10/09/2026
A positive homebirth transfer
In the early hours of the morning Tracy started surging at 38 weeks pregnant with her first baby, by 6am her partner Gareth called to say that Tracy was feeling pretty concerned that her baby hadn't been moving. I headed round for an assessment and quite quickly it was apparent that the safest place for us to be was in hospital. We arrived at hospital, Tracy was surging beautifully and we received a warm welcome from the staff, Tracy was soon back in the zone. After a few hours of being there and bub still showing some signs of distress, Tracy agreed to an examination, which showed that she was around 6cm dilated, I think everyone was a little shocked as Tracy was so controlled and peaceful, working with her surges. We managed to find an inflatable pool and create a "home like" environment as much as possible. There was still concern for the baby and the hospital staff continued working collaboratively, giving recommendations and giving Tracy & Gareth the space and time to consider all of their options. It was clear that Tracy was close to meeting her baby, the surges becoming stronger and Tracy bearing down spontaneously. It didn't take long for us to start seeing a little head, making their way down, rocking back and forwards. Tracy was not impressed with how excited we were about seeing the tiniest bit of head 😂 but we knew just how close she was. After only 6 hours of arriving at the hospital, Tracy birthed her beautiful baby girl, on the floor, physiologically, just as her and Gareth had hoped for. Little Erin needed some support after being born, but was quickly reunited for lots of skin to skin and cuddles, where she hasn't really left in 8 weeks! Transferring to hospital does not alway mean saying goodbye to physiological birth, a beautiful calm environment can still be created. So much of this was down to the beautiful midwives at RHW who were so willing to collaborate & support, it really made all the difference - the beautiful student midwife that was with us also made some placenta prints, how cool! What an incredible birth to be apart of, Tracy, Gareth & Erin you are the best ❤️
*Shared with permission