First appointment with my midwife

On Wednesday morning Molly and I made the trek across town to visit my midwife for my initial consultation. This is a meeting designed to help the mother get to know her possible future care provider and to think about whether this is the right fit for the mother.

I can happily say that I connected right away with Joy Johnston and feel very pleased that she will be journeying with me as I progress through the pregnancy and as we plan for this birth. Joy was very respectful of Molly and had a room full of interesting things for her to play with. She has grandchildren of her own and the place is kid friendly. I may not take her to the next appointment though as she was starting to get a bit restless toward the end. Joy and I had a long casual chat about my experience with Molly's birth, any concerns I have, any questions I had about the way she does things. She gave me a few handy fact sheets about different aspects of homebirth/bonding/stages of labour etc which will be handy if any friends or family are asking me questions about my reasons for choosing to birth at home. I will be booked in to the Royal Women's as a backup hospital as they are apparently really accomodating if a woman needs to transfer.

Joy answered my questions around what she could do in case of emergency- for bleeding after birth she carries the same sometimes lifesaving drugs that are available in the hospital but only uses them if there appears to be a problem as opposed to managing the third stage of labour which is routine in hospital. She also carries a full resus kit in case the baby needs help breathing. Basically most things they could do in hospital short of a caesarian section, she could do in case of an emergency. She has been assisting women to birth their babies since the early 1970s and is well trained to pick up any problems should they arise and has no hesitation to tansfer to hospital should it prove needed.

I feel very pleased with my choice in care provider and am lucky to have found someone who I connect with so quickly. Please visit her blog in my sidebar "The Village Midwife".