I used this forum quite a bit in preparation for my birth so I wanted to follow up and report back that our baby girl is finally here after an incredible home birth experience with two amazing midwives--Annie Francis and Tinna Perridge from the Neighborhood Midwives group (formerly South London Independent Midwives).
This was our second child and I knew I wanted to try for a natural birth. Although our first birth was relatively straightforward from a medical perspective, it was traumatizing emotionally and left me skeptical of my body's ability to birth without intervention, fearful that I wouldn't be able to cope through a normal labor, and afraid of the hospital setting.
During the prenatal period, Annie and Tina were amazing at helping me work through these fears and anxieties so that during the labor I was able to just let go. By the time my labor was imminent, I was totally and completely at peace with the possibility that I might end up in the hospital setting I had previously been so fearful of, because I knew I could 100% trust their judgment and expertise. When I finally went into labor at 7AM last Wednesday, I was holding my baby girl within 2.5 hours after a beautiful home birth and I truly believe a large part of that had to do with the fact that I could be so relaxed because they made me feel so safe. During the labor they were nothing short of brilliant—calm, soothing, loving, positive motherly energy, helping me get back in control when I started to struggle, but also knowing exactly when to stand back and let nature take its course. The monitoring they did was so gentle and non obtrusive that most of the time I wasn’t even aware it was occurring. They were perfect guides through a challenging but beautiful experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life. They were my epidural, and then some (and my husband’s sedative).
For anyone considering using IMs, I can’t recommend the Neighborhood Midwives highly enough. I initially interviewed 4 different independent midwife practices that all had excellent reviews on Mumsnet (you will find them under South London Independent Midwives or searching by their names). Out of everyone I spoke with, I found the Neighborhood Midwives to be the most professional, responsive, experienced, and most importantly, the only group that was insured (allowing them to continue to practice after October). The service they provided was worth every penny and more.
Please feel free to ping me if you have any questions about my experience! Am happy to share more to anyone who might find my experience useful :)