Why it is so important to be informed

It's amazing to think how the different practice or guidelines of a practitioner or hospital can impact how a woman may birth her baby...and how lack of access to information can sway decisions made.

I was with a woman who had declined GBS swabs at 36 weeks of pregnancy. Her reasons were many which I won't go into right now but to paint the picture she was well researched and well cognisant of what she had read and the realistic consequences.

As fate would have it her waters broke before labour began. Her back up hospital had a policy of 18 hours and then transfer in for antibiotics and induce labour if GBS unknown...if she was positive to the swabs they would have wanted her in by 6 hours.

Then again, as fate would have it, this hospital was on bypass at 16 hours when I rang to let them know she had reluctantly consented to come in.... she was not yet in labour. This was her first baby.

I then rang the next closest hospital which was now her back up - they laughed and said we don't want to see her til 24 hours...our policy is different - she was relieved and grateful to feel a hospital policy was supporting what she most wanted...which was to stay at home.

At 24 hours I dutifully asked her if she wanted to transfer in...at this stage she was pushing and declined... she had birthed her baby by 24.5 hours. I notified her new back up hospital and was greeted with 'congratulations - we are here if you have any concerns but otherwise carry on'.

She had birthed her little man safely at home in the pool and tucked up into her own bed with her beautiful husband and precious new son and her cat. She felt tired but amazing and empowered and like she had made the best decisions for her and her baby.

Before I left that night we spoke of signs and symptoms of infection and that 96% of babies show these signs within 12 hours of birth. I left them 7 hours after birth healthy and happy and was back first thing that next morning.

They knew to call me at any stage if they had any concerns. As she had had no internal exams, birthed in her own environment and only just reached 24 hours of ruptured membranes before birthing her little guy into the pool and who breastfed heartily not long after...all was as it should be....as the evidence will support...and continued to be...

Of course there is no fairy tale ending to motherhood and life continued with the normal ups and downs of early parent hood...but all within the realms of normal...and all from a strong base of self belief and uninterrupted bonding that lead to strong healthy attachment with their baby, and belief in herself as a mother that is the ultimate in a solid platform from where to begin the hardest and most rewarding journey of your life.