Birth Testimonial and Story
As someone who’s neurodivergent and lives with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, I had really mixed feelings going into pregnancy. I was so excited to become aMother, but the thought of birth itself felt pretty overwhelming. With everything going on with the investigations into the maternity services in Nottingham as well, it just added another layer of anxiety - especially as a first-time mum without many people around me who’d been through it. I’d actually been following Kerry on Instagram for a while before I even got pregnant and always hoped I’d be able to have her as my doula one day. Her posts were so reassuring and informative, and you could just tell how much she cared about the people she supported. So when I did fall pregnant, I reached out straight away - and luckily, she had space!
From the start, Kerry made everything feel so much calmer. Whether we were chatting in person or over messages, she was always easy to talk to and quick to send over helpful resources if I had questions. She’d actually go through things with me too, not just send links, which made such a difference. I wanted to include hypnobirthing in my birth plan, and she was great at explaining it all and helping me figure out what would actually work for me. My original plan was to have a water birth in the hospital. Because of my POTS and tendency to feel faint when anxious, I didn’t feel comfortable giving birth at home, but I thought being in water would really help me manage my stress, pain and move more easily with my fibromyalgia. Unfortunately, because I’d had a seizure earlier in 2024, the hospital said I wasn’t allowed a water birth - even though it was a one-off and I don’t have epilepsy. It was really frustrating, but Kerry was amazing in helping me push back on it. She helped me contact the right people and put my case forward. Even though the decision didn’t change, she helped me come up with a new plan so I could still have the calmest experience possible.
When labour started on the 18th of December at about 5am, I stayed at home for a bit using my birthing ball, low lighting, and essential oils to keep things as relaxed as possible. Around 6am my waters broke, and I noticed my waters were pink with some blood clots, which worried me. I messaged Kerry, and she calmly suggested calling the hospital. They advised me to come in, so my partner and I got a taxi, and Kerry was already there waiting for us, which was such a relief. We got to the hospital around 7:15am and were taken straight into a labour room as I was already in active labour. Kerry was brilliant at answering questions at the desk for me, as I was too overwhelmed with the contractions to focus on answering fully. Kerry helped set everything up so the room felt calm and not too clinical: music, essential oils, and little things like handheld acupressure balls that really helped during contractions. She also did a great job of speaking up for my birth plan and helping explain things when I didn’t feel like I was getting clear answers from staff. That was especially important when it came to things like pain relief, as I wanted to stick to just gas and air, which I did.
There were a few moments where I felt a bit pressured by midwifes, especially around having a foetal scalp monitor, which I didn’t originally want. Even though Kerry supported me in sticking to my plan, I ended up agreeing to it, which I do feel a bit disappointed about looking back. But she really did everything she could to back me up in those moments.I gave birth at 12:20pm, and honestly, it all went so quickly. I was really in the zone, just focusing on my breathing and everything Kerry had helped me put in place. My son was born healthy, and I felt so proud of myself for having the kind of birth I’d hoped for - calm,mostly physiological, and just using gas and air.
Not long after, I delivered the placenta, but then things suddenly changed from relief to panic. My uterus wasn’t contracting properly, and I started to haemorrhage, losing about 1.5 litres of blood. The room filled up with doctors and midwives really quickly, and it all became quite intense. Kerry was incredible during this part. She kept both me and my partner as calm as possible and made sure we understood what was going on. There was one moment where a doctor tried to remove blood clots manually without properly explaining how invasive it would be. The pain was unbearable - honestly worse than the birth - and even though I was clearly in distress, it was repeated. Kerry stepped in straight away and advocated for me when I couldn’t. I was then taken to theatre and put under anaesthetic for the procedure, which I really wish had been offered in the first place. While that was happening, my partner was left holding our newborn and was understandably really shaken. Kerry stayed with him, explained everything, and reassured him, which made such a difference to him.
I genuinely don’t know how we would have got through that experience without Kerry. She was such a steady, calming presence through everything - the good and the scary parts. She supported both of us in a way that went far beyond what we expected, and because of her, what could have been a really traumatic experience still feels positive overall. ,I’ll always be so grateful we had her with us. I cannot recommend Kerry and her work enough.
Thank you to my wonderful client for sharing her birth story from pregnancy to postpartum!