Val Clarke
I became an independent midwife in the late 80's, disillusioned with the almost non-existing ability of a mother to make an informed choice as to how, when and where she would birth her baby, a huge event for every woman. Practicing true holistic midwifery within the system was, I believed, impossible.
Three years ago my book 'Instinctive Birthing' was published by Carroll and Brown, available from bookshops or Amazon on-line.
I can offer, after almost thirty years of practice, personal one-to-one care, specialising in home water birth. We have time to build a trusting partnership of care.
I am the mother of four grown-up sons and have attended the births of my six grandchildren. My husband Geoff is incredibly supportive.
I run Active Birth weekends together with Andrea Dombrowe.
We
can offer:
Experience with home, hospital and water births.
A service providing flexibility and choice.
Continuity of care.
Support and encouragement for natural childbirth after Caesarean Section.
Informed choice about pain relief.
Support with feeding. Excellent success rate in establishing breast feeding.
Initial
consultation:
What are the expectations?
Where do you want to have your baby?
How much will it cost?
What blood tests, scans and screening are available?
How do we work?
Antenatal care:
Booking visit at your own home.
Flexible regular antenatal visits to check BP, urinalysis, fetal growth, position and heartbeat.
Advice and information on diet, pregnancy and birth.
Suggestions on exercise in pregnancy, i.e. relaxation classes, active birth and aquanatal classes
Helping you prepare for the birth.
Labour and Birth
Labour ends nine months of preparation. It is a challenging and exciting time, balancing trust, confidence and gentle support of a totally natural process. Our aim for your birth is to help you through the experience and make you feel empowered as a woman.
On call for your birth
Minimal intervention
Use of my clinical skills throughout
We carry comprehensive emergency medical equipment
Postnatal care:
Initial daily visits to assess your physical well being.
Help and support with breast or artificial feeding.
Support for the family.
Advice on postnatal exercises.
Visits by agreement up to one month.
Assessment of your baby at the birth and advice on initial screening. Ongoing checks postnatally. Your GP or a paediatrician will perform a neonatal assessment after the birth.
For further information or to book a consultation email valclarkeduke@hotmail.com or phone 01372 813258