"Pregnancy, birth & beyond"

I attended the antenatal clinic run by the midwives throughout my pregnancy and was always met with welcoming and friendly staff. Each appointment I was felt listened to, supported and well informed.

The Positive Birth Program offered by the hospital was great and I felt the midwife that ran the course was knowledgeable and approachable and really took the time to ensure we all felt informed and empowered to approach birth in a positive way, whatever that looked like.

My labour started quite abruptly and ramped up very fast, leaving very little time for anything. Despite the ward being seemingly inundated with patients and staffing short - I was admitted and made to feel welcome, with my midwife staying by my side from start to finish, offering both myself and my husband food, water, positive encouragement, support and guidance. My daughter was born 4.5 hours after being admitted and was immediately given to me for skin to skin. Unfortunately, I had torn and as a result needed to go to theatre for it to be repaired. Although nervous to leave my baby, I was reassured that our wishes would be honoured and my husband would get to have skin to skin with our daughter while I was away. He was also supported by the midwives in offering her some of the expressed colostrum I had brought in with me to the hospital.

After returning from theatre, the midwives assisted me with getting baby to latch on for her first breastfeed which was a success. Throughout my stay, I was constantly checked in on to ensure I was doing ok and breastfeeding without issues. The midwives even offered to take and settle baby for an hour or so during the nights while I slept, and during periods where I was overwhelmed with emotions, they sat with me, talked and offered their support. Overall, I had an extremely positive experience and was very impressed with the care I received both during my pregnancy, birth and beyond.