"Community Midwifery Program - Homebirth, amazing!"

I had my first child through KEMH family birth centre (FBC) and was so grateful for the continuity of care we received. Our midwives were highly trained, trusted and supportive. We had an amazing birth of the FBC, however, I was not impressed with some of the care we received up in King Edwards hospital post-birth. We had some great medical staff, but others were very dismissive and invasive. They seemed to be blinded to a low-risk birth because I believe they are so used to seeing higher risk, and unfortunately lead to a mostly unpleasant experience. I do recognise that they are absolutely fantastic at high-risk births and some staff members were amazing, but our experience was a little different.

For my second pregnancy, I decided I would like the same model of care but didn't want to have the long drive to the birth centre (around 30 mins) for pregnancy appointments and honestly felt anxious about King Eddy's hospital so wanted to avoid it as much as possible - so going through the CMP would suit our needs more. Again, the midwives were fantastic! An amazing model of care which is supportive, safe (evidence-based) and great outcomes (physically and emotionally) for the mother & baby. Safety was discussed at appointments, risk factors were always ruled out, and backup plans were discussed as things don't always go to plan. We trusted our midwives' experience and intuition which put our family at ease. We had a calm, relaxed safe home birth and I couldn't be more happier and feel more proud of myself.

Some people call it 'luck', the more educated understand it is the series of choices you make during your pregnancy, the continuity of care, the place of birth you're comfortable with, the acceptance of change if needed etc I believe that all helps towards this type of birth experience. In my home birth, there were no pressures, no bullying for unnecessary interventions, no worry - everything that a natural birth is supposed to be. Homebirths should always remain a choice for families in Australia, as long as guidelines are followed and there are minimal or no risk factors. I will continue to recommend the CMP and homebirths (if applicable) to other pregnant women, as I want this exceptional service to continue. 

We had Michelle and Aisla from the CMP south region, SO professional, caring and supportive.