"A wonderful expereince"

The Home from Home Birth Centre at St Thomas' has an excellent reputation so I had high expectations - I can honestly say that those were more than exceeded during the birth of our daughter in December 2015. I laboured at home, having practised hypno-birthing, yoga, relaxation and other drug-free pain relief techniques. I got to hospital fully dilated, was assessed and taken straight into the centre where I met our midwife. They were calm, friendly, caring, compassionate and I trusted them implicitly from the moment they put their face close to mine, introduced themself and asked how I was feeling. The pushing stage took longer than we had all anticipated. I knew the midwife had read our birth plan and knew we wanted to proceed as naturally and intervention-free as possible. So they tried various, low-impact techniques to move labour along: changing position, moving around, making me have a wee! They were was always gentle in their approach, coming close to me to say, "I have a suggestion, why don't we try,,,". I felt throughout that she completely understood me. We used Clary Sage, Jasmine massage from a colleague, an in/out catheter, frequent Jelly Babies fed to me by my husband! Eventually the midwife found a position for me that was more productive. Baby Freya arrived two hours after I arrived in hospital. The midwife even stopped me from tearing - not one single stitch! It was their experience, skill and professionalism that made our daughter's birth such a success - it was everything I hoped it would be. I felt valued, dignified and respected at all times. The post-birth hours were just as good. We were lucky enough to stay overnight in our own room. Our midwife had to leave and we were looked after by a variety of midwife team members who were unwaveringly friendly, supportive and hard-working. They helped us to get breastfeeding started and vigilantly made sure we were well before sending us home. All this and probably the best view anywhere in London! The NHS gets a right knocking - and that's wrong. Find me care better than this anywhere in the world. I feel lucky to have it - and am proud of what it does. Thank you to everyone at St Thomas Home from Home for bringing our daughter safely into the world and for allowing me the birth experience I had always hoped for.