Birth story - Anam and baby Sophia

*Trigger Warning* - mention of 2nd degree tear and contractions

Pregnancy

I found this pregnancy more challenging than my last, mostly because I had a lot going on with my two year old son. At 36 weeks of my pregnancy my husband also burnt himself. He needed surgery and was on bed rest, which meant I was taking care of my son on my own. During his surgery I had an antenatal appointment where the doctor told me he was concerned about the baby’s growth and thought it would be best to induce me the following week. I quickly got nervous, especially since I had no-one there to talk it through with. He could see I was hesitant about the induction and only really wanted to do it if it put the baby out of risk. Luckily, he was able to get me an emergency scan and although there was a decrease in her growth, it wasn’t severe enough for him to believe an induction would be absolutely necessary. Now all I had to do was wait for her to arrive! Before I knew it, I was 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant. My midwife offered a sweep, which I declined. I felt as though being one day overdue wasn’t enough justification for a sweep to be carried out, but agreed to go ahead at my next appointment if the baby hadn’t arrived by then. I knew this was only a few days away, so was really hoping that she would make an appearance before then!

Birth

…and that’s exactly what happened. I expected my waters to break because that’s what happened with my first pregnancy (typical movie style), but instead I had my contractions first. They started on my afternoon walk with my son. Although they were light, they were noticeable. When I got home (around 5pm) I decided to time them and noticed they were 15 minutes apart. Within an hour or so they were 10 minutes apart and it wasn’t until my mum came over and took me for a walk that they were 2 minutes apart. We decided to call the labour ward who instantly called me in after noticing how close together the contractions were.

My mum came into the examination room with me and I was given gas and air, this worked wonders. Although I could feel the contractions, they were manageable and it helped me control my breathing. It wasn’t until they grew in intensity that I panicked, but my mum reminded me to just keep breathing. I was given an internal examination and told I was 4cm, but when I felt how strong the contractions had become I knew I wasn’t far off needing to push. Again I panicked and begged for an epidural, but the midwife encouraged me to try the birthing pool. I was then told that because I had a third degree tear in my previous birth that I wouldn’t be able to push in the pool and would have to be transferred to the bed, as they could manage the situation better on dry land. This was something I was not prepared for and with the contractions growing in intensity I asked for an epidural again. I soon realised from the look on the midwife’s face that an epidural was no longer an option! They quickly wheeled me to the natural birth centre and put me into the water and told me to push when I felt ready. I quickly realised that I was no longer 4cm dilated! Unlike my last birth, my body knew exactly when to push and I went with it. The midwife explained to my mum that they would need to break my waters for me, as this was preventing the baby from coming out. As soon as my waters were broken, a few pushes (and a huge amount of screaming) she was out and I was able to do skin to skin.

I birthed the placenta standing up in the birthing pool and had a second degree tear, which they were able to stitch up straight away after I got out the pool. The midwives were amazing and reassuring throughout the whole birth.

I was filled with fear and anxiety prior to the birth, but the positive birth company really prepared me for what was to come. I felt more in control of my decisions and trusted in my body more.