Independent Midwife

Cheryl Samuels

Providing Private Midwifery Care in Essex, Hertfordshire & Beyond

07939 020853

Hello & Welcome

Hi I’m Cheryl, a private independent midwife providing award-winning maternity services in Essex, Hertfordshire and beyond.

Free Video Consultation

If you would like to book a free 30 minute video consultation, please click the button below to select a time. Its a great opportunity to have an informal chat and ask any questions about my midwifery care before you book -

Gold Standard Midwifery Care

Building a caring, trusting relationship with your midwife is the key to a transformative partnership. A journey where you feel totally supported, listened to and cared for. 

My midwifery care is personalised to you, holistic and evidence-based. Ensuring you receive expert guidance and nurturing care from a midwife you know and trust. 

All midwifery visits are in the comfort of your own home, with plenty of time to discuss your care in detail and help you make fully informed decisions that are right for you and your family.

My philosophy of care is blending the best of modern medicine with traditional midwifery skills and adding a huge dose of compassion and advocacy on top. You will always be at the centre of your care and I will support you every step of the way through your pregnancy, birth and newborn journey. 

Continuity of carer from a known and trusted midwife has been shown to

• Reduce preterm birth

• Lower rates of baby loss

• Increase the likelihood of a physiological birth

• Reduce the likelihood of a caesarean section or forceps delivery

• Shorten labour

• Reduce the amount of pain-relieving drugs women use

• Increase the number of women who successfully breastfeed

• Increase the number of women who are happy with their birth experience

• Reduce the likelihood of women suffering from postnatal depression

If you would like to find out more about my midwifery care plans and prices please click the button below

I live in Chelmsford, Essex and offer private midwifery services across Essex, Hertfordshire and some parts of Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Kent and London.

If you would like to find out more about my midwifery services please click the button below

Reviews

“I cannot recommend Cheryl highly enough. From the very first meeting, it was clear that she is not only incredibly knowledgeable and experienced but also deeply compassionate and truly invested in the well-being of both mother and baby.

Cheryl's empathy shines through in everything she does. She takes the time to listen, reassure, and provide guidance in a way that makes you feel completely supported and understood. No question is too small, no concern is ever dismissed-she genuinely cares and makes you feel like you and your baby are her absolute priority.

Her expertise is outstanding, and her ability to explain things clearly while respecting our choices is something I deeply appreciated. She is a wealth of knowledge, always providing evidence-based advice while ensuring that you feel confident and empowered in your decisions.

Her care, dedication, and unwavering support are something I will always be grateful for. If you are looking for a midwife who is not only exceptionally skilled but also kind, compassionate, and wholeheartedly committed to your journey, Cheryl is the one.” - Portia and Neil ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Cheryl is an incredibly knowledgeable midwife who filled me with confidence throughout my pregnancy and birth. I have no doubts when I say that I couldn’t have had such a positive birth experience without Cheryl. Postnatally Cheryl was always at the end of the phone answering any questions I had and gave us such a wonderful level of support throughout. Would highly recommend to anyone on the fence about investing in their pregnancy/ birth experience!” - Grace & Chris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Incredible caring, nurturing and knowledgeable midwife who truly supports you and your whole family throughout your journey. I cannot thank Cheryl enough for our world class care and honestly feel my experience and outcomes would have been very very different without it. The best decision I could have made for my pregnancy birth and postnatal experiences and health.” - Sam & Jason ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Cheryl is an incredible midwife. Throughout my wife's pregnancy and beyond she was a calming presence, full of knowledge, advice, and positivity. Not only did she continuously showcase her wealth of experience, but Cheryl researched tirelessly when highly specific issues surrounding my wife's pregnancy arose. In what could have been highly stressful situations in an already fraught time in our lives, Cheryl's presence was always an oasis of calm that allowed my wife to navigate her pregnancy with grace and mindfulness. If you are looking for an independent midwife, I truly cannot recommend Cheryl more.” - Alex & Sam ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I stumbled on Cheryl's Instagram page after a bad first experience with maternity services with my first baby. I thought that what she published really resonated with everything that I wish I had for my first birth. I then thought she'd definitely be a good midwife if I got pregnant again.

When I got pregnant I knew straight away who to contact to get the holistic respectful pregnancy care I wanted. And I'm so glad I did. Not only Cheryl became my midwife, but she also became an anchor throughout this second pregnancy, birth and postpartum.

She supported me in every decision I made, sending me research when I had some "technical" questions, supported me with healthcare appointments I dreaded, and above all I got my much wanted home birth, and for that I'm forever grateful.

Cheryl brought warmth, reassurance, and so much more to our home. I always felt safe and cared for, and I'm sure my experience would have been a lot different if I didn't have the continuity of care I had with Cheryl. If you're looking for an independent midwife, give Cheryl a call, you will absolutely love her.” - Cecile & Maxime ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“I can’t say enough wonderful things about Cheryl! She was incredibly kind, supportive, and knowledgeable throughout my pregnancy and birth. Her calm and encouraging approach gave us the confidence to ask questions and make informed decisions, even when we felt pressured toward interventions we didn’t feel comfortable with.

Thanks to her guidance and reassurance, I was able to have the birth experience I had always dreamed of. I felt truly cared for and empowered every step of the way. I’m so grateful to have had her by our side. I was very sad when it came time to say goodbye. I would recommend her to anyone looking for a compassionate and skilled midwife” - Teresa & Chris ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“If you’re searching for informative, supportive and personalised continuity of care, look no further. Having Cheryl as our midwife was the best decision we could have made.

Choosing to have my pregnancy and birth outside of the NHS was a very important decision for me, having previously been an NHS midwife myself. I started this pregnancy full of anxiety, knowing I would be putting myself in to the NHS system by default, unless I chose to have an IM. Cheryl and I worked together as NHS community midwives and I knew instantly who I’d want by my side for this journey.

Knowing that I would receive the best, evidence based care and be able to have open and honest discussions around the choices I made for myself and my baby, instantly relieved the anxiety I had surrounding medical care.

Appointments with Cheryl were calm, comfortable and something my husband and I looked forward to. Every appointment was tailored to us and nothing was a stupid question. I felt fully supported in my decision making, but equally aware that the support would be there still if I were to change my mind about anything. Risks and benefits of everything were always outlined and discussed, and I felt in control of my care. Most importantly to me, explanations were never dismissed as “you know this”, which ensured my husband was always just as informed and involved too.

When my waters went before Labour started, Cheryl was straight out to assess me and baby and we made a plan together thinking about all the possible scenarios. Again Cheryl made sure I had the latest evidence and statistics to make the decisions I needed to. She continued to check in and visit over the next couple of days while I waited for Labour to start, giving me and my husband the confidence to stick to my decision to stay at home without worrying.

Cheryls teaching of Hypnobirthing and biomechanics throughout the pregnancy was brilliant and provided us with the practical tools (and a lot of laughter when it came to practising biomechanics) to make late pregnancy and early labour as comfortable as possible.

I couldn’t have wished for a more perfect pregnancy, postnatal and home birth care experience and I wouldn’t change a thing! Thank you” - Abbie & Cody 

“Cheryl was a fantastic choice of independent midwife for us and knowing we had her to support us in our pregnancy and birth choices meant our second birth was a very different to our first (‘NHS care only’ experience). The comfort of knowing Cheryl would stand behind our choice to have a home birth in a VBAC scenario meant there was no anxiety for us when we faced inevitable pushback from well-meaning but aggressive consultants in an NHS setting. Cheryl never pushed her own agenda on us and was exceptionally careful to present us with all the evidence whilst also affirming the body’s own capability for birth.

She came alongside us, got to know me and my straightforward nature, spent time with us as a family (including our toddler) and our interactions always had a natural ease to them. We laughed a great deal in our appointments and I will look back on my second pregnancy and labour experience hugely fondly.

If you can afford it, an independent midwife is something I recommend to everybody if you want to push for an intervention-free physiological birth to the fullest extent possible. Obviously medicalised births save lives in certain contexts but it is no great secret that the tendency towards intervention is very much changing the landscape in maternity care. I felt very much cared for and supported without feeling like a number, like I was on the clock or in any way an inconvenience. Cheryl was with us on Christmas Eve, most of Christmas Day and into Boxing Day and remained gracious despite the lengthy process!!

We got to share what was a very special time in our lives as a family and Cheryl’s calm, confident, unassuming manner meant that I had the confidence to labour at home in a VBAC scenario with a 99+ centile baby.” - Jess & Aaron