EMMa is short for Enhanced Midwifery and Maternity. EMMa Care
This wonderful service is offered by 3 young, enthusiastic and committed midwives at the National University Hospital in Singapore. I learned about them when I went to see Dr. YS Chong and was discussing delivery techniques. When I expressed interest for a natural delivery and perhaps a water birth, he immediately said that he would only do this if I was to sign up with the EMMa care service. It sort of made sense because natural deliveries can take a very long time and if I wanted to go drug free, then presumably I would require a lot of support. He advised that I speak to the midwives, whose tiny office was right outside his clinic (this gave me great confidence that they work closely with him as a team).
Bubbly Kelly and Lina greeted me the first time I walked through their door. They invited me to sit down and tell them what I my concerns were about my pregnancy thus far and what I wanted for my delivery. They were amused and probably slight confounded when I told them that my primary concern was avoiding an episiotomy (most other women are just freaked out about the birth itself I guess). I already had it my mind that this was a rather barbaric procedure (which could also lead to many structural problems later on) and was prepared to discuss this quite openly. Kelly and Lina smiled and said that they would send me some literature on massage techniques to prepare the muscles for stretching, which was said to minimize the risk of tearing or the need for a “cut”. Apart from that, I hadn’t made any firm decisions about the rest of the delivery procedures. It was still early days yet (a few more months until due date) so they advised me to attend their natural birthing antenatal class and make sure that my husband attends too.
*I cannot express enough how grateful I am to the 3 midwives. Each of them had a special role. Ana (German), Kelly and Lina. Ana was in the clinic most often and offered me a lot of support and great conversations (before and after delivery). Lina took care of me after the delivery and often came up to me when I brought small one in for check ups and vaccinations. Kelly took on the burden of my 17 hour delivery. She was there from 4am after I checked into the labour ward all the way until I delivered the next afternoon.
Mothership 