Birth story - Coral and baby Faye

Thank you so, so much to PBC for the digital pack - it was truly amazing at helping me through some difficult times during pregnancy due to personal circumstances and allowing me to have the most overwhelming and positive birth experience I could have asked for. Thank you also to all the ladies who left their own positive birth stories!

Have provided some background but please skip ahead!

Background
At my first midwife appointment I was told I had to attend some extra scans and appoinments due to having a high BMI. I was also told it was unlikely I could give birth in the maternity unit. As you can imagine this was very disappointing! I also found myself, unfortunately, with morning sickness throughout pregnancy which caused me to take more time off work than I would have liked and had a couple of episodes of reduced movement. Then at around 27 weeks, we got the news that my mum had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It was around then I started to look for some help in coping with the stress. I found the PBC online and watched some Youtube videos. Siobhans lovely manner and the positive vibes spoke to me and I thought the digital pack was the perfect thing to help me through! It was a saviour in helping me keep calm through all the appointments and monitoring.

Labour
I have to admit being anxious over my 'due date' as my mum was due to start her treatment on the 25th. If I went too far over she would not be able to be there with me on the big day. Due date came and went and I was offered a sweep which I accepted. The upbreathing helped me through this! My cervix was 'unfavourable' at the time. I continued on for another week and at my 41 week appointment after another unfavourable sweep, an induction date was suggested for the following Friday. I asked if we could be induced a couple of days earlier as my mum started treatment that day and I really wanted her there. Gladly they accepted and we were booked in for the following Tuesday.

On the Monday I started to feel little niggles but dismissed it as usual third trimester pains. At around 9pm they started to come stronger and closer together so I told my partner this might be it and jumped in the shower. The surges were pretty much 3-4 mins apart from the beginning but varied in strength. I used my upbreathing throughout the night and put some lavender on my pillow listening to the positive affirmations to get me through.

At around 3am on Tuesday morning the surges were 3 minutes apart lasting around 40 seconds to a minute. As we were 45 minutes from the hospital, I suggested we go in. On arrival, I was examined and found to be 2cm. I was so happy to know things were progressing and induction would no longer be necessary!! We were advised to go home and wait a bit. We went to my mother in laws as it was closer to the hospital and I said to hubby to try and sleep while I had a bath. I then came to bed and continued with the upbreathing. Around 2pm the surges were becoming stronger so I made the decision to return to the hospital - I think my body just knew! We returned and were monitored again and examined - 4cm. We could be admitted. Unfortunately it took 4 hours for a room to become available on the labour ward so I had to continue in the triage room. I was being constantly monitored, as baby had shown a dip in heart rate, meaning I was a little limited in movement but the upbreathing and affirmations got me through it.

When we got up to labour ward, it was 8.30pm and I was getting really tired as had no sleep. The surges were getting very powerful and we found out baby was facing the wrong way although was head down. The midwifes asked me to lie on my side with a ball between my legs to try to turn her. This was very uncomfortable and made the surges much stronger. My husband and I decided on an epidural as we were aware labour could last longer and we had to try and wait on her turning.

The epidural was quite a difficult experience and by far the bit I found hardest out of the whole experience! But I continued using upbreathing with my eyes closed to block out the light and everyone else. My mum and husband helped keep me calm while it was inserted. Once it was finished, they gave it some time to kick in and asked if they could examine me again and break my waters to get things going. It had been nearly 8 hours since I was last examined and I was keen to get things moving so accepted. On examination I was found to be at 9cm!!! They broke my waters and confirmed baby had turned. The midwife said it would soon be time to start pushing. My mum left the room at this point to allow myself and my husband first look at our baby!

The epidural kicked in enough time to take the edge off but still allowed me to feel contractions which helped with the pushing. It took just over an hour and with some coaching from my husband and the midwifes, our baby girl came into the world at 03.44am on Wednesday morning. She was placed straight on my chest and my husband announced we had a girl! It was truly the best moment of my life! Delayed cord clamping, I accepted the injection for the placenta. I had a bit of blood loss and some grazing which required stitching but I cranked up the epidural for that part while my husband cuddled our daughter.

After being sorted, my mum joined us to meet her first grandchild and it was so special. We enjoyed tea and toast and a few hours of peace. I stayed overnight in the labour ward due to blood loss but we were home the next day.

Faye is the most amazing calm baby and we owe it all to the PBC! It helped us so much during pregnancy, labour and now even after! Thank you again! Xx