Sarah Forster, Independent Midwife, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

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Blog

The inner ramblings of an Independent Midwife in Newcastle. Discussing choice around birth and why the option of Independent care might just revolutionise your journey to welcoming a newborn into your family.

Hi I am Sarah Forster, I am The Indie Midwife and I am an Independent Home birth Specialist Midwife working to provide Independent midwifery care outside, but working with the NHS.

Postnatal visits: Day 1

This usually takes place with you in bed, I recommend to everyone during pregnancy that you call in all your favours in the first week (at least) after having a baby to get as much support with housework, sibling entertainment and food. All so that you can adjust to what has happened in the birth. You have birthed a human and you probably haven’t taken your eyes off them long enough to sleep more than 10 minutes. I mean I don’t blame you, newborn babies are just amazing creatures.

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Embrace Empowerment

Your choice of a midwife is a deeply personal decision, and I invite you to explore the options available to you. As an independent midwife, I am committed to providing you with compassionate, personalized, and empowering care throughout your home birth journey.

If you're in Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham, or the surrounding areas and are considering a home birth, I'd be honoured to be a part of your team. Let's embark on this transformative journey together, and together, we'll create a birth experience that you'll cherish forever. Contact me today to start your empowering home birth journey

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Client review

“I felt safe with Sarah, this was especially important to me during my birth, we'd talked through everything so extensively in the lead up that I felt like she understood what I wanted without the need for a discussion (which was great as I wasn't really able to verbalise after a certain point). She's passionate about supporting birthing people and has so much knowledge and experience.”

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sarah forster
My week as an Independent Midwife

This week was a great one, and really sums up what a typical life is like as an Independent Midwife when a client births. it also summarises well what a first week of postnatal care looks like. My amazing client laboured through the whole weekend to give birth in her bath on Tuesday morning for the first time to her daughter.

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sarah forster
Regulating your nervous system

I’ve been having my kitchen done for the last few weeks and having everything upside down in the house and nowhere to properly relax has left me feeling really untethered and this morning I went for a sea swim and felt so much better!
It’s always when it feels the most uncomfortable and impossible that it is usually the most helpful.
I felt like I really came back down into my body and everything felt much more do-able.

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Postnatal Support: Just stay in bed and eat chocolate?

Getting the support you need is the biggest part of postnatal healing and the key to a good transition. Acknowledge that you DESERVE THIS TIME. Enjoying the baby you have grown and giving yourself time to fall in love is something you are allowed to do and you being supported to do so is the best start to your journey as a parent to this new gorgeous baby.

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✨Trying to relax/hypnobirth/meditate✨

✨Trying to relax/hypnobirth/meditate✨

Do you sit down and find you can't stop the internal stream of thoughts to even take a deep breath?

Or maybe you don't even bother to try because you know it won't work?

That's ok!

Forcing things and judging yourself isn't going to make it a pleasant experience even if you did try!

So maybe if you'd like to take time to connect and slow down/switch off, try this:

✨ Write a list

✨ Don't do anything on the list

✨ Look at the list

✨ Take a deep breath

And another one 😤💨🫁💚

Great you can stop here if you want and go about your day. You have just paused and slowed down.

If you feel like you want to keep going

Continue on my blog (link in stories/ bio)

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Home Birth Story Katie + Olivia

So there had been a few days where we thought this baby was starting to come, with some stronger contractions and some regular pattern. This all started at 36 weeks!

All of that combined with finding out she was pregnant so early made it feel like Katie had been pregnant forever!

However with no poking or prodding, this baby came in her own time at 41 weeks and 1 day.

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✨Why is home a good place to be?✨

The most common reason that home births are transferred to hospital is for a long labour, this is not an acute emergency which results in going straight to theatre, it’s simply to go in and discuss a next steps plan with the obstetric team.

It really is usually a lot less dramatic than you’d think.

Often times a baby is born uneventfully in their home and after a couple of hours of monitoring I leave you in bed with your new family member enjoying cuddles and food coming back to visit the next day.

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