Birth story - Jenn and baby girl

I have recently given birth to my second child. I read your book (Hypnobirthing, Practical ways to make your birth better) this time round and it truly helped me get through my labour!

When I found out I was pregnant again, my son was only 9 months old. My instant thought was that I didn't want to go through child birth again as it was quite traumatising the first time round, not to mention it hadn't been that long since the first!

With my first, my waters broke in the middle of the night and I was pretty much in active labour a few minutes later. I was 37 weeks. I hadn't done much preparation for labour and so I was pretty much completely in the hands of my midwife who coached me throughout. She was lovely but in the months after, I realised it wasn't the best birth I could have had as I birthed on my back and spent a very long time pushing with my midwife telling me exactly what to do. I wish I had been more confident in my bodies abilities.

My second pregnancy ended up being quite difficult. I suffered with PGP from 20 weeks and was on crutches by the time I went into labour. During my pregnancy my anxiety about giving birth grew and it was all I could think about. At about 25 weeks, a friend of mine gave me the how to birth better book and my outlook on birth changed quite a bit! Everything started to make more sense and quite quickly my anxiety became less and less.

I was scheduled for a planned caesarean, due to a prolapse I suffered after my first birth, however my baby had other ideas. A week before my due date (and 9 days before my scheduled caesarean) I felt a strange click in my pelvis whilst I was cooking dinner. I told my husband that I thought I was having light surges and would keep an eye on it. Within 30 minutes they were getting stronger so the ball started rolling! By the time we got to the hospital my surges were about 2 minutes apart and quite intense. All I was focused on at that point was breathing through them. I found nodding my head as I counted really helped for some reason 😂. We were taken in to the assessment unit for them to send me straight to the ward.

Once I was on the ward I don't actually remember opening my eyes again untill she was born. All I was focused on was my breathing and riding the surges (which were now very strong and very close together). Although I really didn't want any vaginal examinations, the midwife kindly explained that they needed to assess the situation for getting me prepped for my caesarean. Although I wasn't happy with it, I agreed and she told me I was 3cm. At this point I was feeling ok and in control. My husband gave me my headphones and I listened to my music as the world went by around me. However! Within an hour I went from 3cm to 8cm and all plans of a caesarean had gone out the window (due to an emergency caesarean being done they couldn't get me in quickly enough). I suddenly felt the urge to push and my husband called the midwife back in. I was rushed to my own room and told that this was happening now!

My midwife was amazing at keeping me calm. She knew I had been very worried about a vaginal birth but told me that she actually found it hard to believe I was in labour because I was so quiet and calm. This gave me confidence that I was doing it! I was breathing through the surges and making them my own rather than letting them take over which I never thought I would be able to do! My mind was focused on what was happening in the here and now and all worry of my prolapse and the fact that things were not going to plan had disappeared.

Within 45 minutes of me saying I needed to push, my little girl was out! I remember my midwife telling me to push with the surges but honestly, I ignored her! I knew when they were strong enough to work with and when I just needed to let it pass. This feeling was so empowering for me and although everything happened so quickly, I'm so happy it turned out this way.

I didn't have any stitches or pain relief (mainly because there wasn't time!). I still can't quite believe that myself! My husband said the experience this time round felt so different for him as well. I was far more in control and he also said he found it hard to know when I was actually having surges! He said how proud he was that I overcame my anxiety and birthed like a boss! I'll never forget this experience and it's taught me that although birth doesn't always go to plan, your body knows what to do and to trust it.

After the birth of my son during lockdown, I decided to start a podcast. I wanted to connect with other women and parents to talk about their birth stories and what it's been like becoming a parent during the pandemic. I feel like this also really helped me through my pregnancy as I had built such a great support group. It's so important for women to feel empowered and what better way than through shared experiences.