juliemidwife

Hi Virginia that sounds brilliant. So glad you're doing it -what an important service

hi, here's a lovely offer for you if you or any of your friends are pregnant. To celebrate our 1st Birthday at Neighbourhood Midwives the first 10 women to enquire and book in July will each receive 2 fabulous complementary health treatments in the comfort of their own home PLUS a voucher to give to a friend for a free 1-2-1 birth preparation session also at home. How could you resist? http://www.neighbourhoodmidwives.org.uk/

i know that in the Farm community in Tennessee, which has some of the world's best birth outcomes, the women go swimming in a pond!

Hi all, i totally agree that this part of London is incredibly lucky having the Kings caseload teams (though I don't understand why they have some teams that aren't organised that way. Any insights?). They seem to provide absolutely fantastic care, and as a midwife it is *so* refreshing to hear women have such positive stories to tell of their experiences. JennyH - that's fascinating what your midwife said about keeping shtum. It brings up lots of really important points, including the general reluctance of women who've had really positive experiences to tell others in case of upsetting them. I'm convinced that this helps reinforce the overall societal expectation that birth is a negative experience. SillyWoman has kinda got the jist about Neighbourhood Midwives (who I work for) - we were set up with the clear aim of providing free care to women. This will take some time to come through, as we need to get a contract with local NHS trusts, but when it does it will be brill for the vast majority of women who currently don't have access to caseload services. sorry i couldn't get to the Positive Birth group last week - duty called

Hi there's a lovely midwife called Rene who works for Neighbourhood Midwives who does the procedure. I don't think you need any referral at all and it's very reasonably priced. Google them and give them a call - I've heard lots of positive reports. all the best

Hi all do you guys know about the East Dulwich positive birth group? That's a lovely place to meet other local pregnant women. I think the next one is on March 6th in the evening - there's a whole thread in the families bit about it

hi Jen as said above.. congratulations! NCT classes are totally brilliant, as is going pregnancy yoga, hypnobirthing, etc.. but the one thing that makes the most difference according to the research on how positive a woman's birth experience is is... the midwife caring for her. Most first time mums - and many second time ones too - sadly don't know much about their choices outwith the NHS for maternity care. You've got various different options for maternity care in the UK, one of which is of course the NHS. I work for a really great organisation called Neighbourhood Midwives, and there are also lots of independent midwives around London too. We really can make a massive difference in your pregnancy, birth and postnatal care, so please have a think about your choices wishing you and your lovely bump all the very best Julie

Hi Kyoto have you thought of seeing a herbalist about this? You may well have done so before hand, but I'm wondering if a medical herbalist could help you by both addressing your acne and also suggesting herbs that can help you get pregnant? I always recommend that women I'm looking after as a midwife see a medical herbalist to get input into their pregnancy care. I'm sure some people on the forum can recommend a good herbalist - i'm new to the area so am not able to, unfortunately. And when you do become pregnant, then I'd really suggest looking into your options about who you get your midwifery and birth care from. I work for a lovel organisation called Neighbourhood Midwives, and more and more women are choosing us instead of the NHS all the best with it! Julie