Birth story - Helen and baby Fern

We found out we were pregnant just before Christmas which felt very surreal but as soon we’d had our 12-week scan, it began to sink in and I started thinking about the pregnancy and birth ahead of me. I regularly practice yoga and meditation, so hypnobirthing felt completely right and I started by reading the book. Wanting more info we bought the online pack which was amazing, we learnt SO much! Early on I started thinking about a home birth, it made perfect sense to me to be in a calm, relaxed environment and I was fortunate to have a straightforward pregnancy so we started planning for one.

As we approached our ‘due date’ and with no signs of movement, sweeps and inductions were mentioned regularly and the midwife said my home birth was increasingly unlikely, especially if I went 10 days over. We always felt our due date was too early based on me having long cycles and us knowing when we’d conceived, but this was disregarded as they fitted me into the ‘normal’ timelines. I knew I didn’t want an induction as I felt strongly that our baby would come when ready, and I also knew that an induction would involve the birth centre or labour ward which I wanted to avoid if I could.

My husband filled our walls with positive affirmations and the words ‘trust your body’ were everywhere! As the days passed, the pressure mounted but I remained calm and continued to trust my body drawing on everything we’d learnt. As we were planning a homebirth, we worked with a doula who was amazing and kept reassuring us that our decisions were right for us.

At 40+10 I agreed to go in for daily monitoring and I continued to do yoga, meditate and listen to affirmations every night. By this stage I had started to get mild tightenings in the evenings and the baby felt very low so I knew it wasn’t far off. After 4 days of monitoring, our little one decided the time was right.

Around 4.30am on Monday morning at 42+3 my waters broke. We rested in bed for a couple of hours as the surges started mildly, using the Freya app to time them. I got up at 6.30, did some gentle yoga but by 7 the surges were getting quite intense and by 7.30, they were already 3 in 10 mins so we called our doula and the midwife team. They said there wasn’t anybody to come out so we’d have to go to the hospital. My husband knew our birth preferences which he reiterated to them, plus he sensed we wouldn’t make it as I was already on all fours telling him to quickly fill the pool! They said they’d ring us back.

Our doula arrived shortly after and I already felt I needed to start pushing. She kept me focused on my breath whilst my husband filled the pool and I got straight in. By this stage the surges were intense and I often only had 1 minute between them to catch my breath which was hard but I knew it meant the baby wasn’t far off.

Little did I know that it took my husband 3 frantic phone calls to the midwife team who said someone would ‘pop in soon’ to check the progress, thinking a first time mum at home would be going for some time! All the while I was focused on downward breathing.

A midwife finally arrived on her bike with just a pair of gloves, 15 minutes before our baby was born! On arrival she asked if she could feel for the head and there it was! After a couple more pushes, our baby came to the surface and straight onto my chest in the pool, it was absolutely incredible. We didn’t know the gender beforehand, so my husband was able to reveal that we had a baby girl. She was born just after 10.30am, calmly in the pool at home, just as we’d hoped for and without any pain relief at all! I am so proud of what we achieved.

Without the hypnobirthing, it’s quite possible I would have had an induction as ‘that’s what women do when they’re overdue’. No! You don’t have to! If you and your baby are okay, it’s completely up to you as to how you birth. I’m so grateful I knew this and felt confident trusting myself and my body. Our bodies are designed to birth babies and it is possible to do it without intervention or pain relief, if that’s what you want to do.

We were so lucky to have had the home birth we wanted, especially during such a crazy time. And have been absolutely blessed with a happy, beautiful baby girl.