Birth story - Chloe and baby Mack

At 40+6 weeks I woke early on a Saturday morning to find that (finally) I had lost my mucus plug. There were no other signs or symptoms of labour but I was hopeful it would start soon and that I wouldn’t need the induction I had booked for the following Tuesday. Around midday I started having “period cramps” I didn’t think much of them as they were quite mild so I continued on with my day and tried to keep busy. By 5pm I realised that the cramps had started to become more frequent and were slightly more uncomfortable - I could no longer ignore them. I rang the hospital and explained what I was feeling and that these cramps where coming around every 10 minutes. I needed help knowing if they were contractions or if this was just my body getting ready for labour over the next coming days. The midwifes on the phone reassured me that I would know if they were contractions and to take some Panadol and try and rest. I popped on my TENS machine, had some dinner, took some Panadol and went to bed to try and relax.

By 7pm they were even more frequent and even more intense so I just remembered everything I had learnt during The Positive Birth course and practised my up breathing through every surge. 1am came around and I was unable to stay in bed. My husband found me pacing the hallways (still breathing through my surges and speaking my positive affirmations) and he decided to call the hospital again. The midwifes explained that it sounded like I was in the early stages of labour, that my breathing sounded great and that if I was comfortable staying at home, a bath might be helpful. My husband ran the bath and we sat in there together with the lights dim just laughing and talking about how our life would change forever so soon all while breathing through all the surges together.

All of a sudden I got a huge wave of nausea and told my husband to quickly get a bucket as I was going to be sick. It was now around 3.30am the surges were very close together and I started getting quite anxious and began saying that I couldn’t do it anymore and that I didn’t want to do it anymore. Luckily for me my husband remembered that this behaviour was quite common during the transitional phase of labour and quickly suggested we get our things together and head to the hospital - all the while reminding me how I was strong and able and that there was absolutely no question that I could do this.

We arrived at the hospital just after 3.45am and were taken to an examination room to check how far along I was. The midwife didn’t say anything to me after she was done checking my cervix but she quickly looked at my husband and said “I’ll get you a wheelchair we will go straight to the delivery room” They wheeled me to the room and when I stood up from the wheelchair my waters broke. At this point a midwife I had met a few times named Sarah popped her head in as she knew we were there and asked how we were going - the first midwife then yelled “she’s about to start pushing out this baby” which was news to me as I was certain I was still in the early stages!

Sarah stayed with my husband and I and it was just the three of us in the room. She was amazing. She talked me through all of the surges and helped me with my down breathing so I could push really well. After about 30 minutes of pushing she said that baby was getting tired, and the heartbeat was slowing down so I really had to use my breath to push extra hard and get baby out on the next surge. Otherwise I’d need a little incision to help make babies entrance easier. I’m not sure if it was because I knew I was so close to the end, or if the word incision spooked me but I was able to focus all my energy and breath into one last surge and get baby out!

They popped him on my chest and we got delayed cord clamping before my husband was able to cut the cord. I didn’t need any stitches and our little family trio were all so well that we were able to leave after 6hours.

It was honestly the best labour and birth I could have imagined and I felt so educated and in control of the whole situation. It was just amazing and I felt so awesome and powerful after. Not only did the course help me but it really helped my husband be the best support person and he remembered so much more than I expected him too.