Sonya Bateson: When you can't find a midwife in Tauranga

I sat on the couch and bawled my eyes out.

It was May and I had just got off the phone with another midwife who didn't have capacity to take me on.

What contrast to the joy I'd felt a few weeks earlier.

I suspected I was pregnant and took a test. When the line showed up on the stick, I wordlessly held it out to my husband.

It took him a few seconds to register what he was looking at, then our eyes met, a huge grin on both our faces.

I booked an appointment with my doctor soon after, who told me I was about six weeks pregnant with an expected due date of December 8. He told me I should find a midwife immediately as their books fill up fast.

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I followed his advice and found a midwife with fantastic reviews and - even better - she was free to take me on.

She booked me in for an ultrasound during my supposed 10th week of pregnancy.

At that appointment, I sat on the recliner and the ultrasound technician put the cold wand to my belly.

I watched the images on the screen in awe, barely registering the technician telling me I was actually only eight weeks along and that my due date was just before Christmas.

That news soon changed everything.

The later date meant my midwife had to drop me because she would be on holiday. She warned me many midwives would have similar plans and said those who weren't taking Christmas off were likely already booked up.

So it was that at eight weeks pregnant, I found myself without a midwife and without much hope of finding one. This at a stage when many women still don't know they are pregnant.

I hit the phones, emails and text messages to find a new midwife. Each replied with a friendly "unavailable sorry, try this person".

I was at my wit's end. I sat there and cried and cried.

It was awful. I'd only known I was pregnant for a few weeks and, as a first-time mother, it was daunting facing the unknown without a midwife to guide me.

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Eventually, I was advised to contact the maternity team at Tauranga Hospital, who informed me I could continue my care with them. I wouldn't have a set midwife but would instead visit whoever was rostered on.

What a relief that was. It's not the type of care I was expecting, and it is frustrating not having a person I can send a quick text message to when I have concerns after-hours, but I do have good-quality care available.

What have I learned from my experience?

Firstly, midwives are the norm in New Zealand, but there are other options.

Secondly, don't give birth around Christmas.

Not the most practical of advice, granted, but advice I'll be doing my darndest to follow.