After ten years in the healthcare sector and a masters in midwifery, I have a personal and professional interest in current events, studying various reports such as Mbrace and Birth rights while simultaneously working as a midwife and nurse. However, the real understanding of motherhood and interacting with healthcare services happened when I became a mother myself. 

 Attending hospital for many years as a child taught me what good compassionate care looked like, as well as showing me what felt like poor care; this demonstrated what I knew I never wanted to be like. Having a plan for my ideal birth and then ending up needing emergency care and having my baby in NICU has influenced my ability to truly understand what it means to understand and address individual needs. This altered my postnatal experience and as a first time mum this was a lot to handle, however, it can often feel as though that one to one focus once the baby is born and that added pressure on staff means postnatal care leaves no room for focus on holistic individual needs.  

With the right support, I was able to breastfeed until 14 months, when I was ready to stop, I was able to identify my daughter tongue-tie, I was able to meet other supportive mothers who had similar challenges.