Dear Kirsty, Caroline, Lucy and Lucy,
A huge thank you to all of you for all of your amazing support throughout my pregnancy and birth.
Despite not going completely to plan we enjoyed being at home for 90% of it! We would certainly opt for a homebirth again if we had another baby (although [redacted] says that was definitely our last!).
Lots of love [redacted]
“Hello home birth team,
Just wanted to write to say a huge thank you to all the home birth team ladies I was cared for by throughout my pregnancy. Although I had a few changes throughout due to Anna going on maternity and Covid I felt so well supported by every member of the team that I came into contact with…which I think was pretty much all the team in the end!
Following my positive Group B Strep diagnosis I had a difficult decision to make as to whether to continue with the home birth, and felt Kirsty helped me, in a completely impartial way, to understand my options and decide on a course of action that was right for me.
It all worked out for the best as I had a really special birth experience in the pool at the Royal Surrey though ended up losing quite a bit of blood after the birth so no doubt would have had to transfer in if I had of given birth at home.
The calls with Caroline and Lucy after bringing my baby home were really valuable for me to just be able to check in that everything was on track.
There weren’t homebirth team clinics running for my five and ten day appointments so I saw two different midwives for these. Though they were lovely midwives, it made me realise how lucky I had been to have considerable continuity of care during the antenatal period and how valuable this is.
Thank you to all the team for all that you do – we are very lucky to have you!
[redacted] “
Surrey Hills Client May 2020
Is there anything better than when an old client reaches out with an update. Unfortunately we can’t share the picture of the gorgeous four month old that accompanied this message but we are very please to be able to share this mums feedback on her care from New Years Day!
“I can’t recommend the Surrey hills Homebirth team enough. Throughout every stage of the process they provided the upmost support and professionalism always going above and beyond to ensure I had the most positive pregnancy and birth.
I was supported when I was told I had gestational diabetes at 30 weeks and was accompanied by one of the team when I went to discuss my birthing options with the consultant at the Royal Surrey.
My home birth was the most positive and wonderful experience, I felt completely safe, calm and looked after in the hands of Caroline and Kirsty.
And finally the compassion and care I was shown in the days after the birth was second to none, I was having trouble breastfeeding and my daughter had a tongue tie, within just a few days the team had organised for this to be sorted at the Royal Surrey.
This team of midwives are truly special and I feel very lucky to have had them during my second pregnancy.”
Surrey Hills Client January 2020
“I also want to pass on my huge thanks and appreciation to all of you.
You are all incredible and how you work with professionalism, enthusiasm and so much care is so valued and appreciated.
Your attention to detail, obvious passion for your work and the support you gave me throughout both my pregnancies was over and above and I will be forever grateful…”
“…My care from the home birth team came quite late into the pregnancy as we had moved to the area when I was 33 weeks, but instantly the team made you feel very welcome. The opportunity to meet you all has made such a huge difference to my mindset and knowing I had the support of you all made me feel at complete ease. It has been first class, you are a fantastic group of women who have turned my experience of birth into such a positive one. You have supported my decisions and fulfilled me with absolute confidence and calmness, and for that I’ll be eternally grateful.”
Surrey Hills Client May 2020
Some of you may be concerned at all of the recent changes within maternity care due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We are delighted to share some feedback posted to the Royal Surrey Maternity Unit’s Facebook page by one of our clients.
“ I will get round to a proper thank you for the homebirth team and all the midwives at RSCH. Planned a homebirth and the wonderful team were absolutely amazing. We were all excited as a family as our boys age 5 and 6 were also keen to see their baby brother born. Plans changed and I was very upset and anxious but Lucy reassured me and was absolutely amazing. I had reduced movements and went into hospital for monitoring and there I was very emotional but the midwives sat and spoke to me and again Lucy reassured me. I was induced and I felt very supported throughout and extremely safe. I was so blessed to get my water birth that I had always wanted and my midwife was again amazing. I hadn’t met her before but she kept me so calm and really looked after me. She answered all my questions and listened to all my wishes, I felt completely respected and once we had our baby Bertie we were given time to bond. Just a short few hours later we were home and the boys met their baby brother. I can’t thank you enough for bringing our baby Bertie into the world safely and taking such good care of us both. I had such an enjoyable birth and the care afterwards was second to none! We hope you all stay safe and we will be bringing some gifts your way when it is safe to do so.” Surrey Hills Client March 2020
Sharing this lovely feedback collected and presented by the Royal Surrey’s MVP
In this time of doom and gloom, I wanted to share my birth story as my baby is coming up to a week old!!
Wednesday 11th March 2020
My homebirth story began at 35 weeks. I was fortunate to meet Emily at my local GP practice as she was covering for the community midwife. One of the questions Emily asked me was “Where are you planning on giving birth?” At first I was a bit taken aback by this question and so my automatic response was “The Royal Surrey of course”.
Emily followed by telling us all about the Homebirth Team and the benefits of a homebirth. Both myself and my husband left our appointment with mixed emotions about the prospect as this was our first child. After a long conversation we decided to go ahead but made the decision not to tell any of our families or friends of our last-minute plan to have a home birth.
As we only had five weeks to go before our due date, Emily arranged it so that my remaining appointments would be with a different member of the homebirth team so I could get to know them all before the ‘big day’. It was an added benefit having all my appointments at home and to meet the lovely ladies in the team. Despite this being my first, I was very much excited at the prospect of giving birth at home but if it meant going to hospital then so be it.
The big day came, 3 days overdue and as this was my first, I had no idea what to expect. I have absolutely loved sharing my birth story and it will definitely be one that both my husband and I will never forget.
As my contractions started to develop, I called the team and the first midwife on call was Lucy. Half an hour later she arrived and it was clear that I was in well established labour. Kirsty joined shortly after and before we knew it I was in the pool and only hours away from delivering a beautiful baby boy.
Lucy and Kirsty were the most amazing and supportive midwives and I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience of child birth. They were so calm and reassuring and made us feel at ease which most definitely had a huge part to play in the smooth delivery of our little boy. All I can hope is that we will be able to have another home birth for our next!
The ladies on the team are absolute legends. I cannot thank every single one for the part they played in the lead up and delivery of our baby. I cannot stop talking about the birth and how wonderful the two ladies were who helped us with our first few hours of parenthood. It still seems very surreal that we had our baby at home, well away from any hospital and the best part….not a single soul knew!! The look on our families faces when we FaceTimed a few hours after giving birth from our very own sofa…priceless!
Sophie, Dan and Baby Louis x
surreyhillshomebirth.org 