"Exceptional care during our birthing experience"

We choose to birth our little boy at Wonthaggi hospital. The care we received from everyone was exceptional from the beginning. The staff were always available if we had any concerns during our pregnancy and made us feel as if there were no silly questions (which there probably was as first time parents). We also chose to have a student midwife Kyra who was doing placement at the hospital follow our pregnancy. It was such a comfort having her come to all our antenatal appointments, birth and beyond.

When we came in to birth our little boy all of the midwives we encountered were amazing. We immediately felt safe as we walked onto the ward and was greeted by Maddi who helped us settle into the birthing unit. We then had amazing support from Hollie through the majority of my labour. Hollie was an instant calming presence and she went through my preferences for the birth and did everything she could to make sure I got them. She was kind and really helped guide me through the labour, encouraging/empowering me when I needed it, giving me alternative options to relieve the pain, helped show my partner massage techniques getting him involved in the birth process.

Kyra my student was also amazing in my care and helped encourage and empower me throughout the labour. The second stage of labour was the most difficult and also the time when I felt extremely supported. The team of 4 midwives and Dr Carmen worked well together as a team and made me feel as though I had my own cheer squad, encouraging me and telling me he was almost there. Dr Carmen was such a happy, positive and empowering presence. Making sure we were well-informed throughout the process. She was calm and you could feel that was genuinely happy and excited to be helping us bring our little baby into the world.

I would also like to thank Dr Megan also for coming in to make sure our little boy was ok. I would also like to thank all of the midwives that helped us in the postnatal unit (Maddi, Maddi, Ashlin, Hollie) for helping us establish breastfeeding. I would also like to thank the lovely night midwife Breanna for taking our little boy for cuddles overnight and helping us get some much-needed sleep and also for spending so much time with us overnight helping him latch. Nothing was ever too hard and she was supportive, kind and approachable.

I would also like to thank Kelly who came and saw us postnatally at home, for really taking the time to check that I was coping ok since returning home and really making me feel heard. We would really just like to thank everyone that was involved in our care for making the entire experience such a positive one. We would definitely choose to birth and recommend others to birth here.