Karla

From the day I found out I was pregnant, I was showered with fear and uncertainties.

We found out I was pregnant on the 21st of August 2022.After a long, painful weekend, I was admitted to hospital, just to be told it was an ectopic pregnancy. A lot of emotions went through my body and I can’t explain the pain and fear I felt.

We had more tests done and on the 22nd of August the drs at tygerberg hospital confirmed that my pregnancy was indeed NOT an ectopic, but a healthy pregnancy inutero.

We decided to go the private hospital route, however, at 20 weeks we knew it won’t be financially possible. My baby was also misdiagnosed by 3 gynaecologists and I lost all hope. They said that she did not have a bladder and she is missing a kindney. She was also flagged due to a thicker neck skin.

I did a lot of research and came across the best midwife in the Western Cape – Midwife by Nature . Being a young mom I had this fear of giving birth and had extreme anxiety that something will go wrong or something will happen to my baby.

I started my journey with this angel of a midwife at 20 weeks pregnant. She was more than willing to take me in even though my previous gynae flagged me as high risk due to Gestational Diabetes ( which I never had)

She held my hand every step of the way. She reassured me every day, as well as taught me about Hypnobirthing, which really helped me through my birth.

At 40 weeks I had a stretch and sweep, which slot of people said was painful , however Crystal knew exactly what she was doing and it wasn’t painful at all.

On 26 April I started losing my mucus plug and I knew my baby was on her way. The morning of the 28th at 3:50 my water broke. I phoned Crystal. I didn’t have any contractions and she advised that I should get some rest. I tried to rest, but all of a sudden I got contractions of 2min apart. I phoned Crystal and we rushed through. I was already 4-5cm dilated. The contractions were bad. I tried to manage to the best of my abilities but really struggled. But having Crystal, my fiance, doula Lindie , my parents and mom in law there was all I needed to push through.

They encouraged me every step of the way. At about 10:45 I was 8-9cm dilated and it felt like hours before I could start to push. I was tired and wanted to give up and said I couldn’t do it anymore . At 11:30 it was finally time to push. My baby girl was born, weighing a beautiful 4.050g. This was the most wonderful experience that I have encountered in my life.

I couldn’t have done this without my amazing midwife whom I trusted more than anyone in this world to deliver my baby safely. Not once have I doubted her ability. I would like to thank Crystal for all that she gave done for me and my baby. You are an angel and the best in the field. I will without a doubt go this route again.

Thank you for believing in me and for having such a passion for midwifery.