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Rosie Sullivan

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My name is Rachel and I gave birth to our daughter Rose (who we call Rosie) on February 4th 2022.  She is a joy and a light and we are so very lucky that she is ours.

We lost our first pregnancy at 11 weeks in December of 2020 and it absolutely shattered me.  When I got pregnant again, I was so scared.  My pregnancy with Rosie was physically very easy and I wish that I had been less anxious and enjoyed it more.  On top of experiencing a pregnancy loss, we were met with challenges of being pregnant and giving birth during lockdowns and mandates which presented their own unique stressors.  My midwife team was Kristen, Elyse, and Amanda, and they listened to every concern, answered every question, and did whatever I needed to feel safe and supported.  They never made me feel like any question was silly, or that I was being overly cautious.  My mental health was always a consideration in addition to my physical health and Rosie's well-being.

Tamara joined my care at 40 weeks to cover a mat leave.  I know that some people experience disappointment when there are changes to their team so late in their pregnancy, but my husband and I quickly connected with Tamara and she was such a blessing to us.  I cannot imagine our experience without her.  It was Tamara who was on call when I went into labour.  She sat with us for 14 hours while I laboured at home in anticipation of our planned home birth.  After labouring all night with not much progress, we decided it was time to transfer to hospital for some assistance in moving things along.

I laboured at the hospital for a long time and Sequoyah ended up taking over our care.  It was Sequoyah and Connie (I joke that I made my way through the whole clinic of midwives because I was in labour for so long) who helped me deliver our Rosie.  I know that it can again be disappointing when your birth doesn’t go as planned, or to not have your team there when you deliver.  I felt so safe and so advocated for during my labour and delivery that I have to say it was still such a beautiful experience even though it did not go as planned.  I had a very long labour and I think that it could have been very scary for both my husband and I if we had not experienced the level of care our midwives each provided throughout my pregnancy and during my labour.  We felt educated and prepared for what to expect during labour and that is in large part thanks to the knowledge and care of our midwives as well as the recommendations they made for other professional prenatal education and resources.

After a fairly easy pregnancy, I had several complications postpartum.  I was calling every couple of days with a new issue, and I cannot tell you how thankful I was for Rosie and I to be seen and cared for at home during those first couple of weeks, and yet again for the knowledge our team of midwives had in dealing with any issue that came up.

I have never experienced health care like I have during my care with Access Midwives.  I have never been cared for so holistically.  Every conversation and decision we made took my mental, physical, and emotional well-being into consideration along with that of Rosie’s.  I know that I am a better mother for experiencing the knowledge and care that each of my midwives provided.  I am truly amazed by the care that midwives provide families and we will be forever grateful for our experience.  I wish that we could have stayed under their care for much longer than six weeks postpartum as I had questions well beyond the six-week mark that I know our midwives would have been equipped to answer that my family doctor was not.  

The farther I get into my journey of motherhood, I am reminded over and over again that holding a healthy baby in your arms is nothing short of a miracle, and I am in awe when I think about the role of a midwife, their knowledge, and their care.  I still get emotional thinking about what a huge role each of our midwives played in our journey and what an immense impact they have had on our lives.

Everyone we dealt with at Access Midwives was absolutely wonderful.  From all of the midwives we had the opportunity to meet, to the administrative staff who were patient and compassionate. 

Our time with Access Midwives was so special.  We have so much to thank them for and I cannot recommend their care enough.

I've included a few pictures of Rosie from the last 17 months... she is so precious and funny and I wish that the Access team could see her now because everyone deserves to know her!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.  For everything.