I am a 41 year old first time mother and gave birth to my baby in Belfast, which is not my home city. My mother was my birth partner and I chose Anne as my Doula as my baby would be the sixtieth birth that she had attended and she had had three children herself so I knew I would benefit from her experience in something I was experiencing for the first time.
I first chatted to Anne by phone to discuss how I hoped my birth would be and the support that I would like to receive from her. Anne then sent me lots of materials, including sample birth preferences and information on hypnobirthing. These were very useful in helping me to think about the different aspects of birth and to consider decisions that I might have to make before and during the birth and to prepare my mind for a calm birth.
I met Anne twice before the birth – and she helped me prepare further for example by teaching me about the physical processes of a normal birth and hypnobirthing techniques. Anne adapted these sessions to fit my needs and to supplement what I had learned at other antenatal classes. She also gave me practical help – even taking me to the hospital during my first session when I was worried about my baby’s movements and printing my birth preferences as I didn’t have a printer.
On the night I gave birth Anne took me to the hospital at 2am and she was so calm and professional and worked confidently and respectfully alongside the hospital staff and my mother. This made me feel that I had a united and expert team looking after and supporting me. When needed Anne gave me gentle prompts and reminders of the breathing techniques which helped me through contractions and she supported me when I needed to make urgent decisions about deviations from my birth plan. She was encouraging and calm throughout. As a result, although many aspects of my birth did not go in accordance with my plan, with hindsight I would not have changed anything, even if I had more time to make my decisions.
My beautiful baby boy arrived at 4.41am and Anne stayed with us while he did the breast crawl to reach my breast and have his first feed and until we had feeding established.
A few days later Anne visited again so I could chat about the birth and we could share the lovely ‘groaning cake’ that she had brought – just one of the lovely personal touches that make Anne a wonderful doula, particularly for a first time mother.