospital which was a great experience overall but I wanted to feel more in control this time of when I got in the pool etc and a more natural birth.

At 12 days over I was worried I wouldn't still be accepted at the birth center so made plans for a home birth but phoned Melton and the midwife explained they would be happy to take me until term +14 if I went for monitoring at the hospital I'd been to for scans, which I did. 10hours later I was at the birth centre with my newborn boy in my arms. Pool was ready when we arrived, midwife gave me options about whether I wanted to be assessed before getting in and was always there when needed but gave plenty of space for time with just me and my husband . After care was brilliant too- tea and toast for me and hubby, everywhere cleaned up quickly so we could just relax and enjoy skin to skin cuddles. I cannot rate the team at St Mary's enough, thank you!

Also, as we live in Grantham all other maternity depts are an hours drive and Melton is 30mins which also made second birth much better.