Birth story - Andrea and baby Erin

*Trigger warning* - mention of shoulder dystocia.

A vastly different pregnancy and birth to my son born in July 2020, with an un medicated vaginal birth.

I had planned a home birth with him but due to meconium in the waters I had him at hospital.

I planned another home birth with Erin, but she had other ideas.

Pregnancy was ok - sickness, lightening crotch, restless legs, but nothing too bad.

Very uncomfortable by the time I was 40 weeks, and with a much bigger stomach than I’d had with my son.

Got to 41+6 and with no signs of her coming and still not really engaged the midwives sent me for a scan to check the blood flow and placenta.

The sonographer actually used the words “mission impossible” when scanning her which did really scare me.

Following this, after back and forths with more junior doctors, I asked to see the consultant who felt her engagement in my pelvis and my stomach and decided that she was going to be bigger than the 11lb4 the scan had estimated.

Using my BRAIN I realised my anxiety over a vaginal birth now, both risk to me and risk to Erin (the phrase “life threatening shoulder dystocia” was used!!) I asked for a C Section and the consultant agreed it was the best option. So I was booked in for the morning of the next day.

The operation was easy and calm with our favourite music playing and a very funny/sarcastic anaesthetist narrating the whole thing for me. My home birth midwife also came in to theatre with us which was so kind of her.

Erin appeared to a gasp in the theatre even bigger than they had predicted and absolutely covered in vernix at 42 weeks - she wasn’t coming out on her own any time soon! The doctors have agreed it’s highly likely I had GD at the end and so will be tested each year for it anyway now.

I might not have got the home birth I had imagined but I am now just under 7 weeks postnatal with a gorgeous little girl and feeling really good in myself. I couldn’t be more happy with my decision to advocate for what I wanted and not be forced into an induction by a more junior doctor.