A story from BEFORE the birth ......
Hi Natalie/Lynda,
I'd also be willing to have a chat with you, as I am lucky enough to be using
an ind. midwife (Rene, whom Lynda has recommended in her email, and who also
delivered my nephew, last June!).
I basically had all the concerns you have, being our first child, I wanted to
be guided and have complete peace of mind that I was getting the best possible
treatment. I wanted to have just the one midwife throughout my whole pregnancy,
that we could get to know and trust, who knew all about me and my medical history
(and not just a number on the NHS). I also was considering home/water birth
something that isn't guaranteed on the NHS.
I don't want to put anyone off who is having a baby with the NHS, because I
know many people who have been lucky and have had a very good experience, although
I haven't heard of many people having home births with the NHS, however, after
Jan's talk at the class on Monday, it seems that this is becoming more and more
available.
But for me I suppose I had a bit of bad experience with the NHS, and had no
confidence in the system at all. At 6 months I still hadn't met a midwife and
only had my urine sample taken once - at the 3 month scan. When I went for my
second scan I realised I should of had several appointments and a whole folder
of full of notes - none of which I knew anything about!! How was I suppose to
know - this is my first time (maybe I was naive!)!? When I asked at the hospital
about these missed appointments I was basically told that it was down to me
to organise and all these were in my folder (I didn't have a folder!!!). This
was really the icing on the cake for me and thats when I called Rene.
I was recommended by Rene by my brother and sister-in-law - they had the most
amazing home/water birth - for their first child and they raved about her!
Rene came round to our house for a free - no obligations chat and we talked
about our concerns of hospital/home births etc. We too were a bit nervous about
a home birth and my partner was adamant that he wanted us to be hospital as
he felt this was the safest place. However, it didn't take long for Rene to
persuade us that home birth was the most safest option (providing there were
no complications). She told us that this way we had the best of both worlds,
because at any point during labour for any reason at all - be it a medical emergency
or even if I just changed my mind and thought I'd be safer in hospital, we could
go. The only thing with this is, that Rene couldn't deliver the baby in hospital,
but she would be there as a birthing partner.
Another reason we were sold on Rene was that she strongly believes post-natal
care is as important as the antenatal care. Her care doesn't just stop at the
birth... if I remember rightly, she comes every day for the first week or two
and then 2/3 times a week for the next few weeks. Again, being our first and
a little nervous, we felt we needed someone like Rene around to guide us through
and be on call.
We signed her up there and then and was lucky enough that she had a space for
us in March as she only takes on two births a month (I think!). We haven't looked
back since, she's been absolutely amazing and I feel like I've had a complete
weight lifted off my shoulders and no more sleepless nights! She wrote to all
the necessary people informing them that she was taking over my care, I haven't
had to do or worry about a thing since, all my appointments are taking of, and
don't need to worry if I've missed something, she would even attend hospital
appointments with me if I wanted. She comes round to the house for all the antenatal
appointments and really makes an effort to get to know you. Its nice that she's
got the time for you to sit and chat - I love hearing about all her birth stories!
She's on call 24 hours a day to me and I know that I can call her with any concern
I have no matter how little, big or stupid it may seem!
However, Rene does come at a cost, and I understand that not everyone can afford
to have an Ind. mid wife, but she really is worth every penny, and I'd rather
forefit a summer holiday to have peace of mind, knowing that we are having the
birth we want and that we are receiving the best possible treatment before,
during and after!
We feel completely relaxed and excited about the whole home birth experience
- Rene has given us complete peace of mind and we can't wait !
I hope this helps!!
Feel free to ask me anything!!
Gemma x
Baby Tate - Born at home 15th March
I have 2 children already and both were very quick births so I was preparing for another speedy delivery.
My second child had arrived in an hour from my first twinge and the midwife missed it so I was concerned that this time my homebirth didn't turn into another unattended birth.
I spoke to the NHS midwife and she gave me no confidence that she would rush to get to me which made me very nervous. I therefore hired an independant midwife (Rene Schwencke) who was absolutely fantastic.
She talked me through breathing exercises that I could use to slow the birth down which proved invaluable on the night.
I woke up at 1.10am with period type cramps, not even knowing if it would lead to established labour at 1.15 I called Rene who set off immediatley.
By 1.25 I was having full blown contractions with hardly a break between. I began using the breathing exercises that Rene had taught me and lay on my front with my bum in the air to get a bit of help from gravity to slow things down as I was already feeling the urge to push.
It was occuring to me to call an ambulance so I called Rene back at
1.35 but she said that she was 15 minutes away.
When I had a brief break in contractions I rushed downstairs to my birthpool but Rene told me not to get in before she arrived.
At 1.50 Rene arrived, I leapt into the pool and with the gravity of standing up and one push the baby arrived at 1.54.
It was a fanastic birth experience but so quick that it was over and I had my baby in my arms before it had really hit me that I was in labour.
I am so pleased that I hired an independant midwife as without the breathing that Rene taught me I am sure that the baby would have arrived 20 minutes earlier. With the NHS it would definately have been an unattended birth.
If you want to read my other two birth stories they are at www.birthpoolhire.co.uk. I have had such positive homebirth experiences that they inspired me to set up my own company :)
Amelia - Born in Hospital
It was the weekend of a full moon and I woke up Friday morning to find I had had a show. Despite having some tightenings in my stomach I didn’t get my hopes up as I had heard you can still go 2 weeks till baby makes an appearance from having a show and I still had 2 weeks left to go.
That evening I went to bed earlier than usual as I felt a bit nauseous and extremely tired, I woke an hour later being very sick and a little while later my waters went. It was at 2am on the Saturday morning when my contractions started. At this point Andy my husband attached the tens machine to my back and with a mixture of tens and the breathing techniques I had learnt at yoga I kept myself going and Andy filled the birth pool.
By about 7am we felt it was time for Rene, our midwife to come and give me a check up, though I was a little apprehensive worried that I wouldn’t be too far along. However, it turned out I was 8cm dilated and it was time to get into the pool. The warm water was a huge relief and it was nice to have a warm, comfortable place to relax a bit between contractions.
When the second stage started, I had high hopes that the baby would be born by lunchtime but it wasn’t to be the case. I spent 3 hours pushing and could feel myself becoming more and more frustrated and disheartened. It was then that Rene suggested we go to hospital for a ventouse and hopefully be home again by dinnertime, by this time I was exhausted and thought it was a very good idea. The ambulance arrived and the gas and air they provided was, at this point, a real treat.
Unfortunately the ventouse was not to be. After a quick scan at the hospital it turned out that the baby was breach (with legs up behind ears holding the head in place) and needed to be born via caesarean section as no amount of pushing was going to work. We were taken down to theatre soon after, fortunately both Andy and Rene could stay with me. Having them both there really gave me strength, and at 14.19pm Amelia Caitlin was born, weighing a healthy 8lbs 2oz.
Although not the home birth that we had originally planned, to have had the labour at home I feel really helped me remain positive about the trip to hospital and the c-section outcome. Next time we’ll hopefully get the full home birth experience and I hope that Rene will be there to hold my hand again.
Lilly - Waterbirth at Home
( Sally ) I first decided to contact an Independent Midwife, after my sister had one for the care of both her children. Rene came around and basically explained everything they do. I was especially impressed by the amount of support and aftercare I would receive and my partner was pleased, as all the visits were done at home, so it was much easier for me and him. Throughout my whole pregnancy Rene was there for me at every stage and the closer I got to my due date the more grateful I was that I had so much support.
This was my first birth, so I didn’t know what to expect, so it was quite
scary at times. My waters finally broke on 30th November 2007. Rene came round
in the morning, as I felt very frightened and wasn’t sure exactly what to do.
She reassured me and comforted me, which really helped calm me down and feel
a lot more relaxed. I had already started to use the tens machine after my waters
had broken, which I was finding quite effective. Rene explained It could be
today or tomorrow, so for me to relax as much as I could and she would be back
in the afternoon to check on me.
After she left the labour started to progress at a quicker pace than expected,
so my partner got the birth pool ready for me. Around lunch time the contractions
started to increased rapidly, so my partner called Rene and she arrived shortly
after. I tried to use the gas and air, but I couldn’t seem to get to grips with
it, so I just carried on with the tens machine. Rene said it was time for me
to be checked over and that is when it all began……I went from 6cm to 9cm, so
It was now time to get into the pool for the final stage.
Getting into the birthing pool was a big relief for me and I was so thankful that I had decided to purchase one in the end. All the labour pain was in my back, so Rene and my partner helped sooth my back at each contraction. After contractions and sleeping it was time to start pushing! And finally my baby girl was born at 4.08 in the afternoon. She was completely calm when she arrived and I think that was due to having her in the water. I just held her in the water for a while, half in shock, half exhausted, but extremely happy and overwhelmed.
Afterwards Rene and Sally, the other midwife, helped me get out of the pool and after I had delivered the placenta, they were there to help me have a bath and get ready for a good earned rest! I did unfortunately have to have stitches, but I was very lucky that another midwife came around to do them. It was painful, but they have now healed very well and again Rene and Sally were there ever step of the way.
The next hurdle for me and my baby girl Lilly to overcome was breastfeeding. I think it is one of the most hardest things I have done. I thought it would be really easy, but you both have to work at it. I struggled for the first few weeks, but with a lot of support from the midwifes, friends and family and a lot of perseverance from me, I have to say I think I have finally cracked it! So if you do have problems, your not alone, I have since heard many stories of how difficult it can be, but it is definitely worth it in the end.
I would like to give my thanks to Rene and Sally for all the help and support they have given me throughout my pre and post pregnancy and I would recommend them to anyone, it is so worth it. I never thought I would say this, but I would definitely have another one!
Nuala - Waterbirth at Home
I had woken up at 4.15am on the Sunday morning because Sam was coughing and after sorting him out and tucking him in I got back into bed and realised I was having pains – very irregularly and not too painful but stronger than braxton hicks. I couldn’t get back to sleep properly so lay there trying to time how long they were and when they were coming.
I suspected that the pains were the really early start of something but considering I was only 38+5 weeks couldn’t really let myself believe it.
This continued throughout the rest of the morning. We went to church and a few people prayed for us there. One couple prayed that things would start that day and one man prayed that this baby’s birth would be wonderful and that it would be like bathing in a pool of warm water – he didn’t know I was planning a water birth!
Again things carried on quite irregularly for the rest of the day, I knew I wasn’t in established labour but the contractions were getting more painful, so around 3.00pm, I took myself up to my bedroom. I felt I needed some quiet time away from the noise and bustle of the children. I also text Sally, my IM and Hayles my doula to let them know that whilst it wasn’t happening right then, it might happen later. Sally text back that I was to let her know when the contractions got to 10 minutes apart but if I felt I needed her in the meantime, to let her know. This is when I was so glad she just lived across the village from me.
Hayles phoned me to say that if I wanted her to come, then she would but I didn’t feel that things had kicked off at this point enough to warrant it. We still had the children to feed and put to bed. I kind of knew my body wouldn’t let things really kick off at that point.
Brendan made tea for the children – albeit quite late because he was watching the motor racing. He didn’t believe it would happen until the following weekend. I don’t know when that boy will learn to listen to me! By the time the older children were getting ready for bed and I was getting Sam ready, the contractions, though irregular were really quite painful. I put Sam to bed and went downstairs and told Brendan he needed to put the pool up – I still don’t think at this point he thought it was happening. I think he thought it was a ruse to get him to practise filling the pool. While he did this I bounced on my ball and watched Wife Swap and walked around to try and regulate the contractions. Hayles in the meantime had phoned again and offered to come and I thought at this point it would be quite good to have her here.
When Hayles arrived I explained about the contractions being painful but still really irregular. She said that the baby’s head probably wasn’t quite in the right place and gave me some different positions to try and move her to where she should be. I on the other hand at this point was still worrying that everything would stop and I would have got everyone out and on alert for nothing. I had phoned Sally at 9.00pm to update her and I think she could tell from my voice that things weren’t hotting up just yet. She had said to phone back when contractions were 5 mins apart, so that gave me something to aim for but still couldn’t quite believe I’d get there. In between contractions I was absolutely fine and chatted with Brend and Hayles. The contractions however were extremely painful, Hayley was saying how she could see my toes curling with the pain during them.
I was telling Hayles about when I was in labour with Molly and Brend and I were walking round the village to get the contractions going when Hayles said ‘well let’s do that then’. I will be eternally grateful she did that. So while Brend continued to fill the pool, Hayles and I went out for a walk – me in my pyjama bottoms. It was around 11.30pm at this point. We walked around and around and I actually got us lost, the village is like a maze and it was really dark! Hayles made me walk up hills like a crab and I kept walking up the wrong paths to people’s front doors. We were sure we’d end up arrested. Hayles made me laugh so much I nearly wet myself.
I had a couple of big contractions while we were out and a couple of big pains that weren’t quite contractions. Hayles suggested it could be baby’s head moving into position and boy was she right. We got back to the house (once we found it) and I started bouncing on my ball and the contractions started coming every 9 minutes, very strong. Then I started having one big contraction, a smaller one after 5 minutes and then another big one after another five minutes. I was still worried at this point that it would all stop. Hayles kept saying to me, ‘Jane, you’re having a baby.’ The lights were low in the room and Brendan had finished filling the pool. We had a worship cd playing and just the low murmer of Hayles and Brend chatting while I concentrated on contractions. These were getting more intense. I wondered if I should phone Sally again and tell her to come. I didn’t want her to come and say I was only 1-2 cm and baby was still high and free. Hayles said that often if you’re not sure whether to call the midwife or not then it probably means not. A couple of powerful contractions later and I said ‘I think I should call her’ It just felt like things were suddenly stepping up. It was so lovely to know that when I phoned, I would be getting Sally and not somebody unknown to me. I also knew that whilst I was panicking about calling her out too early for her it would be no problem so I had to just get over my worries.
I phoned Sally at 2.00am and she said she’d come straight round and phone her partner Rene who would also come and bring the gas and air.
Sally got here at 2.15am and checked me over. Bp and urine were fine and baby’s heartbeat was spot on even through a contraction. Now for the big moment, I had my one and only vaginal exam (completely different from my previous hospital births and my last home birth with the community midwives when they isnsisted on regular and frequent examinations) and I was……6-7cm! I couldn’t believe it. I had never gone that far without pain relief before! Sally also said baby’s head was very low down and the membranes were bulging. I knew Sally wasn’t keen to artificially rupture the membranes but I was willing to beg if things went on too long and they didn’t rupture naturally. I was happy to see how it went for the moment though and was completely trusting of Sally and what she was telling me. I really felt in control of what was happening. I could also get in the pool now though which I did. The warm water was lovely and I started lying leaning against the side. I then moved onto my knees leaning on the side of the pool, which seemed more comfie for me.
At 2.55am Rene arrived but I didn’t pay much attention as I was concentrating on getting through contractions then almost going into sleep mode in between. I could hear rhe low murmer of Brend and Hayles and Sally and Rene in the background but they didn’t really intefere in what I was doing and allowed me to completely focus on birthing my baby. Even when Rene checked the baby’s heartbeat I remained where I was in the pool and wasn’t really aware of what was going on, it was so lovely. At this point the contractions got more painful and Rene set up the entonox for me – they just seemed to know I needed it as I blurted out ‘they’re getting more painful!’ After this, I sucked gratefully on the entonox through contractions until to my surprise, at 3.35am, I felt a pop – I blurted ‘I think my waters have gone!’ not knowing that they could see my waters had gone. I was so surprised they went in their own time on their own This had only happened in my first labour when my waters went before my labour actually started. All the other times they had been artificially ruptured..
Now was the test to see if what had happened in three of my previous labours would happen again. Would the baby would be born straight away. Another contraction was building and suddenly there it was, the urge to push. It took Sally and Rene by surprise but they flew into action. Brendan said he looked at Hayles because they could hear a difference in my breathing and they both knew what was going to happen next. ‘I’m pushing’ I yelled as I dropped the gas and air and just put my head down and pushed for all my worth, knowing that that was the only way out of the pain and suddenly Sally was saying, ‘take the baby Jane and lift her to the surface.’ I couldn’t believe it, I looked down and Sally was passing a baby up between my legs.
Nuala Grace was here, born at 3,40am, just 5 minutes after my waters went. Apparantly she shot out like a torpedo! She didn’t breath immediately so Rene and I blew gently on her face until she took her first breath. She made a few little sounds but didn’t want to cry. She was so chilled out and contented. I sat back in the pool and leant against the side with my baby girl on my chest. It had all happened so fast there hadn’t been time to wake the children, so Hayles went and woke them for me so they could meet their new sister. Sam slept through the whole thing.
The children came in and looked in amazement at Nuala. They each came and gave her kisses. Then we encouraged them to go back to bed while I got out of the pool and delievered the placenta but they were too excited by this point and came back down. We waited for the cord to stop pulsating before it was clamped. It was all so relaxed and calm, it was gorgeous. We all wondered how much Nuala would weigh because she looked so tiny and she was a teeny 5lb1oz, she looked just like a little doll. She didn’t even really cry until she had her vitamin K injection. I managed to latch her on the breast and she had a few good sucks. We all sat around chatting and laughing with the children, it was so lovely and relaxed. Eventually the children did go back to bed and I went and had a bath and got into bed. I just had a graze, so no stitches, which was wonderful.
Hayles made me toast and then went home and the midwives gave Nuala a proper check over and then left not long after. I was lying in bed with my gorgeous, little girl. I am so thankful to Hayles, Sally and Rene. This was my most amazing labour and birth yet and they helped to make it that.
Jo - Caesarean section
After finding out I was pregnant, I decided to enlist the help of private midwives as I felt that I couldn’t get the one to one care that I wanted from the NHS. Right from the start Sally & Rene were really helpful and informative. I found it so nice to have my ante-natal appointments at my home at a time that suited me so it fit in around my work. To have someone always on the end of the phone or on email for quick questions was really reassuring and I found the fact that the same people were caring for us throughout, very comforting.
After a very straightforward pregnancy baby Charlie was born 1st February 2008 by emergency c-section at the PRUH. We had hoped to have a home water birth, we had the pool already to go and were looking forward to a natural birth at home but unfortunately my waters broke, and after 4 hours of labour at home there was meconium in my waters. I knew what it was immediately as Sally & Rene had spoken to us in depth about all the things that may happen, so when Sally came to the house at 9am she decided that we should go into hospital in case the baby was distressed (as it turned out he was perfectly fine all the way through my labour but we had to be safe!). We transferred by ambulance and arrived at the hospital and were taken to a room.
I decided that I would try and manage using my Tens machine for as long as I could, which I had put on immediately when my waters broke (my other half was using the gas & air before I was!). After about 6 hours of labour, I was 6cm dilated and managing my contractions well. I tried to keep myself relaxed and breath through them and Sally & Rene were very quick to remind me when I wasn’t doing it right which was great as it really did help. I used gas & air for another 2 hours until I was 8cm dilated and the contractions were strong and coming about every 5 minutes or so. I found the most comfortable position to be on my knees, resting on the back of the bed with the support of my partner and my midwives to help me through the contractions as they came ... we were actually having a bit of a laugh in between, the gas & air was making everything seem rather hilarious (to me anyway)!
At this point the registrar at the hospital told me that I wasn’t progressing very well and the contractions were becoming increasingly more intense (we later discovered that Charlie was back to back) so I asked for an epidural. Unfortunately the epidural slowed everything down and I was forced to be on my back as I couldn’t feel my legs, my contractions progressed over the next 4 hours and when I was fully dilated, I stated to push which was quite difficult as I couldn’t really feel my contractions but my midwives helped me to gauge when to push and encouraged me to push in the right way for as long as possible.
After 2 hours of pushing I was very tired and they decided that the baby was
in fact back to back and was going to need some help to be born so they took
me to theatre for an assisted delivery. Unfortunately, when the surgeon examined
me he decided that baby was not far enough down for an assisted delivery and
that I would need a c-section. Charlie was born at 8.20pm and was fit and well.
Sally & Rene were a great help to me in the days after the birth, they visited
me in hospital while I was there due to having had a c-section and helped me
to establish breastfeeding straight away. They helped me to get up & move
around after my operation and spent time with myself & Charlie that the
NHS midwives just didn’t have time to do. I found the 28 days of postnatal care
invaluable, and to have someone to ask questions, however silly they may seem,
was very reassuring.
Even though I didn’t manage to have the birth I had hoped for, I found the help & support of my midwives invaluable and will certainly enlist their help with the next one!
Belinda - Waterbirth at Home
Hi,
I had an independent midwife - Rene Schwencke - when I had my baby girl in April,
and I am so glad that I did. I know it is a lot of money and I was worried about
whether it would be worth it or not, but I can honestly say that it was definitely
worth the money and I would use her again next time round.
Each time I went to my doctors for a check, I would end up seeing a different midwife and so felt I was having to explain everything about my pregnancy all the time. I found it really difficult not being able to form a relationship with one person, so I decided to look into independent midwives.
As soon as I met Rene, I felt relaxed and confident with her. I didn't feel silly asking any questions and she was always at the end of the phone whenever I needed her.
I ended up having a home water birth, which was a wonderful experience.
I would definitely recommend Rene as an independent midwife.
If I can help you with anything, just let me know.
Belinda xx