Hogyn, Erin and baby Rowan
Hogyn and Erin chose to use My Independent Midwife after previous negative interactions with health care. They preferred not to go into hospital and felt like having complete continuity of care would put them at ease and allow them to better understand and enjoy their journey into parenthood. Baby Rowan is their first baby and arrived in hospital.
Hogyn and Erin really valued and enjoyed the care provided by their lead midwife, Sarah during the pregnancy. It was really important to them that they were able to contact Sarah directly whenever they had a concern or question. The pregnancy flew by uneventfully and by the time the birth arrived both of them felt well prepared.
Hogyn's membranes released before the surges began, however, Hogyn preferred to wait for 72 hours before attempting to induce labour. Initially, Hogyn was booked to receive care at Blackpool Hospital however, a last-minute change was made to transfer care to Preston Hospital. Sarah has an honouree contract at Preston Hospital, meaning that she could continue to provide direct clinical care to Hogyn at the hospital, if Hogyn chose to have induction of labour. Hogyn and Erin were delighted with this, feeling much more comfortable knowing that Sarah would be caring for them if they decided to go into hospital.
Fortunately, Hogyn started to experience uterine tightenings that gradually increased over the next few days, using a combination of acupuncture, exercises that promote good fetal positioning and rest. Hogyn and Erin found it really reassuring that they could stay in contact with Sarah throughout this time for advice, support and reassurance whenever they needed it.
About 2.5 days after the membranes released Hogyn was having regular surges, about 3 minutes apart and lasting 50-60 seconds. Sarah joined them and Hogyn found that the pool really helped ease the surges and helped with relaxation. As the night progressed the Surges continued to intensify and Hogyn chose to start using the entonox, which also helped to ease the intensity of the surges. Sarah called Jenny to join them as things appeared to be progressing smoothly towards baby being born with Hogyn reporting some pressure to push.
As the sun rose the surges spaced apart. Everyone had been keen to avoid a vaginal examination to reduce the risk of introducing any infection to Hogyn and the baby, especially as the membranes released 3 days earlier. However, after a balanced discussion it was agreed that with the surges easing away, it would be helpful to know how labour was progressing to make the best possible plan to ensure labour progressed.
The vaginal examination revealed that Hogyn was having a long latent (early) labour, which explained why the surges were becoming less intense. Jenny and Sarah helped Hogyn to practice the 'spinning baby's method' of side lying release, which is really helpful to those having long latent phases of labour and improves the baby's position in relation to the pelvis. This had the desired effect but Hogyn now felt physically and emotionally exhausted and decided that they would prefer to go to hospital for additional pain relief.
Sarah arranged this and Hogyn, Erin and Sarah all headed to Preston Hospital together. At the hospital everyone was delighted to find that Hogyn had progressed into established labour following the side lying release and wouldn't require induction of labour.
Hogyn decided to have an epidural. Sarah and Jenny took turns to support Hogyn and Erin throughout the day at the hospital, ensuring that they were able to make fully informed decisions and that they understood and felt comfortable with everything that was happening around them.
Hogyn progressed and reached full dilation that night. Baby Rowan was born and put straight into skin-to-skin contact. Delayed cord clamping was done and Hogyn breastfed baby Rowan as soon as he was ready.
A message from Hogyn .......
I have found it so hard to put into words how important Sarah has been for our journey into parenthood.
Being a queer and neurodivergent couple, navigating pregnancy related medical environments was always set to be tricky, on top of past negative experiences in healthcare. It was clear to us that we wanted as much of a hands-off approach as possible. We didn't even think a home-birth was an option for first time pregnancies, but after doing research not only did we find this to be untrue, but that there was an option even better for our journey; an independent midwife.
Because of the consistency of care from Sarah, we quickly built a relationship where we felt understood and empowered. The genuine love and care put us both at total ease, which is really amazing as we're both naturally overthinkers and worriers.
In the end the birth went astray from the ideal plans due to unforeseen complications in labour, but we felt safe and in the best hands with Sarah and Jenny there for us at hospital.
We would not have had such a positive experience without My Independent Midwife, the appointments were a highlight in the calendar. We always learnt new things at every session, and Sarah and Jenny were always happy to answer all our weird questions and 'what-if-ery'.
It was an absolute honour and blessing to have Sarah with us throughout the whole journey and to safely bring our baby into the world. We can't thank you enough.
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