For the month of December Pampers are running a #ThankYouMidwife campaign across social media. The idea behind the campaign came from research that showed that unfortunately one in three midwives feel undervalued. So Pampers have decided to donate £1 to the Royal College of Midwives Benevolent fund for every time the #ThankYouMidwife hashtag is used across social media. I have been seeing all sorts of wonderful posts online dedicated to the fantastic work our midwives do all day every day and have been inspired to write my own tribute to all the midwives who played a part in my pregnancy, labour, delivery and aftercare.
I had many different midwives play a role in my journey to becoming a mum and so this is to all of you.
To the midwife who was so patient and kind throughout my first booking appointment. You explained everything to us in such detail that you put our minds at rest and made us feel like everything would be okay and that we were capable of having this baby. Thank you midwife.
To my assigned midwife who was always happy to answer all of our first time parent questions throughout the nine months we saw you. You were a true part of our journey and you were genuinely excited for us to have our baby. You never made me feel silly for crying every time I heard the heartbeat and you always gave us as much of your time as we needed at every appointment. Thank you midwife.
To the midwives who took our antenatal classes, you explained everything surrounding labour and childbirth to us in a way that was informative but not terrifying. You told us about breastfeeding in such detail that you set us up for success. You showed us around the Birth Centre and let us have as much time as we needed to get a feel for the place where we would deliver our baby. Thank you midwives.
To the midwives who I rang when I was in labour. You were so patient and kind on the phone. You waited until each contraction had passed to assess how far along I was and you reassured me that I was doing okay and that I would continue doing okay. Thank you midwives.
To the midwives who were with me throughout labour. You will never know how grateful I am to you that you were so gentle and so kind while I was in your care. You told me to trust my body and so I did. You allowed me to be in control of my labour with your support. You fed me jelly in the birth pool when I had been pushing for so long that I had no energy left to keep going. You even kept the humour going with Dan to keep my spirits up and you encouraged me by telling me how well I was doing not just yelling at me to push. You were the ones who laid my baby girl on my chest and told me how beautiful she was and that I had done a great job. Then you did all the bits you have to do and gave us as much time as we needed as a family before bringing us the best tea and toast I had ever tasted. You were everything that I needed. Thank you midwives.
To all the midwives at the Birth Centre who looked after us during our stay. You were the ones who taught me how to breastfeed and how to be a mother. You were on call all hours of the night to help me when it hurt or when I couldn’t get her latch right. You were there when Darcie just wouldn’t stop crying whenever I put her down and I couldn’t understand why, you were the ones who told me that she just wanted a cuddle. Sometimes babies just want a cuddle. You showed us how to bath her and how to change a nappy. You arranged for her tongue tie to be cut as soon as possible and reassured us throughout the whole process. Nothing was too much and no question was too dumb. Thank you midwives.
To the midwives who visited me at home. You were the ones who got me through the baby blues and those first couple of weeks at home. You told me it was normal that all I could do was cry some days and that my hormones would balance eventually. You continued to help me with breastfeeding and always told me how well we were both doing. Your encouragement held me together and made me feel I could cope. Every time you walked through the door you made me feel okay. Thank you midwives.
I feel so lucky and so blessed to have had such a positive birthing experience and I can honestly say I put it down to the excellent care I received from all the midwives who played a part. It saddens me that so many of them feel so undervalued when I couldn’t value mine anymore if I tried. Next time you have a midwife appointment or meet a midwife try to let them know what a great job they are doing. And if you want to get involved with Pampers #ThankYouMidwife campaign I have put a link here with more information.
Thank you all midwives.
