Birth afterthoughts is a listening and debriefing service available to any woman who has given birth to their baby, or is planning to give birth, in the Rosie. It is a confidential service that provides an opportunity to discuss and understand what happened during labour and birth.
For parents, events around a baby’s birth may have been confusing, unexpected or unplanned for parents. Labour and birth may have been different to expectations and plans made during pregnancy. There may have been a need for medical intervention, or even a medical emergency. Such events can be difficult to understand without information to ‘fill in the gaps’, have questions answered, or understand the medical assessment and decision making process in labour. It is not always easy to take in all the information that is given at the time, or just after the birth. For this reason, no particular time limit is set for birth afterthoughts, and women may contact the service directly when they feel ready.
During the session mothers may talk with the Specialist midwife who will read through their birth notes. They may wish to talk about the questions they have, their memories and feelings and thoughts. Partners may also attend. This process can very beneficial if a mother or couple are finding it difficult to understand, or perhaps come to terms with events. It may also be very important in helping to better prepare for the next pregnancy, labour and birth.
Birth afterthoughts is also used by mothers who have suffered loss in pregnancy or death of their baby, and we aim to offer them additional support in their next pregnancy.
Call us on 01223 217882 to arrange a time to come and talk. Please leave a message and a midwife will call you back.
Appointments are available 4 days a week.
Telephone and video consultations are being offered as appointments during COVID-19 restrictions to minimise risk for women and their partners.
We look forward to hearing from you.
(If the midwife is unable to answer all of your questions or you have any other concerns, please see your GP who can refer you to the hospital for an appointment to speak to an obstetrician.)
Referrals
Women may refer themselves directly to the birth afterthoughts service by email or by leaving a message on the voicemail.
A midwife will aim to contact you within 5 working days from point of contact.
We suggest that you wait for 4 to 6 weeks after giving birth before requesting an appointment to give yourself time to recover from the birth, to allow your thought processes to settle a little and be ready to talk through your birth experience.
The midwife will ask you a few questions when booking your appointment to ensure that she has all the information she requires to make your appointment as efficient as possible.
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