My name is Abbey. I have had the ability to birth both at Hutt hospital in 2020 and at Te Awakairangi birthing centre in 2021. Both times I have been lucky enough to experience community midwives. My first midwife did not birth by choice at the birthing centre. My second midwife was more confident and offered this as an option. These two experiences began with very similar circumstances (same timing of labour, same time of day, no water broken).
During my first birth (hospital) I arrived at hospital and as soon as I arrived I was TOLD to go to the toilet, I was TOLD that I needed an exam to check how far along I was, it was that time that the midwife broke my waters (I was not asked if this could happen, I was TOLD that during the exam they broke which was a good thing). It was at this point that my baby went into distress and nurses and Drs were called in as in the rush of my waters breaking they had lost his heartbeat and needed to intervene by hooking me to a monitor (which I was not asked if this was okay) and putting a monitor on my baby's head. There was arguing between the Dr and the midwife, and I largely felt out of control, and that things were happening to me without any input from me or my husband. I feel like a lot of this was unnecessary and that everyone was just in a rush to get baby out and that the faster the better. I was then told if I wanted my own room then I needed to hurry up and hand baby over to get dressed and have a shower, this took time away from me bonding with my baby and I felt pressure to hurry up and get ready just so that I could secure a room.
During my first birth (hospital) I arrived at hospital and as soon as I arrived I was TOLD to go to the toilet, I was TOLD that I needed an exam to check how far along I was, it was that time that the midwife broke my waters (I was not asked if this could happen, I was TOLD that during the exam they broke which was a good thing). It was at this point that my baby went into distress and nurses and Drs were called in as in the rush of my waters breaking they had lost his heartbeat and needed to intervene by hooking me to a monitor (which I was not asked if this was okay) and putting a monitor on my baby's head. There was arguing between the Dr and the midwife, and I largely felt out of control, and that things were happening to me without any input from me or my husband. I feel like a lot of this was unnecessary and that everyone was just in a rush to get baby out and that the faster the better. I was then told if I wanted my own room then I needed to hurry up and hand baby over to get dressed and have a shower, this took time away from me bonding with my baby and I felt pressure to hurry up and get ready just so that I could secure a room.
This was wildly different to my experience at the birthing centre. Again, my waters had not broken during labour, but my midwife did not feel the need to perform an exam. During my whole birthing experience I was not physically examined at all, my midwife did not need to touch me at all during my labour. The environment was calm, quiet, the bath was run and waiting for me when I arrived, staff welcomed me and directed me to my room. When I felt stressed through physical pain, my midwife gave me options and asked what would be comfortable for me. As a result and not victim to time pressure I felt more in control and felt like my voice was the loudest in the room. The whole experience was calm, and I felt like I had a much better experience birthing when I was very calm and in control. Following the birth I was able to take as much time as I liked to bond with my baby. I was in the room that I birthed in, and I was calm and relaxed at this point.
During my stay at the birthing centre, I felt confident that the staff there were there to support me, irrespective of time, and business. I needed support feeding baby, and the staff spent as much time as necessary supporting me, checking in on me regularly and I really felt heard and valued. Having the option for my husband to stay with me made things 100x easier as he was not bound to visiting times, especially during the night when baby was getting grizzly and I was feeling overwhelmed with feeding. Having an environment where my family could be with me, I had the opportunity to make myself breakfast and snack when I felt like it all helped me to feel normal and in control of what was happening.
During my stay at the birthing centre, I felt confident that the staff there were there to support me, irrespective of time, and business. I needed support feeding baby, and the staff spent as much time as necessary supporting me, checking in on me regularly and I really felt heard and valued. Having the option for my husband to stay with me made things 100x easier as he was not bound to visiting times, especially during the night when baby was getting grizzly and I was feeling overwhelmed with feeding. Having an environment where my family could be with me, I had the opportunity to make myself breakfast and snack when I felt like it all helped me to feel normal and in control of what was happening.
