Victoria Midwifery Care - Deanna Wildeman, Registered Midwife

Birth Stories

Anita ~ Astra ~ Beth ~ Elizabeth ~ Jane ~ Jennifer ~ Jessica
Josie ~ Kristine ~ Marlee ~ Marlene ~ Melanie ~ Shannan

HEATHER C

After losing our first baby to miscarriage due to a partial molar pregnancy, suffering a recurrence of the tumors, and then losing our second baby to an unexplained miscarriage, I knew I needed a kind of medical care that western medicine didn't seem prepared to give me. I was sick to death of having medical decisions made FOR ME and of having doctors who didn't think I could understand the medical information. I was hoping for a practitioner to help me gather and understand the information so that I could make my own informed decisions.

Heather C I contacted and scheduled a pre-pregnancy appointment with Deanna Wildeman. After my first meeting with Deanna I was positive that I had found the right practitioner for me. I felt like this option of care must have been designed for me personally!

Many months of worrying, waiting, crying, and hoping later - I was pregnant! I scheduled my first prenatal appointment and began the greatest adventure of my life! My husband and I both felt absolutely comfortable with both Deanna and Deb Little, (her partner at the time). Our questions were answered, our concerns responded to, and we made our own decisions - confident that we had the necessary information to do so.

Our birth experience was wonderful. It was faster than we expected and much less painful than I expected. Even though I ended up having a C-section because our daughter was stuck in a posterior position, I feel that our birth went really well. I know that Deanna and Deb helped me to be realistically prepared for all the possible outcomes of birth and during the birth I knew that Deanna would make sure that the Doctors respected my wishes as much as the situation would allow.

We did get excellent care from the doctors also. Her presence gave me the confidence to accept the situation and see the positives. I felt safe in her care. Although I could go on endlessly about the excellent prenatal care we received, it was the care after Kali Jane's birth that really stands out in my memory.

Deb, Deanna, and Selina stayed in touch throughout the 11 days Kali spent in special care. They helped us to understand what was going on with her health and helped us to understand our options. They gave us the information we needed, again, to make informed choices for our daughter. Without them I am certain we would have spent at least another week in the nursery trying to make sense of the conflicting information and actions of the nurses.

Even with their help, my confidence was shattered and it took many weeks at home before I was able to believe that my daughter wasn't in imminent danger of starvation or dehydration. It took 9 weeks for Kali to be ready to breastfeed and I was encouraged and comforted during those weeks of endless pumping, bottling, and frustration.

I will definitely choose to be in the care of a midwife in future pregnancies and I can't at all understand why anyone would choose otherwise. Our daughter is a healthy, happy, beautiful gift and we appreciate so much that her entrance into the world was positive for all of us.

Thanks Deanna and Deb!

p.s. Kali Jane was in special care because she has Down Syndrome and as a result she was a bit slow in learning to suck.

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