The pregnancy and birth of my first child was one of the most traumatic events of my life and so on finding I was pregnant again two and a half years later I was filled with mixed emotions.

My son was born in 2000 weighing just 5lbs after a pregnancy plagued with raised blood pressure. Despite arriving 7 weeks early he was healthy but needed to stay in special care for a few weeks to be monitored.

As there was no obvious reason why my labour had started early I was told by my GP that my second pregnancy was to be classed as ‘high risk’ and that I would need many appointments with specialist paediatricians throughout the next nine months. To be honest I’m not great with hospitals and fuss so I came home from the surgery that day very tearful and upset at the thought that I was to be poked, prodded and scanned every five minutes.

It was then that my mum mentioned to me she had heard of ‘independent midwives’ and perhaps I should look at an alternative way of approaching this pregnancy. I found Lynn on the internet through a referral and she came out to my home to discuss my options with me. As I was on blood pressure medication I wasn’t sure Lynn would be able to care for me as I had this impression that independent midwives only did home births and only cared for ‘earth mother’ type women with straightforward pregnancies. I thought it unlikely I would want a home birth and not being one to suffer pain well I wasn’t sure I could go through a birth ‘au naturel’!

I needn’t have worried though as it was a wonderful first meeting and I felt relaxed and at ease in my own home and able to chat through what I wanted for my pregnancy. It was such a relief to me to feel able to take some control back and make decisions for myself and although I was only about 10 weeks at that stage I knew I wanted Lynn there throughout the rest of the pregnancy and birth.

My husband was concerned at first that the baby may be at risk or that I wouldn’t be monitored closely enough but as soon as he met Lynn he agreed that it was the right choice for us.

Interestingly I had none of the complications in my second pregnancy that I experienced in my first. My blood pressure stayed normal and except for the sickness I felt quite well. Lynn came over regularly to check I was physically and emotionally well and even when I had an increase in my blood sugar I felt quite calm about it after talking it through with Lynn.

Despite preparing ourselves for another early baby our little girl arrived exactly on time! We had never made any firm plans about where we would have the baby and as my contractions started I very calmly said I would like to meet Lynn at the hospital.

After such a long labour with my first child involving every pain killer under the sun I was preparing myself for another long haul but when my waters broke it was only an hour before my contractions were coming thick and fast. By the time we arrived at the hospital Lynn was waiting for us and filled up the birthing pool just as my contractions started to get really painful. The water was a great help and just 40 minutes after arriving at hospital I gave birth to a beautiful 8lb 12oz baby with no pain relief and not a tear in sight!

After the birth we left the hospital within a couple of hours as I was keen to get home to my own bed although I hardly slept that night as I was so overcome with a sense of pride and achievement. In the weeks after the birth Lynn visited regularly and was always at the end of the phone if we needed her.

I think my thoughts on Lynn are summarised by the comments I put in my notes under the section ‘what are your hopes’ which I filled out at the beginning of my pregnancy. I said I wanted a pregnancy free from complications ending in a quick and manageable birth and thanks to God and Lynn that’s exactly what I got!

I have none of the feelings of resentment and disappointment that I experienced after the birth of my first child and none of the postnatal depression that followed as a result. A big thank you Lynn from all of us.

With love Amie, Robbie, Senan and Elsie XXXX