Friday, October 28, 2011

Increasing the chances of normal birth at Chelsea and Westminster

I'm on two Maternity Services Liaison Committees in my area; I'm part of the "e-group" of interested parties who send in opinions about new developments at Chelsea and Westminster and I've just joined the Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital committee which, as so many of my NCT clients are QCCH customers, I hope to get closely involved in.
At present I have to say C & W are making the running in the race to normalise birth. Firstly the hospital saw a healthy increase in home birth rates recently, not by accident but thanks to a pro-active midwife, Anne-Marie Mathews. Secondly there are plans to put up a lovely poster headed "Birth matters: keep it natural" in the labour ward which gives easy quick advice for increasing your chances of a normal birth.
A lead midwife, Annabel Bryant, has designed the poster and it just beautifully sums up what I do with a client in nine simple bullet points! I am so thrilled by this idea that I hope she won't mind me repeating the list here:


·        Encourage me to stay upright and mobile

·        Help me to adopt comfortable positions

·        Coach me with my breathing and relaxation techniques

·        Support me with massage

·        Offer me immersion in water

·        Play the music of my choice

·        Keep the lights low

·        Respect my privacy and dignity