Community Midwives

I found that throughout my pregnancy I had very limited contact with the community midwives and I feel that more support would've been good. Following the birth there was very little continuity which made it more difficult .

I found that individual midwives were great but appointments do feel a bit like a conveyor belt, in and out in minutes. I feel I got more support from UK Babies who did the antenatal courses. I can understand the way they work has been affected by covid but it is a shame.

We’re they super quick, left in enough time that we could bond and not have to wait for hospital to discharge us

My first baby was sadly still born. Appointments were booked, double booked cancelled left right and center I fought for my matb1 form I had a lack of I formation and when I felt reduced movements was told to try and stimulate them but my baby sadly passed away. Then Second time round I saw different midwives constantly apparently it was a way to improve consistentcy and that is the literal oppisite of what consistentcy means. If it haddent been for XXXXX I was asking XXXXX at West Suffolk hospital midwives to help me change and I would travel else where to be seen.

I was without an allocated community midwife until my 3rd trimester. When my GP practice did get a midwife they, I can only presume, were so overworked they never spent time actually getting to know me. Midwifery appointments were perfunctory, blood pressure and urine dip completed, but no information, advice or education provided or offered. The midwife did not thoroughly read my booking in assessment, therefore my physical health problems and mental health history were not checked for and supported.

This lack of community midwifery oversight meant that antenatal depression went undiagnosed and missed completely. When my child and I had problems after birth, post natal depression hit with a vengeance. Had my mental state been properly assessed and supported during pregnancy, our outcomes and early days and weeks, could have been vastly different.

The community midwife also failed to pick up on my child's feeding difficulties on our day 2 home visit. They were more concerned with completing paperwork and left the hands on care to their student. The student showed concern about my child's feeding and latch and asked for advice but the community midwife dismissed their, and my, concerns and said my child's latch was probably normal for them. This led to to the start of our feeding difficulties, my child lost weight and was readmitted for this and for jaundice. It took 3 weeks for his latch difficulty to be recognised and diagnosed, and I spent 10 days post partum continuously trying to breastfeed my child, and getting no sleep. The lack of sleep, coupled with poor midwifery support and post natal depression led to a serious deterioration in my mental health where I began to see the signs of psychosis beginning. luckily we spotted them and were able to get the appropriate support in place to help me and avoid post natal psychosis. However this meant the end of my breastfeeding journey with my child and I needed to start medication and have support from mental health services. Thankfully my child's care was transferred from the community midwife to the Acorn midwifery service who were faultless, and whose care was diligent and supportive.

We have been blessed with two amazing home births over the past three years and that is due to the attentive care of (name removed) and (name removed). They both went above and beyond to ensure we felt comfortable, cared for and listened to.
They empowered me and gave me confidence to listen to my body. Supporting my husband and I to give birth in the calm environment we hoped for. Our gorgeous sons will forever be reminded of the excellent care we all received.
Being born into the world, at home, full of love and peace can only be the best start in life.
Forever thankful

Second time Mother with North team/Saxmundham. Lucky enough to have the same midwife so a real continuity of care. I always felt a priority and was given clear advice and information so I could understand what was happening for both me and baby. I was always encouraged to have my own choice around my care. After care was also really good and emphatic. Thank you so much for your support in both my pregnancies and births.

The midwife I saw at Hartismere hospital was really amazing, the care and support provided was great and they were so friendly.

Great continuity of care with my midwife who made sure she was around for the home birth which was really lovely. She really took her time with me and was so caring at it was an amazing experience all round.

The Community midwives from Newmarket have been really supportive and caring, an amazing team.