"Wonderful experience with MGP4"

I had my first baby at King Eddie's nearly 5 weeks ago and I'm so grateful for the quality of care that we received through MGP4.

My midwife was Sarah, who is fantastic - an expert who is very passionate about what she does and is very warm and caring. Sarah encouraged me to make informed decisions throughout my pregnancy and provided guidance and resources to support these. Being able to contact Sarah easily (by phone or text) was great and no question was ever treated as silly - even though as a first-time parent, I'm sure I had lots of them!

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, our parent education classes were cancelled, but Sarah ensured that we were as informed and prepared as possible. I felt that Sarah was looking after my health and my baby's, but also the whole family's wellbeing.

Sarah was really supportive of my birth preferences, although my circumstances changed and I booked in for a caesarean. Even though a caesarean was not part of the plan it was such a positive experience, and having Sarah there definitely contributed to this - I know that she provided lots of advice and reassurance to my partner on the day too.

During our hospital stay, when I was recovering and getting to grips with being a new mum, it was wonderful to have a familiar face pop in. I also got to know Liz, Carissa and Holly and they were all brilliant. Liz was fantastic support on the day I had to make a decision about the birth, and again, provided lots of information so that I could make an informed decision. Liz and Carissa carried out home visits within a few days of us getting home and both provided invaluable advice.

I believe that every family should be able to access fantastic midwife-led care like that offered by MGP4.

We stayed on Ward 5 after the birth and again received wonderful care. Alison particularly was great support and spent a lot of time with me as I tried to work out breastfeeding.

I'd also like to mention the Breastfeeding Centre - I've had a few appointments with Debra and feel so lucky to have the support of the Centre available to me. I'm planning to breastfeed for at least my baby's first year and I don't think I'd have considered this possible without the advice and reassurance I received from Debra.

One suggestion - I had a slow start to breastfeeding, and the midwives on Ward 5 suggested that I speak to a lactation consultant. I know that they paged a few times, but I didn't get to see one until I attended the Breastfeeding Centre a few weeks later. It would be great if resources were made available so that lactation consultant support is possible whilst on the ward/within a few days of birth.