We moved to Leeds back in May after the realisation that continuing to live in London was going to prove difficult on a number of levels, mainly the cost of child care in the capital would have meant that I would need to go back to work.

By the time we arrived in Leeds all the antenatal course had been booked up. This was when I started thinking about finding a Doula as neither of us had a clue about childbirth and many of my colleagues at work had spoken about how useful it was to have a Doula towards the end of the pregnancy and for the birth.

I found Rachel’s details on the internet and decided to give her a call as I was about 37 weeks by now and my husband was getting increasingly nervous about the fact that we still didn’t really know anything. I had also managed to get out of him the fact that he wasn’t sure how he would react to attending the birth (even though he was a farmer’s son!). I really wanted him to be a part of our son’s birth but I didn’t want him to feel that he had to be there every second if it all got a bit much. Again having a Doula with us just made sense for this very reason. If he wanted to go for a coffee or get some fresh air for 5 mins then he would feel that he could leave me in very capable hands, as we all know that now days midwives are often looking after a number of women at the same time these days, so there is no guarantee that they will be with you all the time.

From the very first telephone conversation with Rachel I knew we were going to get on, which is pretty important when this person is going to be with you at one of the most intimate moments of your life. What I liked about Rachel was that she was warm and friendly but still maintained her professionalism. Her knowledge on childbirth was amazing and this was what we really needed to tap into. After a few telephone calls we arranged a meeting, I guess it was an interview really form both sides, from there we arranged our first antenatal session. Rachel came to our house one evening where we had supper together and then she talked us through each of the stages of labour and what we wanted from our birth experience. It was at the end of this session that I knew I had done the right thing by getting in contact with a Doula.

Rachel and I were in contact by phone after that and as I ended up being 16 days over due she offered us far more antenatal help than we originally anticipated. Rachel was extremely supportive of the fact that ideally I dint want to be induced and wanted a spontaneous labour. She even attended an appointment with my midwife to help support me in this decision.

Eventually after 14 days over due and attending hospital for regular check ups I gave in to being induced. I was given the gel at about 2pm in the afternoon. That certainly got things moving and I felt as though these were contractions although I hadn’t started to dilate yet. By 3am Friday morning I was moved to the labour ward and we called Rachel but things were to progress very slowly. I was given more drugs to speed things up and it was at this point after knowing I couldn’t have any more morphine that I felt an epidural would be a good idea. That certainly did the trick in terms of pain relief but again slowed the whole process down.

Rachel and Chris were fantastic in keeping my spirits up and motivating me throughout the labour. By about 5pm they said I could start trying to push and although I was trying with all my might it was really hard to know when to push as the epidural lessened the sensation to push or even to know when a contraction was coming. After and hour the midwife said I would need to have forceps to deliver the baby. At the back of my head I really didn’t want a c-section so I was willing to try anything. The forceps delivery did hurt momentarily but the second he was on my chest it was all worth it. That moment is truly amazing.

I was so proud of my husband who had stayed with me throughout. Rachel had been able to inform him exactly what was happening each step of the way, he therefore felt in control of the situation. Rachel has since been a great help with my breast feeding and has been at the end of the phone for all those questions that new mums have. In a word she has been a ‘star’ and has made our birth experience one that we will always treasure even though things didn’t go to plan. Maybe the whole experience was a bit too positive as I can’t wait to have another one now!!!!