"Birth in Karratha - MGP"

I had the most amazing and healing birth experience at Karratha Health Campus with my Midwife Laura through the MGP program. From beginning to end Laura was attentive and informative, understanding our wishes for birth but also keeping us informed in all our pre-natal appointments. I had a traumatic birth with my first which caused me anxiety about having to go to Perth again, but Laura was so supportive of my goal to birth in Karratha and in the bath and helped support me to achieve this. I was only disappointed that I needed to see a Doctor at 40+ weeks who ended up being a visiting doctor. They hadn't read my file and had no idea about my journey. They made some comments that left me feeling unnecessarily anxious and unheard, including having to send me to Port Headland, regardless of already being cleared to deliver in Karratha. 

Our birth was exceptional, we arrived at hospital same time as our midwife, she set the room up and made us feel so comfortable. My partner felt so at ease and supported, after our last experience left him quite anxious about going through labour again. I was no longer allowed to use the bath but Laura encouraged me to use the shower which I was happy with. Laura knew exactly when to offer support and when to let us be in the moment. She read my cues and offered me options as I needed them. She talked me through every step, providing words of encouragement and support. 

After our baby was born she had trouble breathing. The other midwife Shev was amazing, checking on me through the process and offering help to shower or seeing if I needed anything. Doctor Tony kept us in the loop the entire time my baby was away from us. I was never worried about my baby as I knew what was happening, I felt informed and included in the process as they provided extra breathing support for them. We were allowed to stay in the special care nursery with our baby and Midwife Lea was there helping us and answering any questions we had. After we were cleared, we went back to our room. All the staff that checked in on us were lovely, friendly and attentive. We went home the same day, very happy with our experience. 

The MGP program at Karratha is amazing and based on my experience I highly reccomend it to anyone. The consistent support from a familiar Midwife made all the difference to our birth and I think the program needs to be supported and continued.