Birth story - Ash and baby Avery

*Triggers warning* - Use of the word contractions, previous birth trauma, chorioamnioitis, cesearan section, labour dystocia/obstructive labour.

I had a very straightforward planned pregnancy & was lucky enough to be offered the continuity of care midwife lead program at my local hospital and wanted to try for a water-birth in the birthing suites. Unfortunately home births were not an option due to the current ambulance crisis in Melbourne, Australia. My pregnancy was tracking along without any issues aside from some fatigue and nausea in the first trimester. I was determined to have a physiological birth after my daughters labour was augmented with syntocin due to myself having an infection of my placenta and amniotic fluid (chorioamnionitis).. though we did achieve a vaginal delivery I did not feel safe.

After about five nights of exhausting pro-dromal labour I called my midwife feeling super discouraged about baby taking their time to join us earthside, she was super reassuring and gave me the courage to keep waiting. At 41 + 1 after spending the day with my husband and daughter walking around the zoo and having a picnic lunch I started having contractions around 2pm. This eventuated into established labour around 6pm and my waters broke around 10pm. I opted to labour at home until advised by my midwife, who we kept in contact with in the early stages of my labour.

My labour at home was incredible and I felt so supported and safe. I had dimmed lights, the TV on low and my husband and sister as support people. They just let me be in my zone. I laboured at home for eight hours using my breathing techniques, the TENs machine and the shower.. I found the hot shower the best relief. At the 2am we called my midwife because at that point I was contracting for roughly 1min every 3-4mins and after a period of falling asleep between contractions I woke up and felt a bit panicked. She thought I could be transitioning and suggested it might me time to come in.

Once we arrived at the hospital I popped straight into the birthing pool which was immediate relief. For the next period of time I laboured using my breathing techniques and visualisations and alternated using the TENs, hot shower and birthing pool. My husband, Midwife and & sister also really helped by applying pressure to my hips during contractions… before I knew it eight hours had passed. However, from my arrival at the hospital I was experiencing “coupling” of contractions which means I was having two contractions in succession without a break, meaning my contractions were lasting up to three-four minutes a time. I found these incredibly exhausting & very difficult to breathe through despite my absolute best efforts.

At around 8am and I was exhausted and my midwife suggested a VE to determine progress.. we had discussed limiting VEs and this was the first one offered. I was devastated to find out I had dilated to just 6cm after 16 hours of labour and experiencing incredibly lengthy contractions. I began to consider pain relief options and, knowing I still had a while to go, I asked for an epidural. My husband read through my affirmation cards to remind me of what I was capable of and my sister & Midwife went though the benefits and risks with me to make sure I was happy with this decision. I laboured for another hour but I just felt like something wasn’t right and ultimately I opted to have the epidural. I was finding the lengthy contractions too difficult to manage and wasn’t able to maintain my composure. After awaiting my blood test results at 10am the epidural was inserted… I did find it super tricky to sit through the procedure without any hot water or TENs. But we achieved a great balance of full movement but reduced pain sensation allowing me to remain upright, forward and active. I utilised the peanut ball and stayed on all fours on the bed.

I had another exam at 12pm determining I was 8cm dilated which I was ecstatic about. Agreeing to two hourly checks unless I felt pressure/urge to push we kept on. However, from here, check after check, I was determined to be 8cm despite keeping active, and trying multiple positions to get bubs to fully engage. At around the 22 hour mark the obstetric team came to talk to me to discuss how to proceed as it had been around six hours of labour being stalled at 8cm. My heart rate was beginning to elevate, my urine output was decreasing & I had developed a low grade temperature. Their concerns were, obstructive labour/labour dystocia…given I was a second time Mum who had a spontaneous commencement to my labour and had almost reached full dilation without any intervention, that baby was protecting themselves from a vaginal delivery due to a complication they couldn’t see. They suggested that it might be safest to have a caesarean section but they also said they were happy to take things hour by hour unless baby or I became more unwell. They communicated the risks, benefits etc and not once did I feel like any pressure from them to make a choice either way. At this point we had experienced almost 24 hours of active labour so both my husband and I were exhausted. They let us discuss things amongst ourselves and get the opinion of my trusted midwife but ultimately we decided to have a caesarean.

My midwife asked me about preferences for the cesarean (which I had considered during my birth prep thanks to the course) and they were able to honour all of them. We used my essential oils on a hanker-chief, had dimmed lights, our choice of music over the speakers and both my support persons present. My husband was able to announce gender and cut the cord after delayed cord clamping and we had immediate skin to skin for two hours. The procedure felt calm and everyone was so excited. The anaesthetist talked me through step by step what was happening and within the hour our baby boy was in our arms. It felt surreal.

We discovered our cheeky boy had tangled himself in his cord to such an extent that it restricted him from being able to fully engage the cervix, preventing full dilation and his passage through for a natural delivery. This was reassuring news, that despite 16 hours of attempting a physiological birth, the caesarean wasn’t anything I was able to avoid.

Baby and I were discharged after 24 hours into the care of the midwives at home and whilst breastfeeding a newborn and looking after a toddler after a significant surgery has been tricky my husband and extended family have been amazing. We are smitten with our baby boy and are glad we’re all safe and sound.