Birth story - Charlene and baby Amalia

*Trigger warning* - contractions (not negative to me), 2nd degree tear, blood loss, surgery to remove parts of placenta

Pregnancy

I was really surprised when I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I were ttc but it happened much quicker than anticipated. We found out on his birthday in Las Vegas. I didn’t think l would test positive but wanted to make sure before going out for drinks. Well the second line appeared super fast. It was the best birthday gift for him and a moment I will never forget.

I have always been terrified of birth due to what is shown on TV. After taking the PBC Course I was actually looking forward to it. I really enjoyed labor and it was the most empowering thing I have ever done. The midwives complimented me afterwards how calm I was.

My pregnancy was straightforward and I did love being pregnant and couldn’t imagine not having a bump soon. The week before her due date we tried to kickstart labor using home remedies (ginger tea, walks, sex, spicy food, warm baths). She didn’t budge and on the day of her due date my husband and I just decided to stop trying and go on dates instead. Just soaking in the last days of it just being the two of us. It was the best thing we could have done.

Labour

On the morning of the 21st I woke up around 2:30 am to pee and felt a little cramping. I decided not to get my hopes up and went back to bed. At 4 am the cramps were stronger and didn’t go away. By 4:30 am they were quite regular coming every 5-6 minutes and I had to breath through them. The Freya App was a real life saver as was the Tens machine. My husband called the labor ward just to let them know we were coming in some time today. At 9 am they were closer together some as close as 2.5 minutes. I decided to make our way to the hospital as it was a 40 minute drive.

When they examined me I was at 2 cm which I was very happy about. By 1 pm contractions got stronger. I requested the birthing pool. They started filling it up and I was able to get in around 2:30pm. They examined me before and to my dismay I was at 4cm. I really thought it would be more since I was struggling to breath and stay calm more and more. The warm water in the pool felt nice although I missed my Tens machine. By now I lost track of time. Shortly after getting in the pool I kept saying I couldn’t do it anymore and wanted an epidural. Looking back I was in transition but neither me nor the midwives expected it would go this fast. In fact my husband asked one of the midwives how much longer she thought it would take and she told him probably 6-8 hours. He of course didn’t tell me that.

I got out of the pool around 2 hours after getting in, to wait for the epidural. I kept saying I had an urge to poo and push but thought it had to be false alarm because I was at 4cm 2 hours before. They wanted to examine me but I went with what my body told me and started pushing on the birthing stool. 20 minutes after getting out of the water I held her in my arms. Feeling the head and shoulders come through was a very unique sensation. The ring of fire wasn’t bad in my opinion. She was immediately placed on my chest and we were moved to the bed. My husband and I cut the cord together.

They delivered the placenta but some pieces were missing and I was losing quite a lot of blood. So they had to bring me to surgery. I was honestly so exhausted that I didn’t mind. They let her nurse for a few minutes before taking me to the OR. My husband spend the next 30 minutes with her on his chest. I honestly love that they got time to bond. Especially since he couldn’t stay at the hospital over night.

I had a second degree tear in the perineum and the labia. I was stitched up while under anesthesia so I didn’t feel a thing. The pain afterwards and the first poo (sorry if TMI) were not nearly as bad as I thought.

I had the perfect birth for me which I love thinking about. Thank you PBC!=