"Community Midwifery Program"

I recently had a wonderful homebirth with my first baby and I can't speak highly enough of the east CMP team for facilitating it, in particular Zoe. 

I applied for the program with the intention of birthing at the Family Birth Centre and was accepted at 15 weeks pregnant. I was allocated to a midwife who immediately made me aware she was going on long service leave just prior to my due date, however, she told me I would be made familiar with the other midwives in the team ahead of time, so I wasn't too concerned.

I had a change of heart at 26 weeks and decided to opt for a homebirth instead, which was approved by the hospital without fuss. It was also around this time that my midwife took leave earlier than planned. Enter Zoe! From our first meeting onwards Zoe was extremely informative and engaged. Every time we caught up I walked away feeling heard, empowered and confident that I would be able to birth the way I wanted to. I also felt this way after having backup meetings with Kirsten and Claire from the team, too - all three were warm and reassuring at every step of the process and my husband and I looked forward to every appointment.

My due date came and went and my son hadn't made an appearance, and at 41 weeks I went into the MFAU for monitoring. Everything was tracking perfectly and although I knew induction could be on the cards if things didn't get moving, there was no mention of it at this appointment and I didn't feel pressured in any particular direction. It didn't matter anyway, as I ended up feeling mild contractions 3 hours after returning from the hospital, and by the next evening, I had given birth to my son in a birthing pool in my living room. It was the peaceful, perfect first birth that I had hoped for. I couldn't believe I had achieved it but I knew that by going through the CMP I had more than adequate supports in place.

Throughout the birth and in the days that followed, Zoe was exactly the comforting presence I feel you want to have around when you're feeling all the highs and lows of hormones. During my labour and birth, she quietly observed and completely let me guide the process and follow my instincts. She went above and beyond when breastfeeding didn't go to plan, organising a loan of a pump from the breastfeeding centre for me and providing gentle encouragement in person and over the phone when things got particularly tough. My mum was present for the birth and the daily visits following it, and although she had an amazing home birth with me in the early 90s, she commented on how well Zoe held space for us and felt her own birthing experience could have been even better if she'd had a similar midwife.

I feel so strongly about this and I've raved to anyone and everyone who will listen - a huge thank you to the CMP again!