Birth story - Hayley and baby Otis

When I found out I was pregnant with my second child, my emotions were mixed; having had 2 miscarriages, each before and after my daughter. My previous labour was awful due to being induced, this was advised to me on my last growth scan which I was having due to low Papp-A. I had lots of intervention and this resulted in a third degree tear, I knew I wanted another child but did not want to go through that again. 

Luckily I came across the Positive Birth Company and purchased their book very early on in the pregnancy as it’s hard to find time in between working and running around after a toddler. 

The book was fantastic, I learnt so much about labour that I wish I had known the first time round, I practised the breathing techniques and ordered a bunch of tools online such as essential oils, fairy lights and LED tea lights. These would help me feel most relaxed during labour.

My maternity leave started just days before the government announced that pregnant women were considered high risk. Then our local hospital trust confirmed the stricter measures on birthing partners only being allowed in during established labour. At this point I had a bit of a wobble but once I had time to get my head around it I figured I was the most prepared I could be.

At 40+3 I woke up at 1:30am with my first contraction, I decided to go downstairs, bounce on my ball, have a cuppa and watch Netflix. I concentrated on breathing through the contractions and used the Freya app to time them. Before I knew it it was 7:30am and my husband and daughter came downstairs; throughout the day I stayed upright, either on my ball or walking laps around the house. By 11am we decided my husband should now take my daughter to my mum and dads so we could properly relax. I had my second bath of the morning then attempted a nap in bed. My time between my contractions was still quite varied but getting more intense, so I decided to start using the TENS machine, I had hired online, which helped me out a lot.

I rang the hospital at 5ish but my contractions weren’t consistently every couple of minutes, after a chat with the midwife I decided to wait a little longer. Roughly 2 hours later the surges were coming on thick and fast so we headed to the hospital, I think I must have stopped 10 times between walking from the car to the labour ward! We were shown to our room and I felt the urge to push already, the midwife examined me and said I was 8cms dilated. I couldn’t believe I had got this far with just breathing techniques, some paracetamol and a TENS machine! I then had some gas and air and discussed if we could use the pool but unfortunately I was advised not to due to my previous tear, the midwife would be able to see baby better outside the water and try to prevent the same tear happening again. I breathed through the contractions and was conscious that I wanted to stay in an UFO position. I found being on my knees with my arms over the head of the bed the most comfortable, soon my waters went and 15 minutes later our baby boy was here, just an hour after arriving at hospital!

I cannot tell you how much The Positive Birth Company has helped me and how much better my labour experience was this time round. I really didn’t want much intervention, and I honestly think because I had this new knowledge I knew my body could do everything with little help. My recovery has been amazing and I only needed 2 stitches, I soon felt like myself again and I feel able to enjoy my newborn baby so much more.

Baby Otis, 06.05.20, 8lb 1oz.