Birth story - Jade and baby girl

My little one is 15 weeks so I thought it’s about time I shared our very positive birth story! I loved reading these daily when I was pregnant and it really helped my mindset and how I thought about birth!

Rewind back to October 2017. Our miracle IVF baby was born via a planned section due to him being breech. My section went very well with no problems- so a very positive birth! I found recovery a bit tough - to be expected after major surgery, so that’s why I wanted to avoid it this time round if my body allowed!

We got the shock of our lives on 19th June 2019 when I found out I was pregnant naturally. We tried for nearly 5 years, 7 rounds of clomid, and 3 rounds of IVF for our first baby so you can imagine how we felt when we saw those two lines! I had an amazing pregnancy first time round and I did this time round too! I knew straight away that I wanted to look into a VBAC. My son would be 2.5 when I had the baby so still quite dependant on me for certain things, so if I could try and deliver the baby naturally for an easier recovery then that’s what I wanted to do. I discovered The Positive Birth Company over on Instagram and bought the Online Package when I was just 6 weeks after there was an offer on!

My husband and I really enjoyed watching the clips and I’m quite an anxious person, so they helped me to think about birth in a different way- I found the science side of things fascinating!

I have two large dermoid cysts on my ovaries- I had actually discussed surgery two days prior to finding out I was pregnant and was told I had a high chance of losing my ovaries- little did I know I was already pregnant. This meant I had to have monitoring scans throughout to check if they were growing.

I wanted to avoid induction for the strain it could put on my scar but I couldn’t go more than so many days overdue before I’d need a section, so at 40+2 (the day I ended up going into labour) I was scanned in the morning to check the position of my cysts and to see if baby’s head was lower than the cysts to be able to have a sweep. Everything was in the right place so off I went to have it done. Not the most pleasant experience but it done the job!

I was told I was already 2cm but my cervix was still posterior (if I remember rightly- it was pointing back) but she had a good go and I was asked to come back the next day for a repeat.

This was done at 11am, so I went home, bounced on my ball and went about my day. I was experiencing really mild period type pain which I just put down to having the sweep done. It got to about 5pm as we were eating dinner and I felt the pains, which I now know were surges, become more intense. I was on FaceTime to my sister and she said to me I was in labour. I was in denial and she said that she thought my husband had better take our son to his parents for the night.

We finished dinner, and my husband dropped my son off at his parents house so I quickly loaded the dishwasher and tidied up- by now the surges were coming fast and my Freya app said I was in established labour. Me being me decided to jump in the shower before heading to the hospital and by that point I was having to use the breathing techniques to help me through each surge. My husband helped me out of the shower, got me dressed and rang delivery suite to tell them I was coming in. I had been told that when I started having surges that I would need to go in as I was having a VBAC birth I would need to be monitored.

I listened to the Freya app and closed my eyes the whole the joinery to the hospital- which was only about 10 minutes away. As soon as my husband pulled up, he had to grab me a bag as I threw up 😅. He quickly went and got me a wheelchair as I couldn’t walk and we arrived on delivery suite a few minutes later.

The midwife checked me over and I was already 4cm. My surges were coming one after the other with barely a break in between- I had to have an injection to slow them down a little because of the risk of scar rupture. By now I knew I wanted an epidural and that’s when my birth plan went out the window 😅 I wanted to be as mobile as possible (although I was hooked to the monitor- this actually helped my anxieties knowing that baby was being monitored for signs of distress which could mean risk to my scar), use my ball etc, but I knew I’d enjoy my birth better for having an epidural and relaxing. I thought I wouldn’t be able to feel a thing but I could still feel and move my legs- whilst waiting for the epidural to be done, my husband set out my battery candles, spritzed my Tropic So Sleepy pillow mist and I listened to the positive affirmations on the Freya app.

As soon as it kicked in, I was lovely and relaxed - I still needed to use gas and air on and off, and I watched the Love Island final. My midwife was lovely and stayed with me the whole time. She broke my waters a few hours after and by 11:30pm I was 9cm dilated. I can just remember feeling very calm, very relaxed (probably due to the gas and air 😂) and used my breathing techniques to help me through each surge.

When I felt ready to push I turned around on the bed so I was on my knees and leaning against the back of the bed. I had the overwhelming urge to push and then came the mooing noises which I couldn’t control!! I was told I couldn’t push for longer than an hour or so because of my scar, so I was determined to get baby out!

In the end I needed a bit of help and had an episiotomy and ventuse. I threw up a few times which actually helped baby come down- she ended up being back to back as well. The whole time I just remember feeling calm and not worried at all. Then just like that she was out and placed on my chest. We had delayed cord clamping and I just can just remember feeling on top of the world that I had actually done it!

I had 3 or 4 Midwives then watch me being stitched up 😂 they told me I was being stitched by the best which made me feel better and he did a good job lol.

We were left alone for a while so I could start our breastfeeding journey, and we were bought some tea and toast!

I was told I could go home at 9am but I decided to stay on the ward for a little bit to get help with breastfeeding- my husband went home to get some sleep before picking up my little boy and bringing him to meet his sister.

Even though I didn’t stick to my birth plan, I felt euphoric after she was delivered and 100% felt like the hypnobirthing breathing, the positive affirmations on the Freya app and just trusting my body could birth my baby, really helped me to have the dream birth I’d wanted.