Familiar faces help mums tough it out
Matching midwives with expectant mothers has proven to be a hit
A NEW program matching mothers with the same midwife through pregnancy has resulted in the first lot of mums and bubs ‘graduating’ from the scheme.
The Know Your Midwife project at the Cairns Private Hospital is being praised by both mums and midwives as it solidifies the bond between the two prior to entering the birthing suite.
Rebekah Scarabello gave birth to baby Hayden 10 weeks ago and said knowing her midwife, Deborah Buxton, during the lead-up to birth was extremely beneficial for her whole family.
“I didn’t go through my whole pregnancy with the program because it only started in August,” she said.
“From that point it was really helpful because that’s when all the questions started about what would happen during the actual birth.”
She said having the same person know her pregnancy inside out helped as she neared her due date.
“Deb was amazing. My husband and I came in to meet with Deb three or four times throughout the end of our pregnancy just to make sure we could go through our birthing plan, and she came around to our birthing suite and explained everything to a tee and let us know what to expect if different things happened.”
Ms Buxton said it was equally beneficial for midwives to have the same patient throughout a pregnancy.
“We’ve had lots of input from women from our service users, which has been great,” she said.
“Other countries around the world have been doing continuity of care for a long, long time. We have better outcomes socially, emotionally and physically. Women supporting women is invaluable.”
She said a lot of the care provided by midwives was aimed at easing fears mothers might have about labour and birth.
“It’s really scary, but you get to see a friendly face who you know knows your hopes and fears for labour and who can support you through it,” she said.
FROM THAT POINT IT WAS REALLY HELPFUL BECAUSE THAT’S WHEN ALL THE QUESTIONS STARTED ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN DURING THE ACTUAL BIRTH DEBORAH BUXTON