Josephine cared for me and my birth partner (husband) after our transfer to the delivery suite for the birth of my first child in September 2024. My birth plan was ideally a water birth with minimal interventions from medical professionals, and I had planned to use only water and gas and air as pain relief. When I arrived in delivery, I had already had interventions "outside of my plan" including an induction and taking diamorphine which could have put my access to the birth pool at risk. Josephine read my birth plan as soon as we arrived and understood the key things that were important to me. She took time to explain to me that she had read and understood the plan and would help me get my preferences as far as possible.

Josephine's support throughout my labour to facilitate this was absolutely incredible. Due to some previous trauma, informed consent and feeling in control were top priorities for me. This can be tricky to achieve for a patient in labour as I was not always the most "with it" to be able to feel in control or to make choices about my care! However, Josephine navigated this expertly. She chose good times to discuss my options and choices, clearly outlining the benefits, risks, and alternative options. She highlighted what was recommended clinically and what would best meet my birth plan and gave options that could compromise to best achieve the two when they might conflict. With Josephine's support, I was able to access the birth pool when the diamorphine began to wear off. She enabled my husband to support me and she kept her distance when we were managing well.

When we needed more support, she was always immediately available and felt truly on my side and by my side. She gave suggestions to both of us for ways to make me more comfortable and more effective at pushing, and to enhance the experience for us both. The moment of my daughter's arrival was nothing short of magical. We had a blissful few minutes as a family of three, just staring in wonder at what we'd done. Exhaustion hit me very heavily after labour and I felt unable to hold my daughter safely; once again, Josephine stepped in to gently support me while my husband took over skin-to-skin and then she helped us have our first feed with me lying down so I could sleep. My husband remembers every moment and felt so involved, while I was grateful to be able to rest! The care Josephine gave during labour and after the birth meant we achieved most, if not all, of our birth preferences even when plans went awry. I found the experience incredibly healing for my past.

The memories of the birth are fully positive and both me and my husband are so incredibly grateful to Josephine and the rest of the team. For me, this was exactly how birth should be managed - as a mother, I felt my choices were respected, I was given dignity and ownership to choose my care, and I was helped to make safe decisions. Josephine's emotional intelligence and clinical skill to manage this is just second-to-none and I will forever be grateful for what she gave us that day.