Abbie and Antony Lund recently welcomed their second son, Harrison, after a calm and empowering birth experience at Cumberland Infirmary.
Abbie shared her heartfelt thanks with our maternity team, praising the care, compassion, and professionalism that made her journey so memorable.
Abbie said: “I quite like having a newborn when it’s wet and wild outside - makes you feel like you don’t need to go anywhere or do anything.
“Just a quick email to say thank you - my baby boy has arrived safe and sound - after an amazing labour and delivery at Carlisle with your team.
“My contractions started on the Friday, slow and steady, laboured at home Saturday and was welcomed by your team in the early hours of Sunday.
“Yvonne was our first midwife. She was fantastic and chatted through my wishes. I was fully supported to labour how I planned so thank you for allowing me your time and the opportunity to put this is place. On the shift change, Abbie took over - who I knew from some of my appointments - again, very supportive, very encouraging and I’m so grateful to them both for the support.
“It got to about 9am on Sunday and we decided to go home as I was still only 2cm dilated and the contractions seem to have slowed.
“We stayed home for a few hours to the afternoon and then came back in - where Abbie looked after us again - where she was fantastic, again supporting me with my wishes and continued to labour. Towards the shift change I got an epidural, and Eugene took over our care. Eugene delivered our first son Hugo, so this was special.
“After a long three days of contractions and no sleep, the epidural was most welcomed, and I felt at peace with the decision and was so pleased that the team at Carlisle gave me every opportunity to labour how I had planned and supported me with that.
“Eugene was outstanding. He was by our side every step of the way, extremely calm and extremely thorough with the monitor. I trusted 100% that he was looking out for anything.
“After progressing to 8cm, I accepted to have my waters broken. When baby didn’t respond well to the waters being broken, we had the foetal scalp clip, which put us at ease knowing that the dips in heart rate could be monitored closely. When it kept happening and Adi came in to discuss options moving forward, I felt at ease that it was the right time for a C-section; this was at about 11pm on Sunday
“I know that the reason I felt so calm is because I knew Eugene was there watching that monitor. He sat quietly watching everything so closely and it put my husband and I at such an ease that we felt calm.
“The transfer to surgery was also very calm. I had a top up of the epidural, everyone introduced themselves, we went through my preferences, we were able to play our music, have optimal cord clamping, have skin to skin and the golden hour, it was everything that I could have wanted. Harrison, our baby boy, came out crying and it was a beautiful experience. The team were happy, light-hearted, supportive and I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about the whole experience. Everyone was phenomenal and I am so grateful.
“I wanted to get in touch to thank you specifically, we always said I would remain fluid and go with the changes/ any interventions as and when needed, and this was certainly an example of needing to stay open minded and “go with the flow” but what I found empowering was that at each stage and each need for change, nothing was rushed, it was all discussed, I was given time to think and then we moved forward.
“It was everything I could have wanted,” Abbie wrote. “Every step was calm, considered, and respectful of my wishes. I’ll always be grateful to Eugene, Abbie, and Yvonne for making both of my sons’ births so safe and special.”
Congratulations to Abbie, Antony, and Hugo on their new addition to the family.
The most recent national maternity survey found that 95% of women in north Cumbria answered that they were ‘treated with kindness and compassion’ during labour and birth. The next patient survey results will be published next month.