A Scots mother and daughter, who have supported countless expectant and new mums in their roles as midwives, have shared their reflections of childbirth on Mother’s Day.
NHS worker Lynn Brown and her daughter Carolyn both work as midwives in the Lothian region and also gave birth to their own children at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh 20 years apart.
Lynn says things have moved on massively on wards in Scotland since she first gave birth in 1999.
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She said: “In the days of my first born, no one informed me of any pain relief options that were available. When I went on to have the twins, I wanted it to be a homebirth, but as soon as I knew it was twins that was out of the question for me. They both ended up being in breech, so I had to go in for a caesarean.”
“Back then appointments in the antenatal period were all mainly medically led, I was mainly seen by a GP and occasionally a midwife. Now, there is much more focus on midwifery led care”.
“These days, there’s a lot more continuity by seeing your community midwife for regular appointments, where mothers are provided with more education on pain relief and tips for feeding and caring for their precious bundle when they’re here. Mothers also have access to antenatal classes and more input in their care and birth plan.”
The Lothian Birth Centre is a midwifery-led maternity unit at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh offering a ‘home from home’ environment for expectant mothers. The centre can be used by women in labour across Lothian, who have had a straightforward pregnancy and are without pre-existing medical conditions.
The Lothian Birth Centre sits alongside the Simpson’s Maternity Unit so that if support from the obstetric or anaesthetic team is required, a quick transfer to the Labour Ward is possible.
Lynn worked in the Lothian Birth centre in the early days and Carolyn works in the centre on rotation but she also spent time there as a new Mum. Carolyn gave birth to her son in the new Simpsons maternity unit during her midwifery training.
Carolyn said: “I had a very straightforward delivery with my son. Having continuity of care from a lovely midwife and being well informed of all the pain relief options through antenatal classes I felt very prepared for birth.
“It was really nice to be taken care of by people that I knew in hospital. After my delivery I was able to go and spend some time in the post-natal bay in the Lothian Birth Centre as a new family, which was wonderful.
“I worked in the Lothian Birth Centre last year on Mothering Sunday and Mum brought my son in to see me. They had lots of treats for me and all the mums working in the unit that day. It’s a difficult day to leave your own children – although also really special as you are helping someone else as they become a mum”.
Whatever birth option you have, whether that be in the labour ward, at home, or in the Lothian Birth Centre, the role of the midwives and wider teams is about keeping you and baby safe.
We know from robust scientific evidence, that women who have a pregnancy with no complications and labour in a birth centre have fewer interventions and the outcomes for them and their babies are the same as in an obstetric unit (labour ward).
Nadine, from Edinburgh, recently gave birth to her son Eoin in the Lothian Birth Centre.
Nadine explained, “I hadn’t ‘planned’ to go to the birthing centre necessarily but I’m glad the midwife on duty kind of steered me in that direction when I was admitted, I remember the feeling of getting in and it being like a nice Airbnb. There was a birthing pool, aromatherapy and everything”.
“After the birth of my son, Eoin, we had the birthing centre to ourselves for a bit. It was so calm, spacious and peaceful. We had toast and tea as a wee family. After the last stages of delivery it was just what we needed!”
Mercedes Perez-Botella, Director of Midwifery for NHS Lothian explains that: “As a Maternity Service, we strive to provide care that is safe, based on the most robust scientific evidence while listening to women and birthing people’s voices in order to provide woman/person centred care.
“We hear about the positive experiences of using the Lothian Birth Centre and want to encourage all mothers to consider the Birth Centre as a very positive choice, if they have an uncomplicated pregnancy.”
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