I had planned a home birth, and Manni was one of 2 midwives to attend; from the get-go, she was so lovely (as were the birth midwives). Unfortunately, our little girl's heartbeat dipped a couple of times and Manni made the decision to do a cervical check, at this point my waters went and the cord prolapsed.

From research prior to deciding to have a home birth, I knew this was a really bad situation to be in, but Manni remained so calm the whole time. She got me into the correct position and talked to me calmly but firmly, which really grounded me at the time despite the panic I was feeling. She was so quick with all the decisions she made, from getting my partner to call 999, to supporting baby's head with her hand and ensuring I was in the correct position to take any pressure off the cord.

Despite me being in panic and crying, she stayed so calm, and she was reassuring me through the whole process, ensuring she told me exactly what she was doing and reassuring me every time our baby's heartbeat was checked. She kept me calm during the ambulance transfer and still kept me calm up until the point I was put under general anesthetic for my Category 1 Emergency Cesarean Section, all while having her hand literally inside me supporting our baby's head; she stayed in that position for around an hour and a half until our baby was safely delivered.

She stayed and made sure my partner knew that our baby and I were okay; she was there when I woke up from the surgery, and she even took the time to come and see us on the postnatal ward the next day and had a well-deserved cuddle with our baby, and even fed her, changed her, and winded her. Words can’t even describe how grateful I am that she was our midwife that day, and I genuinely believe our little girl is here today because of her actions. No characters left to say everything!