Katie Foscoe
November 2025
Katie
Foscoe
,
RM
Maternity Unit
East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
Stevenage
,
Hertfordshire
United Kingdom
I would like to recognise Katie and Sophie, the ultimate midwifery dream team. I had a very challenging first pregnancy. I was originally told I would need a C-section, but things changed during my pregnancy and at 32 weeks pregnant, I discovered I could have a vaginal birth after all.
After the complications, I was determined to have a birth that I felt in control of. I decided to undertake hypnobirthing with my husband and aim for a water birth with vaginal delivery and no epidural, with my husband as my birth partner and coach. I was giving birth on the consultant-led unit, and I was told the risk of my bleeding more than average was high, and this would need to be managed. I was told that having a water birth increased my risk further, so I remained open-minded, but it was still my preference to have a water birth if I could. I therefore wrote a very detailed birth preferences document with as much information as possible.
In the morning, I went into labour, and we stayed at home for as long as we could. When we arrived at the Hospital later in the evening, we didn't know what to expect, it was then we met Katie. She was so positive and friendly, she began to talk me through the surges and helped me to get through them alongside my husband as they ramped up.
She checked my cervix in between contractions and said I was already 6cm dilated. She was so calm and friendly and made me feel like I could definitely do it. She requested my birth preferences document and passed this on to our midwife, who would be in the birthing room with us, Sophie.
We arrived in the room, and the birth pool was already nearly ready. We met Sophie, who was already following all the preferences in our birth plan, even down to certain words she was using. She made me feel like everything would be okay, and in the moment, even with everything going on, she made me feel like it was possible to have the birth we wanted. I laboured in the birthing pool for several hours, with my husband coaching me through contractions. I had originally planned to get out of the pool before our daughter was born due to the bleed risk, but by that point, it wouldn't have been possible for me to do so.
Sophie and Katie were so supportive in the final stages of labour. Katie reminded me to get into a squat position and to use each contraction fully. Sophie monitored our baby's heart rate frequently, but completely in line with our birth preferences. Shortly later, our baby girl was born into the water, and my husband and I were over the moon to finally meet her and that we had the birth we wanted to have.
After the birth, certain risks needed to be managed quickly. Sophie and Katie were calm, in control and efficient. They still followed our birth preferences but used their expertise to guide us in making safe decisions. The care provided after the birth was above and beyond what I expected. Sophie balanced spending time with our daughter and giving me the care I needed. We would like to thank Sophie and Katie for such a positive, special birth after such a challenging pregnancy.
***
We met Katie in the early stages of labour with our DCDA twins (37 weeks). From the outset, Katie was so excited at the prospect of delivering twins naturally; her enthusiasm and positive outlook matched mine straight away, so I knew we'd be in great hands. A fellow colleague switching over shifts had also told us this. Katie wasn't with us for too long before her shift finished, but in that time she kept us fully up to date with the goings on of the ward, where we were at in our labour, all our options and that she was excited to come back that evening and meet our twins...
A long 12 hours went by and Katie was back, she was now even more enthusiastic as it was looking very likely that she would be delivering our boy and girl after all! We had lots of pivots during this time: a catheter, a clip on twin A's head, an epidural, Oxytocin drip, plus all the regular checks and monitoring of the babies. At no point did we have to ask Katie what was going on; all our options were explained, her positivity never faltered, which was a huge support to me, and her energy never left despite being in the middle of the night.
Along with Emily, the student midwife, my husband and I were always made super comfortable with pillows and sheets, night lights and refreshments. When 2 am came around, and the epidural was working fully with Katie's lead, it was time to meet our babies. As a result of the epidural, I didn't know how I was going to push without 'feeling', but Katie guided me through the whole, almost hour, until the minute our babies were placed on my chest. She told me where to push, how to push, how close our babies were to entering the world and gave me the biggest amount of encouragement to believe that I could do it! And I did! With Katie’s guidance and eagerness, she was just as excited to meet our twins as we were!
Both our babies arrived with very little fuss or stress. The environment was calm, zen and magic (30 minutes prior, Katie had made me a peppermint tea and told me to nap, and that's what I did). There were very few people in the room. Katie was fully in control, I had complete faith in her ability to deliver our two babies safely, and she did.
The "argument" then began; Katie claimed that I did it, I birthed both babies, and that it was all me. It wasn't without Katie and her overflowing passion and amazing skill set that I could have easily failed at the last hurdle. Our babies were born 29 minutes apart, all thanks to Katie. When it was time for Katie's shift to finish again she told me our birth had been the highlight of her Midwifery career. To be told those words stands as testament to the amazing efforts she went to during our labour.
All the Midwifery team at Lister made our whole experience (all 8 + months) truly wonderful; we can't fault a single member, but Katie especially deserves special recognition for her work ethic and attitude to bringing new little lives into the world. When I was told about the DAISY Awards, I knew that in the midst of our new chaotic twin bubble, I would certainly support Katie and nominate her; she's certainly a deserving winner in our family’s eyes.
***
This Katie's 2nd DAISY Award!
After the complications, I was determined to have a birth that I felt in control of. I decided to undertake hypnobirthing with my husband and aim for a water birth with vaginal delivery and no epidural, with my husband as my birth partner and coach. I was giving birth on the consultant-led unit, and I was told the risk of my bleeding more than average was high, and this would need to be managed. I was told that having a water birth increased my risk further, so I remained open-minded, but it was still my preference to have a water birth if I could. I therefore wrote a very detailed birth preferences document with as much information as possible.
In the morning, I went into labour, and we stayed at home for as long as we could. When we arrived at the Hospital later in the evening, we didn't know what to expect, it was then we met Katie. She was so positive and friendly, she began to talk me through the surges and helped me to get through them alongside my husband as they ramped up.
She checked my cervix in between contractions and said I was already 6cm dilated. She was so calm and friendly and made me feel like I could definitely do it. She requested my birth preferences document and passed this on to our midwife, who would be in the birthing room with us, Sophie.
We arrived in the room, and the birth pool was already nearly ready. We met Sophie, who was already following all the preferences in our birth plan, even down to certain words she was using. She made me feel like everything would be okay, and in the moment, even with everything going on, she made me feel like it was possible to have the birth we wanted. I laboured in the birthing pool for several hours, with my husband coaching me through contractions. I had originally planned to get out of the pool before our daughter was born due to the bleed risk, but by that point, it wouldn't have been possible for me to do so.
Sophie and Katie were so supportive in the final stages of labour. Katie reminded me to get into a squat position and to use each contraction fully. Sophie monitored our baby's heart rate frequently, but completely in line with our birth preferences. Shortly later, our baby girl was born into the water, and my husband and I were over the moon to finally meet her and that we had the birth we wanted to have.
After the birth, certain risks needed to be managed quickly. Sophie and Katie were calm, in control and efficient. They still followed our birth preferences but used their expertise to guide us in making safe decisions. The care provided after the birth was above and beyond what I expected. Sophie balanced spending time with our daughter and giving me the care I needed. We would like to thank Sophie and Katie for such a positive, special birth after such a challenging pregnancy.
***
We met Katie in the early stages of labour with our DCDA twins (37 weeks). From the outset, Katie was so excited at the prospect of delivering twins naturally; her enthusiasm and positive outlook matched mine straight away, so I knew we'd be in great hands. A fellow colleague switching over shifts had also told us this. Katie wasn't with us for too long before her shift finished, but in that time she kept us fully up to date with the goings on of the ward, where we were at in our labour, all our options and that she was excited to come back that evening and meet our twins...
A long 12 hours went by and Katie was back, she was now even more enthusiastic as it was looking very likely that she would be delivering our boy and girl after all! We had lots of pivots during this time: a catheter, a clip on twin A's head, an epidural, Oxytocin drip, plus all the regular checks and monitoring of the babies. At no point did we have to ask Katie what was going on; all our options were explained, her positivity never faltered, which was a huge support to me, and her energy never left despite being in the middle of the night.
Along with Emily, the student midwife, my husband and I were always made super comfortable with pillows and sheets, night lights and refreshments. When 2 am came around, and the epidural was working fully with Katie's lead, it was time to meet our babies. As a result of the epidural, I didn't know how I was going to push without 'feeling', but Katie guided me through the whole, almost hour, until the minute our babies were placed on my chest. She told me where to push, how to push, how close our babies were to entering the world and gave me the biggest amount of encouragement to believe that I could do it! And I did! With Katie’s guidance and eagerness, she was just as excited to meet our twins as we were!
Both our babies arrived with very little fuss or stress. The environment was calm, zen and magic (30 minutes prior, Katie had made me a peppermint tea and told me to nap, and that's what I did). There were very few people in the room. Katie was fully in control, I had complete faith in her ability to deliver our two babies safely, and she did.
The "argument" then began; Katie claimed that I did it, I birthed both babies, and that it was all me. It wasn't without Katie and her overflowing passion and amazing skill set that I could have easily failed at the last hurdle. Our babies were born 29 minutes apart, all thanks to Katie. When it was time for Katie's shift to finish again she told me our birth had been the highlight of her Midwifery career. To be told those words stands as testament to the amazing efforts she went to during our labour.
All the Midwifery team at Lister made our whole experience (all 8 + months) truly wonderful; we can't fault a single member, but Katie especially deserves special recognition for her work ethic and attitude to bringing new little lives into the world. When I was told about the DAISY Awards, I knew that in the midst of our new chaotic twin bubble, I would certainly support Katie and nominate her; she's certainly a deserving winner in our family’s eyes.
***
This Katie's 2nd DAISY Award!