Birth story - Ally and baby Margot

POSITIVE VBAC!

My firstborn was born via c -section which was something I hadn’t really thought about enough in the planning and run up to birth. I used hypnobirthing first time round but during the labour, when hurdles arose, I just went along with what the midwives and doctors said, which in hindsight wasn’t necessarily the best thing for me and my baby.

Second time round, I craved a vaginal birth so I knew I needed to be equipped with all the information and techniques to give me the confidence to go for a vbac!

My pregnancy was relatively straight forward and as we headed in to the summer I loved getting on my yoga ball and listening to all the amazing tracks on the PBC app. If I had a wobble about the thought of vbac or covid, I would get the tracks on to relax me and build my confidence back up.

Two weeks before my due date I was booked an appointment with the consultant to run through the vbac risks and to my surprise I was told I was having a sweep that day. Thanks to PBC I felt able to decline as I just didn’t feel it was necessary.

My due date came and went and understandably the consultants were keen to see things move - again I was booked in for a checkup and the expectation was for me to have a sweep or induction. Something inside me just didn’t feel like baby was ready and so I stuck to my guns and declined. At a week overdue (24th June), I was asked to come in for an induction again...once I was there I just felt an overwhelming feeling that induction wasn’t right, so I agreed to a sweep as a starting point. I left the hospital giving my bump a serious pep talk!!

I was at my parents house the next day cooling off in the paddling pool as it was the hottest day of the year. At 6pm (25th June) I kept feeling releases, I thought I was just wet from the paddling pool but it was my waters breaking!! I quickly got in the car back home with my husband and son while my parents followed so they could look after my little boy.

Things escalated very quickly, I had only put the contraction timer on for 15 minutes or so before I knew we needed to leave for the hospital. I struggled to get to the car but just made a dash for it between contractions. I closed my eyes and just concentrated on my breathing in the car but I kept feeling so much pressure that I needed to kneel on the chair backwards. I told my husband I felt like I wanted to push and I felt him drive faster!! He ran in to the hospital and the next thing I knew, midwives whipped outside with a wheelchair and got me inside. I asked whether there was a pool free but the midwife kindly smiled and said ‘I’m not sure we have time’!!

I heard the midwife ask my husband for my birth plan straight away which meant the world to me as this didn’t happen with my first birth. I couldn’t have asked for better care - my fairy lights were put up, music was on and there was a fan to keep me cool. I worried at one point why the room was so quiet, I was worried things weren’t progressing or something was wrong, but my husband laughed and reminded me I had requested quiet and calm on my birth plan!!

My midwife was just so brilliant and by using the breathing and hypnobirthing techniques, my gorgeous baby girl was born at 8:33pm. It had all happened so quickly! I have never experienced elation like it - I was overwhelmed with joy that my baby was safe and I had the VBAC I had dreamt of. I had a second degree tear which got stitched up and I was left to just relish in newborn-ness. Utter bliss!!

I can’t thank The Positive Birth Company for equipping me with the knowledge and confidence to have the VBAC and ‘healing’ birth I had so desperately craved.