My third baby was due on Christmas Eve, so although I was excited, I was nervous too – afraid that the hospital would be under-staffed over the holidays, and anxious about being away from my two daughters for Christmas. I had resisted suggestions of induction during my first two pregnancies, and was not keen to go down this route for my third, though I did wonder if the risk of understaffing was enough to warrent looking for an induction. I checked with my sister who is a doctor and she looked into it for me – she came back to say that the maternity hospital wouldn’t be at all understaffed and in fact it could be a good time to go in, as there would be no planned C-sections or inductions scheduled for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Continue reading
Tag Archives: consultant led care
Choice in Pregnancy and Birth in Ireland
Period late? Feeling tired? Sore breasts? Over emotional? These are all signs of pregnancy. Most mothers choose to further confirm such physical symptoms with a pregnancy test. Once you have a positive pregnancy test then a world of choice presents itself! Where will I have my baby? Who will look after me? How will I find out how to give birth? Should I breastfeed? For the first time mother the choices seem overwhelming and endless, and what makes it all the more confusing is that everyone seems to have a different opinion on what you should do! Continue reading
A VBAC for a second time mum in CUMH with a doula in attendance
I had an emergency C-section in 2010 for our first daughter’s birth due to “failure to progress” and felt very strongly that I wanted a VBAC for our next child. I figured I would go past my estimated due date (EDD) again, so may have to negotiate with the hospital to avoid interventions. I was actually very very lucky with the consultant I saw at my last two hospital appointments, despite him calling me “the most stubborn woman in Ireland”. Continue reading