Birth story - Bunthivy and baby Indie

I discovered the Positive Birth Company through YouTube as I was looking for ways to have a smoother, more positive labour and delivery for our second baby.

Our first baby was quite traumatic with a 14 h labour that ended with delivery with epidural, forceps, 3rd degree tear and an episiotomy. I was intent on having a more calm, positive and empowered labour/delivery with our second and the more I read and watched other positive birth stories, I realized that it can be possible. So at 30 weeks, I convinced my partner to try out hypnobirthing and we got the digital course package that we watched over the next few weeks together.

I had gestational diabetes that was diet controlled and baby was average for measurement, so my OB recommended that we can wait as long as we can to see if a spontaneous birth would occur but not go beyond our due date. I wasn’t too keen on being induced so I tried other natural ways to help induce, lots of walking, eating pineapple and spicy foods, raspberry tea, acupuncture…

On Saturday September 8, exactly one week before our due date, we came home from the park with our 2 year old and had just put her down for her afternoon nap. At around 3 pm or so, I noticed faint traces of my mucous plug had discharged. It was exciting as it was the first sign of potential labour. We decided we should finish packing those last minute hospital bag items just in case. As we prepared and prepped dinner, around 5’ish I started to feel slight cramps/light surges. By 6pm, the surges became more intense but I was able to manage using the up breathing while sitting on my birthing ball and listening to the meditation MP3s which I found so helpful. I also had some essential oils in a tissue on hand to help.

We wanted to relax as much as possible at home and so we had dinner and my partner called his parents who live 3 hours away to let them know to come so they can watch our toddler. During dinner, my surges became more intense and we decided to call our emergency contact to come as she lived closer just in case we couldn’t wait much longer. Our emergency contact was without car at that time so we were going to have to prep to bring our toddler to her home and head to hospital from there (we live 20 minutes outside of the city so we have to plan our commutes). By 7:30 pm the surges were quite intense, although I was still managing with up breathing and the birthing ball but it was clearly becoming harder to manage.

I got up to go to the bathroom to pee and while I was on the toilet, I felt the baby ‘drop’ and this strong pressure on my bum (at least that was the sensation). It was a bit alarming and I must’ve screamed cause my partner was by the door and all I remember was yelling at him to call 911 as I knew we weren’t going to make it to the hospital.

After a couple more intense surges while still on the toilet, I felt baby crowning. By this point, I panicked, as this was definitely not part of our birth plan! I was more worried and scared about not having any medical personnel with us and that baby is coming MUCH sooner than we had anticipated and whether we can do this all on our own than I was about any pain (although it was very intense).

My partner was on the phone with the 911 operator who was guiding him and I was told that I needed to get on the floor as it wasn’t safe for baby with me on the toilet. It took every ounce of energy for me to move from toilet to floor. I felt my body wanting to push. I was hesitant but I did my best to ‘breathe’ and push with the surges. After a couple pushes, I felt baby’s head come out. I was able to relax between that surge and with a final push, our baby came into the world at 7:50pm delivered by my partner who I should add was wayyy more calm than I was during the whole process!

Baby went right on my belly and I was awashed with relief, shock and happiness. Baby didn’t cry but was breathing and calm. The fire truck and ambulance came within 10-15 min after we delivered. Baby and I had our first ambulance ride to the hospital together.

In total, from the start of our surges to delivery, it was a quick 2 hour 45 minute labour. We were fortunate that there was no complication and baby was healthy at 7lbs and I had 2nd degree tear that only needed a few stitches.

The digital package really helped us prepare for a positive birth experience and had me looking forward to labour/delivery because I felt better informed and I had created a positive narrative around it. Although this ‘home birth’ was not part of our ‘plan’, I was able to use many of the tools I’ve learned to help manage through the surges and through learning about how my body works during labour/delivery, I was able to understand what was happening while I was in labour which helped me better relax.

Thank you Siobhan for putting together such a useful package for expecting parents. Without reservation, I would recommend hypnobirthing and the digital package to friends/families, it’s changed how I viewed labour, delivery and maternal health.