I first met Nikki in the summer of 2020, when I was 28 weeks pregnant with my first child. COVID was rife, the country was in lockdown, and my experience of maternity care felt fragmented and isolating. Most of my appointments had been cancelled or conducted over the phone, and my husband was unable to attend the very few in-person appointments or scans I had. I felt abandoned by the system at a time when I was struggling physically and emotionally.

I was suffering significantly from iron deficiency anaemia, particularly severe breathlessness that made even minimal exertion extremely difficult. I was also experiencing ongoing nausea and vomiting, having vomited daily throughout my pregnancy. On top of this, I was continuing to work full-time as an NHS doctor. I was exhausted, unwell, and struggling to cope.

I referred myself to the homebirth team, and my first appointment with Nikki was transformative. She truly listened to me, really listened, and believed me when I explained how unmanageable my symptoms had become. She supported me through trying multiple iron preparations, and when these worsened my nausea, she proactively liaised with the Haematology Team to arrange intravenous iron (Ferrinject).

The impact was extraordinary: my breathlessness improved almost overnight, and no longer needing oral iron led to a dramatic improvement in my nausea. For the first time in my pregnancy, I stopped vomiting.

Nikki went on to support me through the remainder of my third trimester, a significant part of my labour, and a very challenging postnatal period during which I was isolated from friends and family due to lockdown restrictions. She helped me navigate significant feeding difficulties, during which my baby remained under birthweight for a month and required me to triple feed. Throughout this exhausting and emotionally demanding time, Nikki supported and encouraged me, and ensured I was linked in with the infant feeding team, helping me to persevere when I felt overwhelmed.

 I welcomed my third baby into the world. Nikki has been my midwife for all three of my pregnancies and has been present for parts of the labour of two of them. That very first meeting with her and the care she has provided ever since completely changed the trajectory of my first pregnancy.

What could have remained a frightening and overwhelming experience is now something I look back on with positivity and gratitude. Nikki has been instrumental in bringing my three beautiful children into the world. She is not only an exceptional midwife but an extraordinary human being.

She will always be regarded as a member of our family, and someone to whom I will be eternally grateful.