I have been meaning to email for the last 12 weeks to let you know that my birthing experience was fantastic. Phoebe was born after a 46 hour labour that started at home and ended in the birthing pool in St Marys. I think there were several opportunities for me to panic such as arriving at the unit after 24 hours at home to discover I was only 1 cm dilated and to be told I was dangerously ketonic. I remained calm and decided to focus upon getting into the pool. It worked far better than I thought because several hours later my (highly experienced) midwife was concerned my labour had not progressed and was astonished to find I was 5 cm dilated. Once in the pool, I knew that everything would be lovely and it was. The midwife asked to take some pictures of me because she felt that people would not believe that I was 8cm dilated and still smiling and taking part in conversations. I had continual visits from midwives and student midwiveswho had been told I was hypnobirthing and wanted to be part of it. Despite the length of the labour, I felt special and loved and full of confidence that my baby would be fine. She was born with the cord wrapped around her neck but it didn't faze me at all. Dave was fantastic throughout and we're still in a bubble of love with Phoebe. I would also recommend the mid wife unit to anyone. It was an absolute pleasure having Phoebe there, it was like being with family and was actually very difficult to leave. I am so grateful for your guidance and will definitely be back in touch when we have baby 2!

Zoe