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Having a baby must be one of the best times in a woman’s life, but it can be quite a daunting experience. Visit any bookstore and you’ll find an array of pregnancy books but there’s no better way to prepare a mum to be on antenatal and postnatal care than from a professional midwife.
GOOSEBERRY BUSH BABIES
Now, thanks to two practising midwives, Lorraine Watkins and Susan Rees, mums to be can benefit from years of experience with their new company Gooseberry Bush. City Life caught up with them to find out more.
Tell us about Gooseberry Bush
Lorraine Watkins, Susan Rees and Marc Rees are the owners and directors of the company which is a new business. The Gooseberry Bush delivers courses on pre and post natal care initially in Newport and Cardiff. The first courses will begin in January 2010.
I understand that Lorraine and Susan are practicing midwives, what are their backgrounds?
Lorraine Watkins RGN. RM. DIP. BSC (HONS) MIDWIFERY. PGCE CERT ED (FE). MA EDUCATION TRAINING. Lorraine has worked in the NHS for twenty seven, years of which she has practiced as a midwife for the last sixteen. Even though Lorraine was a practicing midwife, she decided to take a degree in midwifery in order to give her better career options within the midwifery profession. Lorraine has a passion for teaching and studied for a Post Graduate Certificate of Education in further education before going on to study for a Master of Arts degree in education and training. She is looking forward to utilising her wealth of experience and skills in the business.
Susan Rees BSc (Hons) Midwifery is a full time practicing midwife at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport. Susan is a degree qualified direct entry midwife who qualified in September 2007. Prior to midwifery Susan held various managerial roles in the financial services sector for Aviva before pursuing a lifetime ambition to practice midwifery.
Is there anyone else involved in the business?
Marc Rees has worked in senior management positions for large national retail and wholesale companies for twenty years. Marc’s skills and experience are in sales, marketing and financial cost management and his role is to run the business, allowing Susan and Lorraine to concentrate on the antenatal and postnatal education.
What sets you apart?
Our educators are practicing midwives. This is what we do, day in day out, week in week out. We are on the front line giving care and can talk with authority about pregnancy and childbirth. We are in touch with the latest research and development and constantly exposed to a wide variety of experiences. Gooseberry Bush courses will be delivered by registered practicing midwives. Not all other providers in south Wales can boast this as their courses are mostly delivered by diploma qualified educators with no midwifery background.
In addition to Lorraine and Susan, we have a number of competent practicing midwives who will work with us to deliver the courses as and when the business expands. Lorraine and Susan feel passionately that they want to inform and empower women to make informed choices about their pregnancy and birth options to create a positive birth experience. If women are better prepared for what lies ahead they will have a better pregnancy and a better birth experience.
Where and when will the training courses take place?
Initially we are offering three services which will be delivered as follows.
1. ANTENATAL SUPPORT CLASSES. Antenatal classes will be offered in flexible formats of 12 hours education. (a) Weekend format of Saturday and Sunday consisting of 6 hours each day. (b) A midweek format consisting of 4 sessions of 3 hours, 1 session per week. Course content will include topics such as; where to have your baby, pain relief, the role of the birth partner, deviations from normal birth, induction of labour, and assisted deliveries to name but a few.
2. POSTNATAL SUPPORT CLASSES. Postnatal classes will be offered in 2 sessions of 3 hours each during the day Monday to Friday. Course content will include topics like; breastfeeding, artificially feeding, nappy changing, bathing, postnatal exercises, diet, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), returning to work, contraception and much more.
3. BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT CLASSES. Breastfeeding classes will be offered in 2 sessions of 3 hours each during the day Monday to Friday for breast feeding women and their babies.
Classes will offer an opportunity to share stories, exchange information and discover ongoing specialist and peer support. In addition to this mothers will discuss trouble-shooting tips and get answers to their questions.
Where are your course venues?
Innkeepers Lodge/Toby Carvery, Tyn-y-Parc Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff, and Holiday Inn Express, Lakeside, Coedkernew, Newport.
The first weekday evening course in Cardiff will be held on Tuesday 5th January and the first weekday evening course in Newport will be held on Thursday 7th January. We are also offering a limited number of free places on our Cardiff January courses. The full details are on our website.
What are your aspirations for the business?
Our aspiration is to have a business that we can be proud of, one that offers the highest quality service and truly makes a difference for our clients. We want to create an image of professionalism in an open, friendly and approachable environment. We are launching our business in Newport and Cardiff and have aspirations to expand and take our offer to wherever there is a demand.
What are the reasons someone would choose to use your services?
Having direct access to a midwife throughout this process is invaluable and will be hugely reassuring for parents to be. Our objective is to educate and inform which will bring peace of mind. Our clients will be better informed as a result of attending our courses and can take more ownership of their care resulting in more control over outcomes and possible medical intervention.
Every woman wants the best for herself and her baby, so why not start from the very beginning at pregnancy? This is your body, your baby so why not take control and better understand what happens during pregnancy and birth. Pregnancy and childbirth is a life changing experience and one of the most normal physiological events in a woman’s life and yet one for which she is innately equipped. Enabling a woman to better understand her body can significantly enhance the birth experience and outcome as well as having a more positive contribution to those early cherished moments of mother and baby bonding. It should be an experience to be enjoyed and Gooseberry Bush’s aim is to make sure that every woman who attends our courses does just that.
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