Birth story - Jacqueline and baby Neo

I went from planning a water birth to having a positive UNMEDICATED induction thanks to hypnobirthing. I heard about PBC through a colleague almost 2 years ago. She told me she had an empowered birth and recommended the book and IG page. This was my first real introduction to the idea that giving birth could be a wonderful, positive thing. When I found out I was pregnant last September, I was determined to have a similarly positive experience.

At 41 weeks which was a Saturday, I woke up to reduced fetal movement. I called the hospital who told me to come in immediately for monitoring. I knew this could result in an induction, so we put our bags in the car and prepared our minds.

We arrived at the hospital just before 2pm and I was monitored till around 3pm. We did not meet the Dawes Redman criteria and there were some fluctuations which needed to be observed further. They recommended we stay in the hospital and get induced because I was past my due date. I looked at my husband and we decided it was time to meet our baby.

At 3.15pm we moved to the induction ward. I was weighed, took a COVID test and watched the induction video. There was a lot of waiting around. At 5.15pm the second round of monitoring started. At 6.15pm we finally met the Dawes Redman criteria. We ate, had a third round of monitoring then had the pessary inserted into my cervix at 7.30pm. This was very uncomfortable because it felt like either the pessary or the midwife's finger scratched me on the way in. But if not for that, it would have been fine. I was monitored again at 8.30pm. After this I was allowed to roam free so my husband and I went walking down the halls.

We got back to the room at 10pm and was advised to sleep before my next monitoring session at 2.30am. Now Sunday at 0.40am, I had been having surges every 8 minutes for approximately two hours. I rested but was unable to sleep due to being in an unfamiliar environment. I'd been having frequent Braxton Hicks contractions for a good few weeks by this point, and the surges didn't feel any different. At 1.30am ish I slept for an hour to an hour and a half. I was eventually monitored at 3-3.30am and was having 3 surges every 10 minutes! I had a snack, then slept on and off between 6.30-8 am. The surges were slightly more intense but very manageable with breathing.

The rest of the day followed a similar pattern. Monitoring, eating and walking the hospital halls. It was surprisingly relaxing and quite fun. At 7.30pm I was monitored before a cervical examination to check the progress of the pessary. At 8pm I was shocked to find out I was still only 1cm dilated. The next step was to insert the hormone gel to help soften my cervix. I remained on the machine for another hour. Within an hour of having the gel inserted I noticed a spike in the surges. I had to be much more intentional about my breathing and struggled to find a comfortable position.

Now Monday at 2.30am. I was checked again and was 2cm dilated. From my monitoring over the past 2 days my baby's heart rate still had some strange fluctuations they weren't completely happy with. So in order to get things going, I was informed at 3.30am that I was next on the list to move to delivery suite and have my waters broken. By this point the surges were in full swing. I remember being worried about going to the toilet on my own in case I got a surge mid flow.

At 6.30am I moved to the delivery suite. I was examined again but this time, I was offered gas and air which I accepted. I loved it! It made the examination so much more bearable. I was 2-3cm dilated. The midwife proceeded to break my waters successfully. The gas and air helped so much. I remember feeling the release of warm water and the midwife informing me that she can feel the baby's head and they have plenty of hair!

In the delivery suite I was super focused and present. I had on a Christian hypnobirthing playlist plus my own playlist of calming songs. Between praying, singing in my head and breathing through gas and air, it was all manageable.

At 11am ish I was examined again and I was 4cm dilated. I told the midwife I didn't want the hormone drip yet because I wanted to see how far my body could get on its own. She agreed. At 3pm I was 5-6cm dilated. The midwife said my cervix was nice and stretchy, but the surges were slowing down (from 3-4 in 10 mins to 2 in 10 mins). I had been sleeping in between contractions. After conferring with a doctor, they decided it was time to put me on the hormone drip to keep up the momentum.

Within 5 minutes of being but on the drip, the surges reached an ultimate high. I couldn't believe how intense they were. I was strapped up to the machine so I could barely move to comfort myself. The surges were unbelievably intense. So much so that I started thinking about an epidural. How would I bring this up? Should I ask the midwife to just walk me through the process while I decided? Could I firm this pain for another 30 minutes? There was a particularly intense surge which made me think "I don't think I can do this anymore". Almost as soon as I had that thought I suddenly started grunting. It was 4.30pm and I was baring down. The midwife was surprised and asked "do you need to push Jackie!?". I told her I wasn't sure and asked if she could check me. She examined my cervix one final time and said "Your cervix is gone! You're 10cm dilated! It's time to push". It was one of the most amazing things I've ever heard in my life. I did it. I got to 10cm on my own with only gas and air and hypnobirthing. I was elated. With a renewed energy I got onto my knees on the bed and started to push. My son was born 20 minutes later at 4.51. To top it off, I only had a 1st degree tear and didn't need any stitches!