Birth story - Georgia and baby Evangeline

It has taken me a very long time to write this but here it is (it’s a long one)…

On Saturday 16th June I woke up feeling slightly concerned about baby’s movements. I had been into hospital 3 weeks earlier with the same concerns over baby’s movement and had been reassured that all was well. I was told however, that if I experienced any more episodes of reduced movement I should go back in right away. I downloaded the digital pack at around 27 weeks after hearing about hypnobirthing from a couple of work colleagues. I loved watching the videos, learning all about the science behind birthing and listening to the affirmation mp3s. After completing the pack I was extremely excited about going into labour. I wasn’t particularly nervous or worried – I trusted (and still do) that my body was made to birth my baby and that my baby would come when my baby was ready. As the day of the 16th went on my husband Luke and I discussed whether or not we should go into hospital for another check. I knew that as I was 41+2 and reporting a second episode of reduced movement, the midwives and consultant would recommend induction. After discussing the benefits and risks there was no question that our baby’s safety was more important than my desire to avoid induction. I was due to have my term +10 appointment the following Monday so we decided that if all was well from the monitoring and the midwives were happy, then we would decline induction and re-evaluate the situation at the term +10 appointment.

We went into hospital at about 11pm on the Saturday night. As soon as I was hooked up to the monitor our baby started kicking and her heart rate was normal too - which was a massive relief. The midwife offered to perform a sweep – which I accepted, and she told me that my cervix was favourable and about 1cm dilated. She had no concerns and was happy with our decision to put off immediate induction and reassess a couple of days later. Just as we were getting ready to leave the hospital the midwife popped back to say that one of the consultants wanted to speak to us about our decision. The consultant was very understanding of our desire to avoid induction but she made it clear that there is a connection between RMF and still birth and that she wouldn’t be doing her job properly if she let us leave without informing us of the risks.

After discussing our case with the consultant we used the B.R.A.I.N framework and decided that as much as I wanted to go into labour naturally, and as likely as it was that our baby was absolutely fine, I had experienced two episodes of reduced movement within three weeks and it wasn’t worth the risk. I could never forgive myself if medical intervention had been necessary and I put it off in order to fulfil my personal dream of a ‘perfect’ natural labour. The midwife informed us that I could stay in hospital and be induced immediately or go home and come back in at 9pm the following evening. I know myself and if I had gone home I would have worked myself up into a state over-thinking everything, so we made the decision that the next time we left the hospital it would be with our baby.

I was taken round to the induction suite and the lovely midwife on shift inserted the pessary at 2am on Sunday 17th June. She informed me that I wouldn’t be checked for 24 hours unless I appeared to be in labour before then (which she told me would be highly unlikely for a first time mum). I sent Luke home as there was only a chair next to my bed and I felt it would be better if he got a comfortable night’s sleep before the long road ahead. He was hesitant to leave me but I insisted!

I woke up at about 4am with constant period-type cramps. They weren’t particularly painful at this point, just uncomfortable, but I didn’t think I was in labour as the cramps weren’t coming and going in waves like I’d anticipated – they were there the whole time. I tried to get some more sleep but the cramps were quickly becoming more intense. I was offered paracetamol but I declined because I didn’t even think I was in labour at that point and my up breathing was enough to keep me calm and in control. The midwife offered to run me a bath and it was incredible. Stepping into the warm water felt amazing. I was able to relax completely for about half an hour and focus on happy thoughts to get my oxytocin flowing. Slowly the cramps began to build in intensity and the water was no longer helping. I struggled to find a comfortable position and decided that I needed my husband’s support. It was only 6am and I didn’t want to wake him so early. I decided to put my earphones in and listen to the labour playlist I’d created whilst focusing on my up breathing.

I had faith in myself but as the intensity of the cramps stepped up another notch and because I wasn’t getting any break in the cramps I phoned Luke at 7am and told him to get to the hospital as quickly as possible. This was probably the most panicked I felt throughout the duration of my labour. I had no idea what was going on and lost control momentarily. I was so scared that I wasn’t in labour yet and didn’t know how on earth I was going to cope when the surges started. Luke was so supportive, he helped me to focus on my breathing and rubbed my lower back. I am so grateful that he took an interest in hypnobirthing and understood how important his role was. At around 9am I was put on the monitor and to the midwife’s surprise (and my relief!!) I was actually contracting for 8 minutes out of every 10. My body had reacted very quickly to the induction drug and I was extremely over stimulated. We were told that removing the pessary would settle my labour but when the pessary was taken out I was 3cm dilated, 4-5cm when stretched and my waters were bulging. Our baby’s head was right there and it was time for us to be moved round to delivery.

As soon as we arrived in the delivery suite our wonderful midwife gave me an injection to slow down my labour and IV paracetamol for the pain. After a second injection to slow down my labour I felt like a new woman. I was able to put the TENs machine on and my surges settled into a lovely rhythm. I used my up breathing to focus my mind during each surge and it felt incredible. It was everything I had hoped my labour would be. I was aware that the midwife was regularly checking on baby’s heartrate and she asked me to change positions quite a lot but I wasn’t worried. While my midwife was on her lunch break my waters broke and unfortunately they were stained with meconium. Luke pressed the buzzer but my midwife was already on her way back down to us having seen a rush of activity on the monitoring screens. She reassured me that lots of babies pass meconium inside and that it was not necessary a cause for concern. I was checked again at this point but I was still only 4cm dilated despite the fact that my body had begun to speed up the labour again and I was experiencing non-stop surges once more. It was at this point that things took a turn as baby didn’t appear to be coping very well. The consultant came in and informed us that he would like to check baby’s oxygen levels. This involved an uncomfortable procedure but I concentrated on my up breathing and felt totally empowered. I knew I needed to trust the doctors and relax as much as I could. My baby needed me to be as calm as possible and make the important decisions with a rational mind. After one of the three blood samples showed slightly reduced oxygen and being only 5cm dilated at this point of the labour, the consultant recommended an emergency caesarean. It was the last thing I had wanted when I was writing my birth preferences but I knew that it was the only option to ensure safe delivery of my baby. The consultant had requested a spinal but unfortunately it didn’t take in time and I was put under general anaesthetic.

When I came round after the surgery my husband broke the news that I had given birth to a baby girl weighing 7lbs 6oz and the love washed over me in an instant. Our little Evangeline had been born healthy, pink and crying but after a couple of minutes she had begun to show signs of respiratory distress. She had inhaled some of the meconium and needed to be moved to NICU. The following week was a blur. Evie had picked up an infection and was on antibiotics for 5 days. Thankfully I was able to stay in the hospital and she was fed all of my hand expressed colostrum via syringe – that it itself was a massive labour of love! And to my absolute joy we managed to establish breastfeeding on day 3! As Evie grew stronger we were moved onto a ward together and after her infection markers had returned to normal we were waiting for her to gain enough weight to go home. After 7 days we were finally discharged!

The overwhelming emotion that engulfs me when I recall Evie’s birth is love. It was love of my body that enabled me to use the hypnobirthing tools, trust in the process and believe in my ability to birth my baby. And it was love for my unborn baby that meant I was able to make the important and difficult decisions that would deliver her to us safely. My birth story may not be the drug-free, midwife-led water birth that I had idolised during my pregnancy but it was empowering and beautiful nonetheless.

I am incredibly proud of how I coped during the physical test of labour and the mental test of the week that followed. Hypnobirthing gave me the strength to give birth fearlessly. My husband was my rock and his unwavering support meant that I never felt alone – a real ‘keeper of the cave’ in every sense. Without The Positive Birth Company and the digital pack I am certain that my view of my birthing experience would be entirely different, so I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my experience a positive one – in spite of the way events unfolded!