Birth story - Ellie and baby Ruben

My labour and delivery was all very speedy at 39 + 5 days in. It took 2.5 to 3 hours from start to finish which although may sound ideal in its shortness of time, it was actually quite alarming for us. As a first time mum I wasn’t really prepared for that how quickly and intensely things progressed. However, the digital pack really helped me to feel more assured about what was happening to my body and encouraged me to keep inhaling peace and exhaling tension.

Prior to this, we were convinced that our baby was wasn’t going to arrive on the scene for at least another week or two and when it did, we thought it would be a long and slow process. Because of this, we decided to have sex to try and induce our baby naturally and literally within 10 minutes I started to have what felt like strong period pain and a surge going up my back. 

From the start of these sensations I started to do the up breathing techniques to ease the discomfort and stop me from shaking with adrenaline, my husband lying next to me and breathing in 234 out 2345678. It worked as I immediately started to feel more calm, more in control and better able to move into the bathroom where we began to fill up the bath, put out candles and listen to the positive affirmations mp3.

Within half an hour or so I was getting regular contractions (3 in 10 minutes). My husband rang to let the midwives know but they said “stay as you are for several hours, as a first time mum you’re unlikely to need to come in just yet”. After that phone call, the contractions had increased to 4 in 10 minutes and I knew that we had to ring again. Again, I felt we were rebuffed and told to stay put.

It wasn’t long before I felt the urge to sit on the toilet, change my breathing and push. Because I had watched the hypnobirthing videos, I felt more sure of what was going on with my body at this stage and told my husband (in between groans) that we needed to call again and that this was it. I kept telling myself to trust what my body was doing and follow my instincts. 

It was only then when he called that third time that I felt we were taken seriously. “Come now!” they said when they heard I felt the urge to push. My poor husband had to scurry around the house at lightning speed gathering everything together without any time to really process what was happening. 

I told him I didn’t think we’d make it to the hospital “can’t they come to us?!” I said as I struggled to remove myself from the toilet still feeling that urge to push. My husband said I really needed to get into the car, so I staggered out into the drive and started breathing in 234 out 2345678 to calm myself on the journey to the hospital.

15 minutes later we were there and I kept feeling that urge to push- in the hospital door entrance, in the lift. I was sure our baby was coming, our baby was ready. By the time I’d made it to the assessment room (we didn’t make it as far as the birthing suite) they said “Wow! You’re doing amazing”. I was fully dilated and ready to go. 

“Keep doing as you’re doing, breathe, trust your body. You’re amazing! It won’t be long now” All these positive affirmations spurred me on. It wouldn’t be long now until we met our baby. 27 minutes later our baby boy was born, the waters breaking as he arrived.

The 3 of us were in shock at the speed of the labour and delivery and I lay there shaking with adrenaline before I was ready to hold our baby. It was only then that I had some gas and air to calm down. The midwives were amazed at how calm the whole process has been. They said I barely made a sound and just “breathed him out”. 

Whilst it felt intense to me, it was an incredibly exhilarating moment. I had given birth to a baby, our baby, and a big one at that! I had given birth without any pain relief or any medical intervention but with the belief that my body knew what is was doing, even when I felt scared. My body was designed for this!

I just wanted to share my story with you and say a big thank you for making your digital pack affordable and accessible. There’s no doubt it helped me and my partner to keep calm, feel more confident and better informed in a labour that seemed to progress concerning quickly.