Midwife by nature - Crystal Esau

Midwife by nature - Crystal Esau My life as a midwife is about being an ordinary woman, who witnesses everyday miracles💜

26/09/2025

Midwifery model of care
Quietly Observing

26/09/2025

Service Interruption Notice at Mowbray Maternity Hospital Neonatal Unit

On this Heritage Day in South Africa, allow me to introduce bebé Brianna💜. Born on 11 August. Heyvi and Angel's first ba...
24/09/2025

On this Heritage Day in South Africa, allow me to introduce bebé Brianna💜.
Born on 11 August. Heyvi and Angel's first baby.
I will always remember the day I met them. I had a birth that morning and as I walked the new parents and their newborn out to the car, I saw Jeremy sitting with a couple in the consultation room.
They didn't have an appointment, but found Midwife by Nature online and decided to come to the birthing home, hoping to start their journey with us.

Heyvi is from Venezuela and Angel from Colombia.
Midwives have to provide culturally competent care. We learn about, and respect diverse cultural practices, beliefs, and needs.
Pregnancy truly befitted Heyvi. I swear every time I saw her she looked more beautiful. And if I asked her how she was doing, she would smile and always have a positive answer, never complained. At first there was a bit of a language barrier, but if she couldn't express herself in English, she would speak to Angel, and he would translate. But even the communication got better as the months passed☺️.

Heyvi started feeling some irregular contractions on the evening of the 9th and it intensified the next day. She would send me an update , I would give advice, and she always answered with "Ok Crystal"...By 11pm on the 10th, contractions were very frequent, so I advised them to come. When they arrived at 23:30 she was in active labour, 5cm dilated.
Heyvi was, of course, still smiling and they contacted her family via video call. They were chatting for a while before she got into the birth pool. She and Angel were joking around, eating snacks and we talked about their culture - the herbs she needs to shower with at 2 weeks post partum and staying in bed for 40 days after the birth. Midwives working in multicultural environments must be adept at understanding and respecting different cultural practices and beliefs around childbirth, ensuring that care is both respectful and effective.
"Childbirth is a culturally embedded experience, shaped by societal views on female strength, power, and the expectations surrounding it, rather than a purely physical event".

At 2am she was in transition. Contractions were intense but they were still laughing and joking. She got out of the pool a bit and laid on the bed. While on the bed, her waters released at 2:30 and shortly after, she had the urge to push.
She birthed her baby in the side-laying position. Brianna Angel was born at 3:15 ☺️
No matter where you are in the world, the arrival of new life is a beautiful process that involves patience, strength, and guidance from an experienced birth attendant.

"We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful. It's that women are strong." ~ Laura Stavoe Harm

Meet baby Mayah💜. Born 9 August via emergency C-section.Chelsea contacted me when she was just over 11 weeks pregnant. S...
23/09/2025

Meet baby Mayah💜. Born 9 August via emergency C-section.
Chelsea contacted me when she was just over 11 weeks pregnant. She was interested in the service and wanted to meetbecause she had some questions.
When she gave me her information, I saw her surname is Wicomb (my maiden name) and immediately asked if we were related. Die Wicomb's is baie oor family 🤭. So obviously when we met we had to discuss family matters, and indeed , we were related. So I was very excited as she would be the first family member to give birth at Midwife by Nature.
Chelsea had a very straightforward pregnancy. She and her partner Donay always came for their appointments on a Saturday, as they are both educaters and work during the week.

On the morning of 7 august, she started experiencing some contractions. It was very irregular and slowed down towards the evening.
She was woken up the next morning, on the 8th, with stronger contractions so they came for a checkup, but it was still very early labour. They went home again and returned the evening around 6pm. She was 3cm dilated. Labour progressed well and at 12am she was 6-7cm dilated. Chelsea then asked Donay to phone the family to come through.
Chelsea is a big Whitney Houston fan and was super happy that baby would share a birthday with the singer.
While she was in the birth pool , her family members started singing Whitney songs. They have such beautiful voices.
Chelsea progressed to 8cm but she was extremely tired. I started IV fluid and she laid on her side on the bed. Surges were very strong and regular and she felt an urge to push, but when I checked the cervix a few hours later, there was no change. Cervix felt swollen and baby hadn't dropped further. We then made the decision to transfer to hospital.
"If you get a home birth, great...If you labour at home and end up being referred to hospital, you've had most of the advantages of home birth".
After discussing with the OB on call, we went to KBH and she was admitted in labour ward. They continued to monitor for a few hours(it was a very busy day in labour ward)and decided to do a C-section because the cervix was still unchanged, even though she had strong contractions. Baby was safely born at 15:02 on 9 August.

"A C-section is not an easy way out...but it's the way out that needed to happen for the safety of both mom and baby."

Congratulations to first time parents, Meggan and Nicholas, on the birth of their handsome baby boy 💜
23/09/2025

Congratulations to first time parents, Meggan and Nicholas, on the birth of their handsome baby boy 💜

Meet baby Levi💜 Born 27 July. Lauren and Kyle's first baby.We started this journey when Lauren was 12 weeks pregnant. As...
19/09/2025

Meet baby Levi💜 Born 27 July. Lauren and Kyle's first baby.
We started this journey when Lauren was 12 weeks pregnant. As a first time mom Lauren was very relaxed throughout the pregnancy. She literally only sent me a message when she needed to confirm her appointment date or time. Otherwise I never heard from her 😀
She didn't really enjoy the discomfort of pregnancy at all!! Which is very normal.
It's not always easy growing a little life inside of you. The hormones, the changes to your body, the sleeplessness. But knowing there's a little life inside of you is incredible.
On the evening of the 26th Lauren contacted me. She was busy doing the dishes when some fluid leaked out. She wasn't sure whether it was her waters. They came to the birthing home so I could check. After checking that both her and baby was fine, they went back home to get some sleep.
The next morning around 2am she woke up with strong contractions, bloody show, so she started timing the contractions. Surges were strong and regular, so they headed to the birthing home. On arrival at 3:45 she was in early labour but she progressed very well and by 7am she got into the birth pool. Just over an hour later, at 08:35 she started feeling the urge to push and little Levi was born at 09:15 😊
Labour doesn't end when the baby and the placenta is born. The 4th stage of labour is the recovery phase. During this phase we monitor mom and baby's observations, bleeding assessment, perineal care, breastfeeding and it continues after mom goes home.
Lauren experienced a bit of postnatal urinary retention. She was unable to pass urine within the first 6 hours after birth. This is relatively common and can be caused by hormonal changes which reduces muscle tone, birth trauma, etc. So I inserted a urinary catheter and removed it the next day. This helped the bladder to rest and recover and after the catheter was removed, she was able to pass urine.
"It takes a woman 2 whole years after birth to get back to feeling like themselves...2 whole years for their hormones to return to normal...2 whole years for their brain chemistry to balance...so be kind and patient to new moms"

Congratulations to Ghaironesa and Imtiaaz, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜
18/09/2025

Congratulations to Ghaironesa and Imtiaaz, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜

Congratulations to first time parents, Jaqueline and Mudathir, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜
17/09/2025

Congratulations to first time parents, Jaqueline and Mudathir, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜

Congratulations to first time parents, Alison and Henry, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜
15/09/2025

Congratulations to first time parents, Alison and Henry, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜

Well done Bokke!! What a game 😅
13/09/2025

Well done Bokke!! What a game 😅

Congratulations to first time parents, Anastacia and Shannon, on the birth of their handsome baby boy 💜
12/09/2025

Congratulations to first time parents, Anastacia and Shannon, on the birth of their handsome baby boy 💜

Congratulations to Marsha and Ruan, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜. Their 2nd birth with Midwife by Nature....
12/09/2025

Congratulations to Marsha and Ruan, on the birth of their beautiful baby girl 💜. Their 2nd birth with Midwife by Nature.
They were also my very first home birth clients 🥹🥰
Mama Melon

Address

Lawley Street, Fairfield Estate, Parow
Cape Town
8001

Telephone

+27828240198

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