Birth story - Anna and baby Callie

Some background - this is my second baby and I have to say that my first birth (in 2012) was not a positive experience. I had high blood pressure towards the end of pregnancy which went sky high in labour. My son was born two weeks past his due date (which I think led to some anxiety/possibly affected bp) - I was not thinking positively that 'my baby will come when my baby is ready'. I had an epidural, a lot of different drugs for high BP/low BP etc, failed ventouse and a forceps delivery in theatre (I'd signed the paperwork for c-section). I never really felt that the epidural and instrumental delivery were what caused my negative feelings (as they were necessary at the time) but the lack of control and my sense of panic (I think I held my breath for about 10 hours!) did. I said I was done having babies and it took five years to reconsider!

This time around we didn't make things easy for ourselves - we relocated to the USA when I was about 10 weeks pregnant. The medical system was a bit of a mystery to us and I was concerned that birth has a reputation of being quite medicalised here. We also didn't have much of a support system on this side of the pond.

I'd heard about the Positive Birth Company a few times and decided to purchase the digital pack at about 30 weeks. I mostly watched on my own but talked about it with Mike and showed him a couple of the science videos (and made sure he knew he was the keeper of the cave!). I loved watching the videos and reading the birth stories on here.

We picked a healthcare provider at random but they turned out to be really great! I mostly saw the same midwife throughout pregnancy and she was really lovely. She was very positive about my wishes for minimal intervention. When I completed my birth preferences she said that she liked the document and agreed that many of the things I put down were very positive. I think my midwife bucked the trend a little bit - she didn't do the routine cervix examinations that a lot of ob/gyn like to do here and was generally interested in the differences between pregnancy in the UK and US. I did laugh when I was very proudly informed that the hospital recently introduced gas and air!

My mum booked flights to arrive a week before my due date so that she could help look after our son. I felt that the baby would likely arrive after the due date but had a few neighbours lined up to help out with our son if necessary!

I tried to remain positive about everything in the hope of keeping my blood pressure in check. I also walked as much as possible. Luckily my bp held steady and I generally had a good pregnancy this time around.

My mum arrived on the 22nd September. On Monday the 24th we started the day as normal. I was having some Braxton Hicks but I'd had those for weeks. We got our son ready and walked him to school. After the school run I said to Mike that the Braxton Hicks were quite strong and might be surges. I felt fine though and Mike went off to work. I pottered about, had a shower, watched a bit of an old great British bakeoff and our wedding highlights video and packed a few bits for our son. Mum arrived at about 11.30 and we decided to drive into the town to get a drink and pop into the library. I had two paracetamol at 11.40. I also had a show at around this time. I mentioned to mum that I was having mild surges but I think she thought I was being dramatic! In the library I decided that things were definitely happening! I didn't want to stand still but paced about while mum looked for a book. The surges were totally manageable at this point but I did some up breathing at times. We stopped next door for a drink and I thought I should get something to eat. I ate a few bites of a bagel but couldn't manage any more. I decided I wanted to go home at about 12.40pm.

Once home I decided I wanted Mike back home too. I sent him a message at 1.05pm asking to come back...he replied asking when I needed him to leave work (now, 15 minutes, 30 minutes etc), I said now would be good! Around this time I also received an emergency alert on my phone saying that the local schools were in lock out (the chatter indicated that police were pursuing someone in the area)...this could have caused a panic as it affected my son's school but I refused to let it get to me (I asked my mum to connect with a neighbour who would also be collecting her son so that they could collect the boys together once the lock out was over). I carried on up breathing as the surges were getting more intense. I could hear police sirens everywhere and was aware that they were closing roads...I told myself that everything would be fine with my son and getting to the hospital!

I realised that the surges were coming fairly close together and I should probably try to time them...I also wanted to listen to the mp3s and couldn't figure out how to do both (mp3s won)! When Mike arrived I asked him to call our healthcare provider as I couldn't stand still and wasn't sure how long I could speak for. They asked to speak to me and as I was unable to speak for more than a couple of minutes advised that we pack the car and head in.

I continued to use up breathing and used my headphones with the positive mp3 tracks. The surges were quite intense but I felt ok. At one point I said to Mike that I felt 'pushy' - I think we both decided that wasn't possible though! The car ride wasn't the most fun. I kept my eyes closed and had the mp3s playing. I'm not sure I was really listening/concentrating but it was a calm noise in the background. At one point in the car (I think we were stuck at a traffic light!) I said to Mike that I thought I was going to panic...he said very definitely that I wasn't and reminded me to keep breathing. I also told Siobhan off for telling me (on the mp3) that I was calm at around this time!!

When we arrived at the hospital at 2.20pm it took a while to get to the birthing unit - I had to stop and lean on a truck tire, in the lift and the corridor by the front desk. They led me to a room and started asking questions. I handed over my birth preferences and went and stood in the far corner of the room. I was asked if I wanted an epidural (birth preferences said no!) and I replied "no, although if you tell me I'm 1cm it's a yes"! They wanted to monitor the baby and insert an IV in my hand (standard here)...I just wanted to take my trousers off because they were annoying me! I mostly kept my eyes closed and tried to do the up breathing. Mike reminded me about breathing and tried to fend off any questions. I was asked if my waters had gone...I said 'no', then they immediately went. I think they realised that I was starting to feel pushy and were desperately trying to convince me to come out of the corner. I wouldn't budge. The nurses offered the bed and various seats (they were still wanting to get an iv in and were worried I'd fall down) but I was rooted to my spot in the corner! The midwife was great and didn't try to get me to move. She asked for a Doppler and then decided that there probably wasn't time. I was feeling the urge to push and continued to breath as best as I could (not sure it was down breathing but it worked). The midwife suddenly told me to put my hand down and I could feel the top of a head!! I couldn't believe it. I did two or three pushes and baby Callie was born at 2.45pm, with me standing in the corner, Mike holding me up and the midwife kneeling in front of me. This was around 15 minutes after we arrived in the room. Callie was passed straight to me and a chair was shoved under me. I think I had my eyes shut most of the time but I have an image, like a photo, of loads of people rushing in with equipment and trying to plug it all in (Mike later said there were seven nurses running in) and then an image a few minutes later of them all being gone again with their equipment (I find this funny and I don't think I even noticed at the time!)

I had delayed cord clamping (not as long as some due to bleeding but over 6 minutes) and immediate skin to skin. I had the injection to deliver the placenta. I had some tearing but this was repaired quietly by the midwife. We were left alone after this and it was all really calm. I contacted my mum (who couldn't believe Callie was here) so she could bring Finley to meet his sister. While we were waiting for them Mike went down the road to get Five Guys - burgers, fries and milkshakes (I was rather hungry! 😂)

All in all a completely different experience to last time - thanks in no small part to the PBC! I've been recommending the digital pack to everyone - even my midwife asked for the details!