Birthing Stories

We decided to use Odette and Nyree for my second pregnancy and as I had an emergency c-section with my first daughter, I planned to go to the birth centre for baby number 2…but baby number 2 had other ideas! Baby number 2 (now known as Olivia) ended up being born at home where we were looked after by the lovely Odette.

It was an amazing experience and a world away from the medicalised experience we’d had first time around. Although I hadn’t been brave enough to plan for a home birth I was delighted with the outcome and in particular was so glad to have avoided hospital altogether!

When it came to baby number 3 there was no doubt in my mind that I wanted to have a home birth. When I met Odette again at 16 weeks it was so comforting to know that someone I knew and trusted would be the one to deliver my baby.

I really appreciated the continuity of seeing Odette for my antenatal appointments and the individualised care I received as a result. Odette was always at the end of the phone to reassure me with any worries that I had or to help me navigate the system! On the day I went into labour, I went into hospital to check whether my waters had broken. It took a while for us to be seen and for the doctor to confirm that my waters had indeed broken (not that I need telling at that point as the contractions were coming thick and fast!). I spoke to Odette who told me that if I didn’t get home fast the baby would be born in hospital, which was not what we wanted so we promptly checked ourselves out of hospital! The funniest thing was hopping into a taxi outside the hospital and asking the taxi driver to hurry up and take us home as we were having a baby!!

Odette arrived more or less after we got home and then everything just stopped!! We tried a bath as that had helped speed up labour with my second daughter but nothing was working. Typically just when we had settled in for the long haul, things picked up again. Odette gave us space to get things going but was there when we needed her and especially to reassure me that I could do this! (I have a habit of saying I can’t do it when things get tough!!!)

And then at 6pm our beautiful baby Aoife was born-slowly into the world head-first and then after what seemed like an eternity the rest of her!

Afterwards Odette was around.busy tidying up and sorting everything else out in the background while we enjoyed some cuddles and introduced our new arrival to her two big sisters. I can honestly say the best feeling in the world is being tucked up in your own bed at home with a new baby!

Odette was there again in the postnatal days offering her support and helping us get through those crazy sleep-deprived days. We really felt Odette was one of the family and we all shed a tear when it came time to say goodbye to her.

We feel enormously grateful to Odette for helping us to achieve a home birth (twice!) and for the love and kindness she gave to our family. When I think about it we can’t really thank her enough.

Intuitively I decided to have a home birth, although my husband wasn’t very happy with this decision at first. In the end it was the perfect birth! It was so peaceful and we felt safe the whole time. Odette and her colleague were at my side and helped me to deliver our first son. It was such an intense moment. After the birth they made sure our baby was fine and healthy and feeding properly. My husband and I couldn’t believe how lucky we were. I’m very sure it was right not to induce my labour, which could have easily ended with further intervention.

My second son was born 2 years later and Odette came with me to the St. Thomas’ hospital to stay at my side. Again it was the perfect birth for me. In the second stage of labour, when the baby was about to deliver, I remember that I began to panic. Odette managed to calm me down and encouraged me to push the right way. A few minutes later we were holding our second son. We couldn't have been more happy!

Thank you very much, Odette

She was incredibly supportive of my birth plan and went above and beyond to facilitate my wishes for a home water birth, as well as assisting greatly when we registered with our back up birth centre at Queen Charlotte’s Hospital.

Our little girl was born at 10 pm in a very warm, soothing pool in our home. I endured 27 hours of labour, Odette stayed in contact with us throughout by phone and visited regularly to check on my progress. In the moments when wanted to go to hospital and abandon the homebirth Odette was a great support keeping me focused, and she did a wonderful job of keeping me calm and stayed with me when i was afraid to be on my own. When it was time to birth our little one Odette prepared the pool, guided me into the water and coached me through the birthing experience. She was also of great support and encouragement to my Fiancé who was my birth partner; giving him advice and answering any questions he had. 

After our daughter was born Odette checked her vitals and I relaxed on the sofa with our daughter while Odette sutured my tears and assisted me with breastfeeding. She then helped me into the shower and into bed to recover and spend my first moments with the newest member of our family. In the weeks that followed Odette and her daughter Nadia continued home visits and provided invaluable help with the first few weeks of motherhood, providing support and checking on my recovery and progress.

We had a positive first birthing experience in hospital with a supportive team which helped me, as the father, to remain calm as I knew my wife was in good hands. We wanted to replicate that experience as much as possible but at home. Odette quickly left me in no doubt that with her as our midwife we would be able to achieve a similar if not better experience this time around.

Having a home water birth can be an anxious time for both mother and father but Odette and her daughter, Nadia, transmit such calm demeanours that we both felt relaxed and in safe hands. They are non-directive and let nature run its course but are available to assist in any way required. I was allowed to support my wife and feel in control of the situation because they did not impose themselves upon us. I was given regular updates which helped me to understand how things were progressing. Similarly, whenever anything needed to be done e.g. my wife had to move position and I was told why this was necessary but asked if it was okay before requesting my wife to do so. I wasn’t the spare part, I was also important and fully included.

Once Isaac was born Odette and Nadia gave us time to bond with our new son before helping me cut the cord and conducting the relevant health checks. They both faded into the background and let us enjoy this special moment for ourselves. Furthermore, it is the little things e.g. reassuring words, setting up the bed after the birth so my wife could lie down and helping me empty the birthing pool, that add so much to how they helped make our son’s birth a positive, fantastic and non-medicalised entry into this world.

I cannot recommend Odette and Nadia enough. Their presence is reassuring, calming and bring about an amazing birthing experience. So many mothers hear negative and shocking birthing stories but ours was remarkable and added to by this wonderful mother and daughter team. You won’t regret it.

Meeting Odette and building a relationship of trust was critical to having a calm and successful birth at home. From our initial consultation her confidence in me and my body’s ability to birth naturally at home really put me at ease and quieted the last remaining doubts that a home birth was how I wanted to deliver my son. Pre-natal visits with her at home were relaxed and informative with Odette giving great advice on more natural supplements and remedies for pregnancy (and for life in general!). Odette not only built a great relationship with myself and my husband, but with my 3-year-old daughter, getting her involved in the routine checks and answering her questions as well. By the time I was ready to give birth the whole family was happy to be looked after by Odette!

On the day of my delivery Odette was at my home 20 minutes after my waters broke and instantly gave my husband and I comfort with her calm and steady presence. Odette and her partner Nadia worked as a great mother/daughter midwifery team providing gentle support and subtle guidance, allowing me to labour however felt right but also directing proceedings to ensure labour progressed most effectively. My waters broke at 9:30 in the morning and my son was born at 1:30 that afternoon. The real benefit of a home birth came when Odette tucked me and my new son into my own bed to rest after labour and my daughter was able to meet her new brother when she got back home from school.

Odette’s care and vast knowledge continued to be a benefit through the post-natal visits where her knowledge of homeopathy and herbs helped in the recovery process. I followed every one of her recommendations and none of them failed me. I would wholeheartedly recommend Odette and Nadia to anyone looking to bring a baby peacefully into the world.

Similar to many people entering into the NHS system, I was nervous. I was not born in the UK and had not always heard glowing reviews when it came to continuity of care (more accurately that there was none) or focused attention during the labour process. I was at a loss until I heard about independent midwives and more specifically found Odette and her team. After one short phone call I knew I was in good hands. She advised me on the best hospital to go to, gave me a sense of calm immediately, and promptly set up a first visit. I received excellent care from Odette. When my waters broke and the nerves kicked in, Odette was my first call. Rather than rushing to the hospital or spending hours on the phone figuring out what I should do I followed her advice to rest and monitor. She got me to the hospital at the exact right time and was with me every step of the way. Not only did she help me with relaxation and breathing techniques but she was my advocate at the hospital. She ensured I got the best care, immediate help when I needed it and translated "doctor talk" to something I could understand. Odette really has the perfect balance; she is calming and motherly but strong and commanding with the doctors when she needs to be. She was my voice of strength when I needed it. For some it may be strange to have another person in the room but Odette was not over bearing at all and MOST importantly she was a HUGE support to my husband. My husband was very hands on but I think it was extremely comforting for him to have someone who had been through it before to help support us.

We had such a great experience with Odette when I got pregnant with my second we came back again. This time Nadia was my primary contact. I had met Nadia during my first experience with Odette (they work as a team) and she was just as amazing as Odette. Again she struck that perfect balance; a calm demeanor yet someone who can "get things done". Nadia was a huge help during the birth. She coached me through all contractions and got me to stay calm. I was extremely relaxed with her and as a result had a fantastic birth experience (of course still painful but she made it A LOT better). My husband and I had questioned if we needed the extra support given it was our second time around but Nadia was completely worth it. And if we are lucky enough to have another, I may be calling them once again.

Odette changed everything. An expert in home birth, she was able to talk through my fears, desires and questions. Antenatal care changed from faceless medical appointments to a cup of tea at home with one of the nicest and most reassuring people you could ever meet. Terror turned to excitement and anticipation as I was able to mitigate my fears. I knew that when I went into labour I would be at home, with people that I knew and trusted and who would stay with me throughout. Any intervention would be discussed and if I did need to go to the hospital I would be accompanied. Odette and her midwives were looking after me, my partner and baby and we would all be safe. I had been given trust in my own body, what it could do and the power of nature.

I had the most positive and beautiful birth experience possible. Ivy was born after a relatively short labour by candlelight in a water bath in the spare room. My labour was spent pacing the flat and in an extra-long bath. I could not have felt more supported or relaxed. I needed no drugs, checks or intervention and when Ivy came out she was still in her membrane. She was caught by my partner who passed her to me and her first hour was spent with the two of us cuddling and adoring her before she had her cord cut. We then all went to bed where we stayed for the next month with Odette and Nadia popping in daily and looking after us. Our transition into parenthood was smoothed by the afterbirth care we received with our concerns and questions all being answered. It helped us survive those first few daunting weeks.

Every woman should have as positive a birth experience. Sadly mine is not the norm. The medicalisation of birth, a natural process, and our insistence that hospitals are where babies should be born is depriving us women of belief and trust in our own bodies and confidence in our ability to give birth naturally. There is, of course, a place for clinical intervention when things aren’t going well; many women and babies would not survive without it. However turning birth into a medical condition to be managed is not, I believe, the best way to approach it. Being supported by a knowledgeable, trusted, professional midwife who respects birth as a natural spiritual process, believes in your body’s ability to do it and only intervenes when necessary, is. Being guided through the most natural and positive birth experience by Odette has given me so much more confidence in myself as a person, as a woman and I now have nothing but love and respect for my body. The only thing I will do differently in future is to make sure that she is involved from the start of my pregnancy. She will be booked from when the test first turns blue…