Eve Lily Smith – born Monday 16 April 2007

The birth of my son, Alfie, was a result of a 3-day hospitalised labour, with every intervention, bar a caesarean. The whole experience left me feeling inadequate and frustrated, and I was angry at how powerless I had been made to feel. I came to realise that things could, and should, have been totally different.

I had already done a lot of research before falling pregnant for the second time, and I knew that I really wanted a water birth at home. Unfortunately I knew that the only way I could hope for this to happen would be to hire an independent midwife. Using the website details, I phoned Kay and arranged for an initial consultation, and as soon as I met her and discussed my hopes and plans I knew that she was perfect for the job!



I loved the fact that all our appointments took place at home, at my convenience, and they always felt like a chat with a good friend (for future reference she likes doughnuts!). They were never rushed, and Kay always listened to my questions or concerns without judgement. She provided me with up-to-date advice and research and ensured that I was fully informed about every decision that I needed to make. As my due date approached I was totally confident in my ability to give birth naturally, and couldn’t wait for the labour to start!

In the end, I didn’t have to wait that long. My due date was the 15th April, and at 10pm that evening my waters broke. I phoned Kay to let her know, and, as I hadn’t experienced any contractions, we agreed that I should phone her again in the morning (unless anything happened in the meantime). In my head I thought I had plenty of time, as my waters had broken with my son, and he had then taken 3 days to arrive! However, throughout the night the contractions started building and at about 5am I got up and started rolling around on my birthing ball. On Kay’s advice I had bought an inflatable birthing pool from a company on the Internet, and this was already inflated and installed in my lounge (Alfie loved hiding in it!!).

I phoned Kay at 7am and said that although the contractions were about 3 minutes apart I was handling them and there was no need for her to come yet. However, as soon as Alfie went off to school it was like a psychological barrier had been removed and suddenly my contractions became much stronger and more painful. My mum had arrived by this time and she phoned Kay and asked her to come over.



I could not believe how relaxed the whole experience was – even though the contractions were really painful, as soon as each one subsided we were all chatting again, and at certain points even singing!! Just before Kay arrived I had put on a DVD of the musical ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ and this proved a marvellous distraction in between contractions! I also remember enjoying bits of Easter egg when I felt a bit peckish! My mum and husband Matthew filled up the pool with buckets of hot water, and just when I was starting to think I couldn’t cope with the pain anymore it was ready and I was able to climb in. Kay warned me that it might slow things down, but it didn’t and before long I was having really strong, painful contractions. I felt a little panicked by their strength but the combined support of those around me got me through and, after a restful lull, I started pushing.

As I had had an epidural for Alfie’s birth I was totally unprepared for the amazing feelings of my baby moving down the birth canal inside me – I felt every twist and turn! I gripped my mum’s hands and in just 3 pushes, at 11.42am, my beautiful daughter, Eve, came into the world. Kay gently lifted her out of the water onto my chest and then grabbed the camera and started capturing the first few seconds of her life. We were all crying, and I couldn’t believe that we had achieved exactly what we had hoped for.

Kay’s support throughout the birth was fantastic – she read my state of mind perfectly, knowing when to make me laugh, when to encourage me, and most importantly when to say nothing. She didn’t physically examine me at any time throughout the labour, and only occasionally listened to Eve’s heartbeat, but I knew that she was in complete control of the situation. She was genuinely delighted to meet Eve and was clearly so proud of all of us – even her notes have a wonderful informality about them that just adds to the whole experience.

My whole labour took just under 8 hours, and I cannot stress how fantastic it was to then be able to get into my own bath and then my own bed. I was able to recover in the comfort of my own home, surrounded by as many or as few friends or family as I wanted, and three days later I was out shopping!!

I’m not sure any of us can watch ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’ in the same way now though…..!