My journey with Midwives Exclusive started with the birth if my first daughter, Daveveny in 2013.

My experience was nothing short of magical. The birth was very fast and caught us all off guard with her coming a week early. I woke up with contractions 5 min apart, and she was born 3 hours later.

Needless to say, I expected the same with my second, which set me up for disaster!

We decided to birth with a Gynae the second time around, with the support of a Doula due to financial reasons. In my heart though, I knew this wasn’t the right route for me. I had such an impersonal experience with the gynae, to the point where I was laughed at when I presented my birth plan. We viewed the labour ward at Femina to prepare ourselves. It was such a cold and sterile environment, and I could not find piece within myself, especially after having experienced the personal touch of Esti previously and having birthed in the ABU with my first.

I came home in tears when I was around 30 weeks after an appointment with my gynae and told my husband, I can’t do this. My darling father in law paid for the birth and we made the switch to Midwives Exclusive. I am overcome with emotion and goose bumps as I write this. The sense of peace, and relief that overcame both my hubby and I when we made the switch is indescribable. We could breathe. It is funny how something so “small” as the right care can make such a huge impact.

I wish I could say it was smooth sailing from there. At about 36 weeks I started experiencing early labour symptoms. At one point we rushed in thinking I was in labour with contractions minutes apart. It turned out to be a very frustrating couple of hours that turned out to be false labour. This carried on for weeks. I ended up being 4/5 cm dilated for almost two weeks. It was the most frustrating time of my life. Strong, painful contractions would start and then fizzle to nothing. Even with 2 stretch and sweeps, nothing happened.

I reached 40 weeks and still nothing had happened. The false labour continued for a few days after that. I eventually contacted Esti and told her that I cannot carry on like this.

Saturday morning, 08 August, I finally started having contractions that felt like they were actually progressing to something. My hubby was at work, so I called my Doula and she came over. I took some Caulophyllum and Cimicifuga to help things progress. When the contractions were about 7 min apart, we made our way to the hospital, which was around 12pm. My hubby would meet us there.

At the hospital, things slowed a little and we made the decision to use a bit of Oxytocin to speed up labour. Especially after 4 weeks of frustration. Just before 3, Esti checked me and I was fully dilated. She broke my waters and 15 minutes later; Mackenzie was in my arms.

I don’t think I would have made it to 40 weeks without the support of the Midwives. Heather and Esti were such a pillar of strength and support in those 4 weeks of emotional up’s and downs.

My experience with Midwives Exclusive has been nothing short of life changing. The passion in those ladies is just WOW. I will get pregnant on a yearly basis just to birth with them. My births may only have been one day in my life, but the imprint these ladies have had on me will last a life time. They made me feel strong, confident and capable. I could never thank them enough!

 

 

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