Giselle and I have been together for 10years and always dreamed of starting a family. Eventually we got in touch with a fertility clinic in 2022 and booked our first appointment. We had our first consultation and things went by so quickly that the next thing you know, WE ARE EXPECTING OUR FIRST😁
We were so blessed to have fallen pregnant after the first try (artificial insemination, the success rate is approximately 15%)
Being first time mommies , the feeling becomes overwhelming because what now 😮 we didn’t know any better other than we were having a baby lol. By this time it was too late to upgrade my medical aid too.
I knew for a fact I didn’t want to give birth at a government facility (not that there’s anything wrong with it but I had my own fears and so did Giselle) but at this point I didn’t really have a choice because of the medical aid that only covered private up to a certain amount.
Long story short, my sister in law sent me an advertisement of Midwife by Nature’s business page. She knew Giselle and I don’t deal well with long queues and we were already so stressed on where we’d be going for our check-ups etc.
Me being me immediately went onto the website and literally read through everything on Midwife by Nature’s page, from Crystal’s own birthing experience, what she now does to testimonials.
Immediately things were starting to look up and trust me… I didn’t look any further. I then called Giselle to share all the information I found for her to also read up on and she was also very comfortable with going to Crystal… on the plus side, we literally stay like 5minutes away.

I contacted Jeremy and explained our little story and he was so genuine, people normally tend to judge same sex couples but he was really excited for us and gave us some more insight about Crystal, his wife. We then spoke for a good few minutes and he couldn’t stop praising Crystal of all the good work she has done and still do. He sounded so excited describing her as a person and in all honesty, she’s exactly what he explained.. like one could hear his so proud and blessed to have Crystal as his wife which was so sweet man😊
I messaged Crystal and she literally explained everything in a voicenote. From the beginning she was very open and honest and told me if I had any further questions I shouldn’t hesitate to ask. This already made us feel so certain that we’d be going to Crystal.
This is also when we decided to do a home birth instead of a hospital birth plan cause again, it really creeps me out😂
Jeremy was really on top of his game with providing us a quote.
We then booked our first antenatal and met Crystal for the first time and I’m sure all the other mommies that’s gone for antenatals or done their birthing with Crystal can agree that she’s a very compassionate, kind hearted soul. We also viewed the birthing rooms and fell in love with the setting of the place (and it always smells soooo nice there, ps, please plug us on where to buy the lavender oils hahaha)
At first I was so scared about the whole natural birth that I even asked Crystal if she provides medication to help with the pain. She said nooo, it’s all natural which I won’t lie, made me very nervous but I kept it cool. As each appointment we attended, the more confident I became in birthing naturally that I no longer felt scared. Crystal always says, a woman’s body is made for birthing so you need to trust your body. As time passed by those words stuck with me hence the nerves went away but then I feared that I’d poop while pushing 🤣🤣 and even with that, she made it seem so okay, like it’s not something to be embarrassed about because these things happen.
We would always leave our appointment feeling so relaxed because Giselle and I had complete faith and confidence in Crystal.
Also, our appointments would literally turn into visits, as Crystal mentioned, Jeremy would join and we’d always end up chatting for quite abit. Giselle and I didn’t feel like just clients but both Jeremy and Crystal built an actual relationship with us so it felt like we were apart of their family.

Time started getting closer and closer and Bean (the nickname we gave our baby) still wasn’t making his appearance. I was exercising, doing ball exercises, squatting, walking, eating pineapples and dates (don’t fall for those myths, it doesn’t work) and still no Bean. It’s like I was sinking into a depression but Crystal would message to check in and make sure I’m okay because I’m a bit quiet. She’d also send exercises from YouTube that help and advised us to do some hypnotherapy and breathing exercises to prepare our minds because surprisingly, our mind is a powerful thing and if you have a positive mindset, it can determine the outcome of how you feel.
Week 41 came along and I had to go for a scan, by this time Bean was in position but didn’t look like he was ready to come out. Crystal even called in doula Corni to help show Giselle and I on how to do siffing techniques. So we tried that aswell and still no Bean. By this time I started feeling very depressed but even so, Crystal assured us that it’s okay to feel like that but it will be okay in the end. Like she’s literally been supportive throughout the entire journey so when we got to week 42, it was extremely hard for Giselle and I both to accept that our Birth plan might not go as planned. We kept hoping but as the hours were passing by, we had to face reality that with our next Antenatal, which was the last one, Crystal would have to refer us to Tygerberg. My heart was broken and I was probably crying for a good few hours trying to understand. Giselle would go to work and feel down too because this wasn’t what we wanted ☹️ but we accepted that at the end, its not what we have planned but what God had in store for us and our baby. We ended up at Tygerberg , Friday the 17th and Crystal was constantly checking in on me. They tried inducing me that didn’t work but long story short, I had to go back Saturday the 18th and was then admitted for a c-section. Again, Crystal was checking in to make sure I was okay throughout the day. At this point I was relieved that I was getting a c-section at the hospital all because I lost faith in the nurses that told me I won’t be able to give birth naturally due to Bean being a “big baby” (His estimated weight was 4.4kg) and I’m a first time mother so chances of him getting stuck and going in distress is high. I told Giselle, Crystal would’ve never been that negative hence I was so confident in my body when we were initially doing the home birth with her. Crystal inspires, supports and encourages the mommies she assist. She only spreads positivity and that is enough motivation one needs.
After the Op, I was in recovery and very much out of it (high on anesthesia) but my first question to Giselle was, “did you let Crystal and Jeremy know Bean is here and okay… AND don’t forget to send them pictures”😂

Words really cannot describe the phenomenal people Crystal and Jeremy are. They’re a perfect team and great mentors with the love and passion for babies and people. If you are planning to use midwifebybnature for your antenatals, postnatals or homebirth, you definitely won’t go wrong. At the end it doesn’t feel like it’s just business but more like family cause that’s how fond you grow of the both of them.
Giselle and I can’t thank them enough and truly so so grateful our path led us to them.