Birth story - Cathryn and baby Fionn

Positive birth story - the power of the birth partner!

On Thursday 26th July I was “officially” a week overdue (although my original due date was always 27th which I believed more accurate!) A second sweep was looming on the 27th and an induction on the 30th which I really didn’t want but was starting to accept could likely happen. I had back pains and cramps most of the week and around 11pm they really started to increase in intensity. I was in denial this could be the start of things as I felt the pain would be much more. My husband eventually persuaded me to let him contact the hospital. They listened to me on the phone and said they thought they would maybe see me in a few hours and to call back. 20 minutes passed and I accepted this wasn’t back pain this was surges and they were definitely getting regular. A further call to the hospital and we were on our way in!

When we arrived they said I was 6-7cm dilated and moved me to the birth suite around 1am. This is truly where my husband as birth partner stepped up and I know I couldn’t have done it without him. He was able to tell them I wanted a water birth, he set the room up with battery lit tea lights, soaked a face cloth in our favourite scent from our honeymoon in Thailand and set up jelly babies, Jaffa cakes and iced bottles of water. Through the night he would keep repeating “every surge is bringing him closer” and would count me through up breathing which both really helped keep calm and tapping into the techniques from the course. He really was keeper of the cave and made sure that I was relaxed and calm.

My waters broke in the pool but sadly following that things weren’t progressing enough and we moved to dry land and tried some alternative positions. I ended up on my back in stirrups and I remember feeling panicked as I really didn’t want this. I had a vision of having him in the pool and wasn’t ready to let that go. What I’ve only remembered now my husband has told me was the midwives consulting that if things didn’t start moving I’d have to be moved to have intervention assistance. My husband says he noticed a real change from that and that I tapped in to something in my subconscious to say no and took control of the situation through breathing.

At 07:04 on 27th July our beautiful son Fionn was born weighing 8lbs 10oz. He is absolute perfection I’m still in awe that I managed to do it myself with only gas & air. But as one of the quotes from the little pack of positivity says “my body was made to do this”.

Following his birth there were some complications leading to a squad of doctors/midwives being present and the atmosphere went from calm to panic. Again, my husband used the up-breathing techniques to keep me calm and to focus on what an amazing thing had just happened rather than what was going on around me.

I truly believe I would have had an entirely different birth experience had I not have invested in the digital pack so thank you to Siobhan for putting it together!! I really encourage everyone to get their birth partners on board with the pack as they really do make such a difference!!! It’s actually brought us closer as a result and I honestly will never forget the support he gave me to bring our son into this world.

Thank you again and to those waiting for baby to arrive- they truly do come when they are ready!!!!!