Birth story - Helen and baby Edward

I was very apprehensive and anxious about my labour and birth this time around; firstly because of what ended in quite a traumatic birth with my first born and to top it off having to go through all the added anxieties of giving birth in the middle of a pandemic (which was well at its second peak at the time!) I was desperate for a different birth experience this time around and for this reason had planned for an intervention free birth in the comfort of our own home and was once again keen to follow the hypnobirthing approach.

Unfortunately I had to begin attending some regular growth scans towards the end of my pregnancy due to baby predicting to be big and with a possible added risk of gestational diabetes (the GD was later ruled out) COVID had also taken a turn for the worse by this point and with the new information provided about baby’s predicted size, the potential staffing levels at the hospital (at no fault of their own!) and the risk of not being able to get an ambulance if needed, we made the decision to opt for a hospital birth instead therefore removing these added anxieties by being in the right place if anything were to go off plan!

The closer I got to my due date, however, the more my anxiety was rising and our birth preferences had now moved from an intervention free home birth to a home from home hospital birth to none, potentially a planned Caesarean section (due to the potential risks of delivering a big baby). I really was desperate to have a smoother birth this time and with the risks being discussed between us and my consultant I had talked myself into the latter being the better option!

It was down to my midwife who really boosted my self confidence, believed in me and talked me back round to trying for a natural birth and god am I so pleased she did, I will be forever grateful to her for her honest words!

Because of baby’s predicted size my consultant was keen not to let me go beyond 40 weeks and although I really didn’t want an induction I also had this in the back of my mind (although I was also aware the size prediction was a complete estimate!). My midwife suggested we began with a series of sweeps, which the consultant had permitted could happen from 39 weeks. On Thursday 28th Jan I saw my midwife for a sweep at 1.30pm, she confirmed I was 3-4cm dilated already (which was a massive shock!) and told me once contractions became frequent to get down the hospital ASAP! By 2.30pm (yes it was that quick!) I began having regular surges, all be it they were quite mild and I was able to breath my way through them. We did as we were told and arrived on the labour suit at 3.30pm where I was monitored for 4 hours - the surges, although still regular were still mild and I was still just breathing my way through them. At 8pm the midwife assigned to us at this point, advised that we went home again and waited for the labour to intensify in the comfort of our own home. Back in the car we went, and once home they more or less died off completely, which was really frustrating!

We decided to try and get some sleep but I was rudely awakened at 1am by a very strong surge which I struggled to breath through, then came another 3 mins later and another shortly after that. It was at this point I realised I was not able to breathe my way through these surges in the same way I was able to the others and I soon realised baby was coming! My mum, who luckily was already there to look after our little girl, urged us to go back to the hospital, my husband phoned ahead to let them know and back in the car we got (this was one of THE WORST car journeys I have ever endured) at one point I honestly thought I was about to deliver on the side of the motorway!

We arrived at the hospital around 1.30am, and as I stepped out of the car my waters broke, once again the surges intensified even more! My husband asked for help in the A and E department and a very kind staff member put me in a wheelchair and took me quickly to the labour suite (hubby was laden down with bags once again!) A midwife was there to greet us and welcomed us into the birthing pool room (I had requested a water birth) they began filling the pool whilst I was having my assessment done in between contractions, of which I now found myself ‘mooing to get through!’ It was then confirmed I was 7cm dilated and we soon realised the pool wasn’t going to be an option! I quickly gasped some gas and air and began getting myself in a comfortable position to birth our baby upright on the bed, they were struggling to monitor baby’s heart rate effectively and asked me if they could put a clip on his head to allow them to do this more effectively, after some persuasion, I was about to reposition myself to allow them to do this however suddenly felt our baby move down (the most amazing feeling I must add) and within seconds I was ready to push.

Due to his size, and because he was getting tired, the midwifes said we needed to deliver quickly, which could have quite easily caused panic, but at all times they both remained totally calm, positioned me how they wanted me and talked me through my breathing to allow baby to be born safely.

Baby Edward was born on 29th January 2021 weighing a healthy (but not huge) 8lbs 9oz with a total labour time of 1hr 56 minutes!

And .... aside from the face masks and staff in PPE you wouldn’t have thought we were in the middle of a pandemic - excellent care throughout pregnancy, birth and post-birth on the ward at West Suffolk Hospital we felt very safe!