The birth of Natalia
We are from Russia and giving birth in the Netherlands seemed daunting to us. We met Farola at the Birth in Holland course. The course itself reassured us that the Dutch system is actually quite good and it’s easy to switch from a midwife to hospital support should this be needed. However my husband is scared of blood and that combined with having to go to the midwives frequently of small scares, we knew we would like additional support for the birth.
Since the midwives told us they would not be there from beginning till end, but rather intermittend until we were further along in the proces, they suggested a doula. So we booked an appointment with Farola. She was really there for us, even when brackton hicks made us call her and drive over to us in the middle of the night (twice!) before we realized this wasn’t going to continue into active labor.
Eventhough we were disappointed it wasn’t the birth yet, it was so nice to have a calm and reassuring familiar face. Especially since the midwives only told us to call again when things had picked up a lot more.
The third time she drove out in the middle of the night we had been more relaxed and after being reminded to take that relaxing shower, things really picked up a lot quicker.
After two hours at home and one hour at the hospital and I turned out to be at 5 cm. Only a few hours later (after another calming shower at the hospital to help us settle in and relax) our daughter was born.
The pushing stage was hard work and scary for my husband, but he mananged to keep it together also thanks to Farola’s support and he even cut the cord!
Andrey and Ekatarina