Emil's Birth

When our son Emil was conceived it was very important to us to find a midwife who we could trust completely and who would give us the time and space to labour gently.

We had a 44 hour labour with our daughter Yasmine but she was born at home with private midwives while we lived in the US. We needed to be prepared for another long journey.

As soon as we met Virginia she fitted right in with our family. Our two-year-old Yasmine adored her and my husband trusted her immediately. I felt she had the experience to deal with whatever may arise and she gave off a sense of strength and patience that were exactly what I needed. 

She is passionate about home birth and her commitment to giving women the choice to labour the way they want to really impressed me. Her partner Kay was lovely too so we knew they were the right team.

Virginia's care during our pregnancy was wonderful. It was such a relief not to have to drag to doctors but to have the luxury of being seen in our home.

When we went into labour I was very nervous because of various complications that had occurred with Yasmine. But as soon as Virginia arrived a sense of calm enveloped the house. "Why aren't you in the pool," she asked laughing. As soon as I got in I felt a huge relief and I knew everything was going to be alright.

Virginia held my hand through every contraction, she was a much more effective pain relief than the TENS machine. She was confident and kind and made me believe that we were going to have our baby peacefully just the way we dreamed. 

Virginia helped me find the place inside where I knew my body could do it and gave me the confidence to stop questioning and let my body get on with it.

My husband, who had been very nervous about the birth, was filled with confidence from her and it enabled him to be the most amazing support. He never left my side and was so encouraging and supportive it made the time go gently.

Ten hours later our beautiful baby boy Emil was born in the water.

He was so calm when he came out he didn't even cry straight away and he's still calm now.

Virginia fully supported our decision to continue nursing our two-year-old throughout the pregnancy and she taught me to tandem nurse. Yasmine still asks to nurse "the Virginia way".

Virginia's care and support after our son was born was wonderful.

We are so grateful to her for everything she has done. Our family functioned smoothly and happily throughout the pregnancy, birth and in those crucial first weeks. A lot of credit for that goes to Virginia for taking care of each one of us so well. Our daughter slept through the birth with Uncle Gareth who was also an amazing support too and when she came down Emil was wrapped in a blanket in Virginia's arms. 

There has never been any jealousy and I am sure that a lot of that is down to the way Virginia helped us with the labour and birth and the love she got from Uncle Gareth during and after the birth.

If we have another child I will be on the phone the minute I see the two lines on the test to make sure Virginia can deliver our next baby.