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.