"Another Safe Delivery"

Anything else?

I was already aware that the Labour Ward was undergoing refurbishment and this was confirmed to us upon arrival so we went to Ward 21 for our midwife led delivery. Our consent was requested for a student midwife to be present and we were very happy to give our consent. Our midwife and student midwife worked excellently together and whilst the qualified midwife's role was very much that of midwife she also proved to be an excellent coach to our student midwife. Midwife support was fantastic throughout the labour. The labour was straightforward and quick and as such the labour plan was easily followed. The midwives responded appropriately to the labour plan and efficiently with the speed at which the labour progressed. Our qualified and student midwives worked very much as a team who clearly respected each other's role during labour. They explained what was happening every step of the way. When our qualified midwife was explaining things to our student midwife, she did so in an informative, professional manner. The midwifery team encouraged me through the labour making me feel empowered and capable - we even had time for occasional laughter. Towards the end of the labour, it became obvious to our qualified midwife that they would have to deliver our daughter using the McRoberts technique. This was explained to us fully and efficiently. I needed to turn over onto my back to facilitate the delivery and whilst the five minutes between the last two contractions left me feeling a little concerned that something was wrong, our midwives allayed those fears. Once our daughter was delivered, she spent time with Daddy whilst my placenta was delivered and I was being stitched up. During this time, we all had lovely conversations and laughed really hard. We made it clear that we were eager to be discharged as soon as our midwives were happy to release us. Our midwives worked with us and did all they could to facilitate this whilst ensuring that our other daughter was also involved in the special day. In short, we could not fault our midwives, who have only enforced the confidence that we have in Airedale Hospital.