Birth story - Beth and baby Bonnie

*Trigger warning* - mention of previous miscarriage and small graze/tear.

Pregnancy

After an early miscarriage in September 2021, my husband and I were delighted to learn I had fell pregnant again in December 2021. The first few months were rough with morning sickness and the anxiety of something potentially going wrong, but as the pregnancy progressed, I relaxed and the morning sickness eased off around the 20 week mark. From the halfway point I began to really enjoy the pregnancy and was very fortunate to be classed as low risk with no complications. It feels so weird to not have my bump now!

Labour

Thinking about my birth experience makes me well up. It was truly the most positive and beautiful experience of my life. Baby had been head down for some time which was great news, and I naturally went into labour a day after my estimated due date. In the few days running up to this, I had an upset stomach, period cramps and a huge craving for anything sweet lol!

On 29.08.22 I began to experience sporadic contractions, so my husband and I went for a walk and I stayed as mobile as possible by using my pregnancy ball and making sure to eat a good meal and keep hydrated. I started to properly time them from around 3pm via the Freya app (which I highly recommend!)

Around 7pm the contractions really started to ramp up and I was struggling to talk through them anymore. Around 9pm we rang the birth centre for some advice and I had a warm bath and a couple of paracetamol. By 10.30pm I was really struggling to manage at home so we headed into the birth centre. My husband drove and my Dad sat in the back of the car with me to continue monitoring my contractions and supporting me. My back waters broke in the birth centre car park on the walk to the birth centre (that was tough, but focusing on my breathing really helped!). When we got to the birth centre and I was examined it was confirmed I was already at 3cm. This was around 11pm where it was confirmed I was in established labour. I started using gas and air and focusing on my breathing as much as possible through the contractions. Around midnight I had a warm bath and tried aromatherapy but was really beginning to struggle with the pain so got back onto dry land and given pethidine to help relax me and rest in between the contractions.

Not long before 6am, I said I was having the urge to push and the midwife asked me to have a wee first and empty my bladder. I got to the toilet and I don’t know how it happened but as I wee’d, my baby’s head and shoulders flew out! I told the midwife who was obviously very surprised! An emergency buzzer was pressed for some further assistance and the midwife got me safely onto the bathroom floor and I was asked to push again which I did and my baby girl was here! I couldn’t believe it! It all happened so fast!

It took me longer to birth the placenta haha and I opted for an injection to speed this up as giving birth on the bathroom floor unexpectedly wasn’t too comfortable lol. I did also poo as I birthed the placenta which I remember laughing about at the time. She was placed on my chest with cord clamping delay and my husband cut this. I just remember my husband cradling me on the bathroom floor repeating “she’s mega, you’re amazing”, and I felt absolutely elated.

I only had a small graze and needed a couple of internal stitches which wasn’t overly pleasant, but the gas and air helped a treat during this! I had the famous tea and toast too after the birth which tasted absolutely incredible. As it was a straight forward birth, the team were happy to discharge me 6 hours after birth.

I’m still in absolute awe of myself, but couldn’t have done it without the tools from the positive birth company hypnobirthing course and coaching and support of my husband and Dad. They were incredible and it was truly the most positive and empowering experience of my life.