"Birth and pregnancy MGP1 FBC at KEMH"

Had the most incredible water birth delivered by midwife Olivia and fantastic antenatal/postnatal care by midwives Megan, Naomi and Olivia.

I was on the list for an induction of labour after reaching 41w+3d, however didn’t get called in until 42w when a birth suite became available as baby was still showing as healthy and active in my stomach. By then, I had luckily already gone into spontaneous labour. When I arrived for the induction, I was already having regular contractions and my cervix was 6cm dilated and completely thinned, so I was able to go straight to having my waters broken.

It only took about 4 hours from the breaking of my waters to delivering baby. Olivia delivered the full FBC experience despite being in the hospital birth suite. She knew I wanted a natural water birth and setup the pool from the get go. As my contractions were progressing, Olivia recognised effectively how I needed to change positions to cope with the pain. Olivia also exactly pinpointed the right time to enter the pool based on how I was contracting. She only had to perform one cervical examination which showed I was 9cm dilated and ready to enter the pool. Olivia created the perfect atmosphere for the water birth, dimmed the lights and setup ambient lighting around the room. The pool was extremely comfortable with lots of padding, depth and handles on the outside to hold onto during contractions, and filled with perfectly warm water. Olivia guided me on how and when to push baby out, and within 45 minutes baby was delivered.

I couldn’t have asked for a more smoothly run birth. Olivia created a cool, calm and collected environment for the delivery of my baby and is an extremely professional, organised and considerate midwife.

The antenatal and postnatal appointments with midwives Megan, Naomi and Olivia have been extremely educational and provided a safe space to talk all things pregnancy, birth and baby. The model and continuity of care FBC provides is exceptional and is driven by what’s best for you and baby without any agendas.