"Obstetric excellence"

Recently I gave birth to my beautiful baby boy. He is our first child and I had a lot of anxieties around the labour and birth experience. I need to acknowledge the outstanding care we received from Bunbury Regional Hospital and Bunbury Midwifery Group Practice which made a difficult birth situation still feel like a positive experience.

We were supported throughout our pregnancy and birth journey by MGP midwife Amy as our primary midwife, Danielle as our secondary midwife, and MGP GP Obstetrician Dr Martin. Amy built a very trusting rapport with us from the very beginning. I feel she eased me gently through each stage and helped enormously to calm my fears. Everyone at MGP was very supportive of my autonomy and never pressured me into accepting interventions, but rather provided the options and information to let me decide what was best for us. We would highly recommend this service for all pregnant women and hope it can be expanded so everyone can have the opportunity to be so well supported. 

Labour really got moving after we attending the hospital to commence preparations for an induction the following day. The intervention to prepare me for labour was enough to get labour started and it seemed to be ramping up quite quickly. Throughout this time I was cared for by my MGP midwife Amy, a clinical midwife on the labour ward (who I can't recall the name of, I'm sorry!), Dr Rachel Cryer, Dr Puvana and Dr Elliot. All of these healthcare providers were fantastic at offering treatment at just the right time and in alignment with my preferences. They all respected my right to consent, explained each step clearly and gave me time to decide on the direction we took. 

Unfortunately, my baby didn't cope with the labour well and we agreed to an emergency caesarean section. The theatre nurses, anaesthetic team, and paediatric team were exceptionally warm and professional despite the late hour. Due to some pre-existing risk factors, my epidural wasn't effective enough to remain awake for the surgery so I was given a general anaesthetic. I later heard that my baby needed to be resuscitated for several minutes after he arrived into the world. I will be forever grateful to everyone in that theatre for their roles in saving my son's life and for keeping me safe. They are all exceptional. What may have been just another day on the job has meant a lifetime of joy for my new family. 

Thank you Amy, Danielle, Martin, Rachel, Puvana, Elliot, Lisa, Jomol, Zoe, the paediatric team, the nursery & ward midwives and anyone else who was behind the scenes from the bottom of my very full heart for the gift you have given us.