Choices help ease the way

There is a range of options including private and public but often families are not completely aware of every single option that is available until it is too late. For example, My Midwives Toowoomba often find that women are unaware of the option to birth within their Cottage or even the option to have early labour in the Cottage before transferring to hospital for birth.

“For out-of-town families, this is a great option”, managing director Liz Wilkes states.

“Evidence demonstrates that in the case of spontaneous onset of labour, it is better to wait until labour is well established before moving to hospital. This allows for the hormones responsible for labour to act most efficiently.

“Having the Cottage available means that women can be closer to hospital without being admitted and they have a midwife with them supporting them along that part of the journey.”

In labour, the hormone adrenaline –produced from anxiety and fear – can slow down the natural hormones of labour including oxytocin, meaning that labour can be impacted if a woman is feeling scared or frightened.

“We are mammals and while we don’t like to think of ourselves in that way, of course we have brains that also impact us,” Liz said.

“We do respond similarly to other mammals. If you think of a cat, they won’t labour well if a dog appears, anything that makes them frightened sends things haywire.

“We are a little the same. So getting well and truly established in labour helps the process for women before they move into a hospital setting which is, for many, an adrenaline-provoking activity.”

“Not everyone feels worried about moving into hospital, and for some women they have little adrenaline associated with hospitals.

“However, for a number of women it is a really big deal and we need to focus on ensuring that we minimise the stress of this at this critical time.”

My Midwives offers full care to women from early in pregnancy, through labour and birth until their baby is six weeks old. Choices that women make are taken into consideration with each women’s own individual circumstances, and what ensures the safety for mum and baby.

“We have a collaborative admitting process with the Toowoomba Hospital, which enables women to also see obstetricians and other health professionals during pregnancy as needed,” Liz says. “This means the best of all worlds, with minimal intervention where that is appropriate combined with the ability to escalate if it is needed.”

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