Birth story - Emma and baby boy

Our first child arrived at 36 weeks and although the birth at the time didn’t seem traumatic it left me with feelings that things had been taken out of our hands. I was 7cm dilated when we arrived at the hospital but when the midwives broke my waters I went back to 4cm, I spent the whole time on my back while they monitored our son’s increasing heart rate, ended up having an epidural and episiotomy. I wanted second time round to be different- to feel more in control, so we purchased the positive birth hypnobirthing course and watched the videos slowly from around 30 weeks.

Our due date came and went and feelings of anxiety started as people kept asking/ telling me I’d be having a big baby. Luckily our midwife was lovely and kept telling me at appointments that baby was the perfect size for my body. I had a few days of false starts thinking contractions had started but then came to nothing. Then at 4am on 1st April my waters broke, I was excited that things were getting started but nervous that I wasn’t having any contractions. I called the MLU at the hospital and they told me to come in later that day to check the waters and to get some rest. I managed to sleep until about 7am and started to get our son ready for school. I was about to send my husband on the school run when the contractions really ramped up so we called my mum to take our son to school and after calling the MLU again my husband and I headed to the hospital. The contractions were coming thick and fast and I used the Freya app to time them and keep my focus on staying calm. When we got to the hospital the midwife said she was impressed that I was in the zone and encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing. Using the up breathing and the app was really helping me to focus and get through each contraction. The midwife examined me when we arrived at the hospital at about 10am and I was really disappointed to hear I was only 1cm dilated. However, the midwife was brilliant and told me not to be disheartened as she had seen second time mums go from 1cm to having their babies within an hour or so. This really helped to keep me focused and I got straight off the bed and onto a birthing ball, while the midwife began to fill the birthing pool. At 1pm the contractions were starting to become harder to manage so I got into the pool and really felt the relief. I had struggled with pelvic girdle pain during pregnancy and the pool helped take the pressure off my pelvis. I wasn’t in the pool long before I felt the urge to push and the midwife told me to trust my body and go with it. At this point I was still up breathing and using the Freya app. I had my phone on the side of the pool and became a bit obsessed with pressing the button each time a contraction came. Knowing that four sets of up breathing was all I needed to get through was such a help. My husband also said how brilliant the app is as he didn’t need to remember to tell me to do anything as I was so focused on the relaxation of the app!

I continued to push in the birthing pool but baby’s heart rate dropped so had to make a quick exit to the bed, however the trust I had in myself, my birth partner and the midwife made me feel at ease that this was the right decision. On the bed I was able to push and deliver the head within 15 minutes or so and then the rest of baby followed. Our beautiful little boy was born at 3.05pm. I had requested a physiological third stage and enjoyed 2 hours of skin to skin before baby was weighed at 8.8lb. My placenta came out naturally while baby was still attached and we had delayed cord clamping. I couldn’t have wished for a better birth and can’t quite believe how wonderful it was. The positive birth course allowed me to listen to my body and trust that I could give birth to my son without any pain relief. I had a second degree tear and was offered gas and air while the midwife gave me stitches, but I didn’t need it- I think the oxytocin was flowing and having baby in my arms was all I needed! The best bit for me was that we were able to be home by 10pm that same evening to enjoy cuddles with our 5 year old and his baby brother.

After having a challenging pregnancy and a previous miscarriage, I am so grateful to the positive birth company and Siobhan and everyone who shares their stories, on this blog and in the Facebook group, I really believe anyone can have a positive birth experience 💕

................................................................................

Get yourself a FREE positive affirmations MP3 by subscribing via the sign up box at the bottom of  the homepage

Watch our series of FREE hypnobirthing videos on YouTube designed to educate and empower

Check availability and book group hypnobirthing classes in London, Devon, Birmingham and Brighton directly through the website

Sign up to The Positive Birth Company Digital Pack - the world's most affordable and accessible online hypnobirthing program - and complete our course on any device, from anywhere in the world.

Get our bestselling book 'Hypnobirthing: Practical Ways to Make Your Birth Better' here.

Download our app FREYA here. FREYA is the world’s first hypnobirthing-friendly surge timer and virtual birth partner. She will coach you through every surge whilst keeping track of your progress.