Mum's praise for home birth

A mum has told of her 'amazing' home birth experience following two traumatic previous pregnancies.
Kate Roach and baby Charlie at homeKate Roach and baby Charlie at home
Kate Roach and baby Charlie at home

Kate Roach has praised community midwives from Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) and is now working with them to help promote the benefits of home births.

Kate, 36, had hospital births with her two daughters, Molly and Mia, with both having to be induced after weeks of monitoring at 38 weeks due to pre-eclampsia.

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The mum-of-three said; “Before I got pregnant with my third baby I would have said I would give birth in hospital as I felt safer there.

“However, once I found out I was expecting again I started to research a bit more.

“I have to be honest and say the first idea I had about having a home birth was at Christmas when I saw the fairy lights on in the conservatory: it just looked like a lovely space to give birth in.

“I spoke to my husband David and he wasn’t keen at first.

“He was worried and just wanted me to be safe but I asked him to stay open minded and when I sent him research information he slowly came round to the idea.

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“The community midwives were very supportive of my wish to homebirth.”

Kate went on to have a healthy baby boy called Charlie, weighing 7lb 14.5oz, in a birth pool at home.

In the early stages she had managed the pain with just paracetamol and a TENS machine, before using gas and air.

Soon after calling her, the midwife arrived and Kate said: “I climbed in the pool and felt the most amazing calm as I knelt down.

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“The water was much hotter than I was expecting but being in the water made such a huge difference to how I coped.”

One of the benefits of the homebirth meant that Kate was able to go upstairs to shower and go to bed almost immediately in the comfort of her own home.

Kate said: “All five of us lay down on the bed together.

“It hit me how amazing it had all been to have everyone I loved around me and I couldn’t have wished for more. I’m a complete convert now.”

WWL is hosting a home birth information evening, tonight, (Tuesday) during which pregnant women can talk to community midwives about home delivery, It will take from 6pm until 7.30pm, at Westfield Children’s Centre on Montrose Avenue.

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