North Surrey Midwives | Birth stories

Latest: Postnatal care testimonial

“After care is one of the things you don’t realise you need, until you have it. You spend months preparing for the actual birth… then what?! Tami and Angela were the most important people during our first few weeks with our new baby. They helped with all the practical things that feel overwhelming (such as breastfeeding, sleep tips and pelvic floor reminders!), discovered my baby had tongue tie, and much more importantly they were my emotional soundboard, providing unparalleled support when my hormones needed it the most. When my husband went back to work it was their visits that enabled me to have the confidence to leave the house and they reassured me I was doing perfectly.”

Katherine, mum of Bronte

Arthur’s Birth Story

“I’d had Braxton Hicks for a few weeks, and was fairly sure that over the previous couple of days they were getting a bit more persistent and regular. But the first real contraction came at 10.00am on Thursday while I was still in the chiropractor’s office post-adjustment. It was the first chiro appointment in nearly three years where my sacrum hadn’t needed much adjusting – perhaps my body had already optimised itself for the imminent birth..?”

Max’s Birth Story

“As soon as I became pregnant with my first child a couple of years ago, I knew I wanted to give birth at home. It wasnâ€™t something Iâ€™d particularly thought about until I needed to, but soon after discovering we were expecting, I mentioned the idea of a homebirth to my husband, Toby, and was thrilled to discover that, as a chiropractor, he shared my instinctive feeling that to bring our baby into the world in the comfort and privacy of our own home would be the most natural thing in the world.”

Billy’s Breech Birth

“My birth story seems to begin a week or two before my labour started. I had been planning a homebirth right from the beginning of my pregnancy – I had always felt that pregnancy was not an illness and birth was a natural process, not necessarily something in need of medical intervention. I considered myself very lucky to be in a region where homebirth was relatively well-supported on the NHS (5% rate). I was fit, healthy and ticked all the boxes – and continued to do so for the next 38 weeks.”

Astri’s Birth Story

“From even before I was pregnant I felt very strongly that I wanted the birth of my first child to be at home. In part this was because of a dislike of hospitals but mostly because the evidence on safe births suggested very strongly to me that for a normal pregnancy with no complications then this would be the safest and importantly happiest place to give birth.”

Freddie’sÂ Re-birth

Vaginal Birth can be an empowering, life-changing experience for many women; it can also be a hard, traumatic birth for others and for some women, the right way for their baby to be born is by caesarean section.Â In the UK at present the C-section rates varies, and is on average hitting the 25% mark consistently. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) this rate is too high (we should be around the 10% mark), and many women are having unnecessary surgery that has implications for both the mother and baby. Caesarean birth however can be a life-saving and much needed intervention, and for my client, was the way that her baby â€“ Freddie â€“ made his way into the world.

Abigail’s Birth Story

“Our first birth with our son was a very traumatic experience for us. We had planned a natural birth at home (as the safest option, and that which was most likely to give us the birth we wanted), but in the end, circumstances took us down a very different path: I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia at 37 weeks, and was hospitalised immediately. I was then in hospital for a week and a half â€“ it sounds like nothing, but felt like a lifetime!”

Evie’s Birth Story

“I’d had an easy and straightforward second pregnancy with Evie, but was starting to get a bit nervous towards the end. My first pregnancy had been an induced delivery and I was worried I wouldn’t know what labour starting felt like and Angela wouldn’t get there in time ( my first labour was 72 minutes start to finish!). Angela spent much of the last two or three appointments calming my nerves, talking through the signs and telling me again and again that I was to call if in doubt and no she would not think I was an idiot if it was a false alarm.”

Testimonials and Birth Stories