Birth story - Elle and baby Maggie

Finding out we were pregnant in early March was an amazing feeling and then a little scary! I was aware of birth as a ‘painful’ experience, with shouts and screams and horror, thanks to TV - yet I really hoped it wasn’t. I’d known about Hypnobirthing for a few years now and knew it was something I wanted to try and after speaking with a friend who took the course in our local area, I booked on early and attended at around 25 weeks pregnant. My husband and I both loved it and came away saying how the science and practicality behind it makes complete sense and is the opposite of what we are told about birth in general in today’s society.

We decided we wanted to try a home birth as well and I was signed off by my endocrine specialist to go ahead as long as my pregnancy remained as good as it was. 

It’s key to note here that I have had a steroid insufficiency illness (endocrine system) called Addisons, for almost 10 years now, but it’s completely manageable and my pregnancy was generally great - up until they suspected I was growing a big baby! On came conversations of potential induction, something I really wanted to avoid. Finally, the Thursday before my due date I spoke to an amazing consultant who walked me through all my options, with the support of my husband and fantastic midwife. I then had a stretch & sweep and went home feeling relaxed, supported and importantly, informed. 

The next day at 11am, the surges started whilst I was out on a dog walk. They were strong but I breathed through them, automatically using my up breathing and got myself home to a bath. My husband came home at 1pm and sat with me as my surges ramped up. Suddenly I became very sick and this meant I couldn’t keep my steroids down to manage my Addisons. So we went into hospital. After 6 hours, a cannula and a high dose of my steroids, my sickness had gone, my spirts were up and I was contracting nicely every 4-5 minutes, again breathing through each one. Our room was dimly lit and everyone who entered knocked quietly and spoke to my husband to ask if they could come in. I accepted one internal examination and was found to be 3CM dilated and my cervix had fully effaced - we decided to go home and sleep and nest and come back, oh the beauty of living a 5 minute drive from the hospital! 

Sadly, things didn’t carry on going so well - I was up all night after arriving home, with very intense surges, every 3-4 minutes. I took a shower and that did help get me through them but I was starting to feel sick again and without fail I was sick, many times, meaning I couldn’t keep my steroids down again. At 6.30am on Saturday, we made the call to go back in to ensure my steroid levels didn’t drop and I didn’t experience a crisis (something I can get when my steroid levels are too low which can be very dangerous). 

Back in the delivery room, dimly lit, electric candles flickering and I knew I was struggling, I was weak and tired and I’d been going almost 24 hours. At about 8am a midwife and two doctors came in to discuss my options. It was proposed that if I hadn’t dilated any further I’d need to be induced and if I still wanted a vaginal birth, I would be recommended an epidural as it could take another day or 2 to get to the second stage of labour. An epidural was something I was adamant I didn’t want, as it can take away your instinct and can often lead to intervention. The other options was a C section. Now, in this moment I felt totally empowered and informed because of the section in Siobhan’s about natural c-section. I said, if that were the decision, I would want as natural a c section as possible which made me feel calm and in control. They agreed to this and off they went to carry on with their rounds. Shortly after, in came my midwife for a second internal examination. It was as I excepted, I hadn’t moved along at all and I was still 3CM’s. I didn’t want to risk my Addisons peaking and creating issues for me or my baby and I certainly didn’t want an induced, epidural birth as this wasn’t for me, so we agreed on a natural c section. 

At 11.26am, on 16th November, in a room full of amazing, talented people who listened to my wants and needs, who kept our spirts high,  with my husband by my side, our baby girl was born and handed to me for skin to skin whilst they finished my surgery and it was the most perfect moment of my life, even though it wasn’t the birth we had planned. I used my up breathing through the entire experience, when they numbed my back with spray, when then gave me local anaesthetic, when they gave me the spinal block and when they delivered my baby. It was so special and empowering and perfect and everything we wanted it to be and importantly my baby and I were safe and well. She also weighed 8lb 15oz so she was ‘big’ for me who’s all of size 6 and 5ft 2! 

All in all, taking the hypnobirthing class and educating myself with positive stories and great books like Siobhan’s, I felt calm and in control, which meant I had a fantastic, positive birth.