A Shout Out to my Midwife

When I first found out I was pregnant I went to my regular family doctor. I hadn't been very happy with him but finding a good GP who's taking patients is hard, so it was all I could do. In typical fashion, he spent minimal time with me and did a very basic job. I was getting frustrated by the lack of care, especially on whether or not to have amniocentesis. Then luckily I was told about a group of midwives by one of my mum's friends who had just had a baby. I managed to get an appointment with Chloe from Bloom Midwives. I could not believe the difference in care I received over that of a doctor! I must admit that I thought of midwives as baby-specific nurses. However, they're really more like doctors - they can order tests, prescribe drugs and even do minor surgery. After I switched to the midwife, my appointments went from five minutes to 45 minutes. I was given so much support and information, so that I could feel good making decisions like amniocentesis (which I did not have to do luckily).

Then in my third trimester Chloe told me she would have a UBC midwifery student, Yarrow, interning with her and could she come to our appointments and delivery. I was initially very skeptical, having seen some pretty inept med students in my time. However, after my first meeting with Yarrow all my reservations went away. She put me very at ease with her professionalism and warmth. So when I went into labour, I essentially had two midwives looking after me, as well as an obstetrician monitoring my sky-high blood pressure. And I honestly don't think I could have kept pushing if it wasn't for Chloe's incredible coaching.

After I gave birth, both Chloe and Yarrow came to my house to check on us all almost everyday the first week. I've never had such great medical care in my life! Their knowledge really helped us to settle in to being comfortable as parents. My only sadness is that midwifery care is only up to six weeks after birth, and now I have to find a doctor for Holly's ongoing care.

So to Chloe and Yarrow - thanks so much!!! And to those of you in the Vancouver area who might have a baby anytime soon, I recommend Bloom midwives (I've heard equally glowing reports for the other midwives that practice there too).