Labour and Birth Care

Your midwife will be on-call for you and will attend your labour and birth. In the event that they are away or busy, they will have arranged a back-up midwife to be available instead. Make sure you know who the back-up is and how to contact them.

Make sure you understand the signs of labour and when to call your midwife. Every labour and birth is different and not all go according to plan. Make sure you understand what can happen and be prepared to change your birth plan. Your midwife will talk to you about what may happen and also about what strategies you can use to manage labour pain.

Some midwives provide care for women who have been given an epidural by an anaesthetist, have an oxytocin drip and abnormal fetal heart trace, others do not. Please check to see if the midwife you choose offers these services.