Annerley mid-wives / Matilda antenatal classes

M

MamaT

Registered User
Has anyone used the Annerley mid-wives or heard of anyone who has? I'm interested in either their or the Matilda antenatal classes.

Also, does anyone know if Matilda does post-natal home visits in the weeks after the births?

I've just come over from the UK at 28 weeks pregnant and am hoping the postnatal support is comparable here. Can anyone advise me on postnatal support here?
 
I used Annerley midwives (Hulda Thorley) after my daughter was born in May 03. She was fantastic and really sorted out our b/f problems.

I also attended the Matilda antenatal classes and found them very helpful. So far as I know they don't do home visits after the birth, but:

1) they were very patient with me phoning the midwives after I'd checked out to ask questions for a couple of days; and
2) they have a well baby clinic that you can visit which is apparently very good (although I didn't attend it as it was too far away).

Hope that helps
 
Thanks guys. Have booked the Annerley mid-wives antenatal classes - they're the closest and seemed very helpful.
 
I had the antenatal classes in Annerley (by Hulda). She explained everything clearly. I could also call her one late night when I was having gastric like pain while my ob-gyn was out of town. She helped me as best as she could by the phone.

After the birth, I engaged Hulda again as I was having so much problem with the b/f.

Overall, I was so lucky to have her assisted me throughout.
 
Very Disappointed

I just had an appointment last week with Annerly Midwives. I actually made the appointment with Hulda and was given someone else. I had a specific breastfeeding problem and was given no information that I already did not know. I actually had much better advice from the LaLeche Group leader from Guangzhou who was not only free, but seemed to actually care about my problem. I was recommended by several people to see Hulda, so I cannot comment on her services...but it was unprofessional to switch midwives without letting me know in advanced.
 
Hi,
Just to come to Hulda's defence on this one. Hulda is actually on call all the time 24/7, so if someone goes into labour she's there at your house, then accompanies you to the hospital and stays with you throughout the labour; and in my case this was a very long time!!! I would think that the reason for the switch was that she was on call for someone who was in labour. I understand that this must have been frustrating, but having had Hulda support me through my labour I would be pleased to think that she was helping someone else bring another beautiful baby into the world. Once my daughter was born I also had to see other midwives from Annerley and found them to be very helpful and professional. I am a member of La Leche League Hong Kong and you are right, their advice on breast feeding is second to none. They are the experts as their focus is on breastfeeding and have all breastfed their own children; and there's nothing like first hand experience. Remember midwives have other medical knowledge about everything to do with pregnancy and labour. I'm glad you got the advice you needed and maybe you might consider joining the La Leche League as a member, so that you can continue to support this wonderful organisation.

Jools
 
The original poster has already booked her antenatal classes and I am sure the Matilda classes are great too, but I just wanted to say that I thought Hulda's classes were fantastic, the main reason being she is a great personality to get a relaxed discussion going in the class, as opposed to just giving a lecture. I found this really helpful to fully absorb information which I had read elsewhere but had previously seemed sterile facts on a page. If you are already well informed from reading, you probably won't learn anything earth-shatteringly new in an antenatal class; it is all about making women and their partners feel more confident and relaxed in labour by making them feel fully informed.
 
I thought the Annerly classes and Hulda were fantastic!

I took the classes at Annerly over the Matilda classes b/c it was more convenient location for my husband and me. We made some great friends through the class, but more importantly, I got to know Hulda. Hulda was my douhla during labor. She came to my home during some steady contractions to check me. She is so reassuring and calm and helped me labor at home. When we did get to the hospital, because we didn't use any interventions (no epidural), I delivered within an hour of arriving at the hospital naturally.

I love my husband and while being effective in getting me pregnant, he admits to being pretty useless during my pre-labor stage. Hulda kept me calm and relaxed and confident that I could get through it. I cannot recommend her enough from my ideal labor experience that took place just two weeks ago. Even if we move from Hong Kong, I feel that I will have to fly Hulda in or deliver in Hong Kong b/c I can't imagine being in better hands.

I'm having post-natal home visits with Hulda also. Normally, you can't put a price on peace of mind, but Annerly's charges are quite reasonable for it.
 
Im in the process of booking either Annerley - Babies and Beyond or Family zone antenatal classes - Annerley covers quite a lot compared to Family zone - who have broken down their classes into different sections (Antenatal and Baby Basics). Price is really not the issue, but quality. Can anyone advise which is better?
 
Annerley also does hypnobirthing which is different from all the other antenatal classes. We had Tamara teach us who was also pregnant at the time (which I thought was unique) and Hulda came for my home visits. I love Hulda! She relaxes you and puts you at ease and gives you the confidence you need being a first time mum. LLL are also great especially because they specialize in breastfeeding and Yvonne is also a great teacher. We went to her first aid and CPR classes. I think with her job (Hulda) is that she is on call as a doula so sometimes the other midwives/health visitors need to step in.
 
I went to the Annerley antenatal classes and they were ok. Not really much more info than I had already read in books though. I also had home visits with Annerley for my first baby (I bought a package which included the home visits and the antenatal classes). The home visits were useful but my baby was very good and I had received excellent advice on breastfeeding while at Matilda so I didn't need all 5 home visits. Next time, I would have just organised the home visits separately depending on how I was going and how much help I needed.
 
Hi,
I am attending the Annerley antenatal course with Tamara and I am quite disappointed. I haven't learnt anything new so far. You can read the same things in a book saving lots of money!
 
I had booked the antenatal/hypnobirthing classes with Annerley in that package also and I found the home visits super helpful. I guess you don't know how much help you need until you have the baby and bring him/her home. I wasn't super impressed with the classes, but I had done a lot of reading so I think it's really helpful for people that had NOOOO idea at all what was going to happen. I did find the baby care class really helpful though--swaddling and not using commercial wipes for the first month because baby skin is sooo sensitive. I had trouble breastfeeding at first so Hulda was so important because she encouraged me to persevere and I was able to and you don't have to leave your house! So maybe for some, the 5 pack home visits is not useful, but for a first time mom, I think it's pretty great and you save a bit of money having the package. I know Yvonne Heavyside of Family Zone also does the same and I've heard she is a great person to come visit you as well.
 
I also want to say that I had Hudla as my doula and took classes at Annerley. Hulda was fantastic and my husband and I were so grateful to have her there with us for the birth of our son. Being new to HK (1 year at time of birth) and first time parents it was great to have someone to turn to if we had questions. I ended up going into labor during a typhoon. We live in Clearwater Bay and I was booked into the Matilda. She came to my house checked how far along I was and then drove me and my husband to the hospital. She stayed thru the entire birth and helped my husband and I make important decisions after it was determined I needed to have an emergency c-section. She came to our house after the birth (6 times)to check on the baby and make sure I was coping ok. It was great to know that she would come to me because the thoughts of having to trudge into Central or Matilda from Clearwater Bay....uugghh. I highly recommend her and Annerley.
 
I agree with the post by Jenny B. You can learn a lot from reading, but it's really nice to have it reinforced and to be able to ask questions. It's also a good way to get hubbies involved and meet other people who are at a similar stage in their pregnancy...
 
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