"MGP 4/5"

We were lucky enough to be accepted into the MGP 4/5 team for our second VBAC. We were over the moon when our friendly midwife phoned one day to give us the great news as we were out of catchment so weren’t sure we’d be accepted. Having continuity of care through a midwife program was very important to us but unfortunately there isn’t many (public) options like this once you’ve had a c-section. Thankfully it was meant to be for us. I hope to see more options like this for other women and in more hospitals in Perth.

We were under the great care of midwife Beck and Viv (buddy midwife). Beck was warm, friendly and respectful at all my appointments. I was listened to each time and felt very comfortable leading up to my birth. It was lovely to be able to bring my daughter to the clinic if I couldn’t get care and she was involved in the appointments and was given opportunities to bond with the baby by finding the heartbeat.

It was a great set up to meet the buddy midwife as there is a chance your midwife might be on a day off when baby arrives, this is what happened in our case. Having met Viv during my pregnancy, I felt confident calling her when my contractions started and knowing she was there to support me.

I opted to include a student midwife in my care and I felt they were supported in the experience as well being invited to be hands on and have their questions asked.

We ended up having a BBA delivery but when arrived at the hospital Viv was there ready to provide that warm hug feeling and support needed in those first few hours. It was a very busy time in the labour and birth suite and another benefit for the MGP programme is knowing your in the care of a familiar face and not a stranger who is on the ward that day.

Being able to go home quickly and have home visits up to 10days was perfect for us and our family. Again, we were respected and listened to at each visit and our whole family was included in the experience.

If I was to suggest any improvements, it would be for the midwives to communicate working days or leave as sometimes I had text (for non-urgent) matters and it was unclear if they’d received my message and forgot or maybe on leave or RDO. I did ask for this information from 38 weeks and was kindly shared with me which put my mind at ease with who I was calling or seeing if I went into labour. I was able to relax knowing this.

Thank you everyone at MGP 4/5 for your great work.