Birth story - Jessica and baby Lukas

*Trigger warning* - IVF, contraction, 3rd degree tear

Previous birth:

I gave birth to my first son, Brett, in June of 2020 in Amsterdam. Luckily no Covid regulations in place, but it was a personally traumatic birth. I labored for 30 hours, had an epidural that only worked on half of my body and pushed for 2 hours. I had the pain relief that didn't work but also restricted my movement so I felt completely stuck. When I got pregnant again I knew I wanted to do things differently.

Pregnancy:

Both of my sons were IVF embryos that luckily took on the first try. My pregnancy was pretty straightforward with tons of morning sickness and exhaustion for the entire first trimester (which was also exhausting chasing after a 10 month old!) I had some pelvic pain and pressure (from having such close together pregnancies) and started seeing a pelvic floor therapist which was life changing. I also had vulvar varicose veins and compression underwear helped with that.

Labor:

The day before my due date I went in for a check-up with my midwife and had a membrane sweep and found that I was already 3cm. I went into labor after the membrane sweep with my first son so I was prepared for some movement after the appointment. The sweep was at 3pm and around 5pm I thought I was having some cramping beginning so I bounced on my ball and watched a show with my son. We had dinner together as a family and went up to bath time. At 6pm the cramping was becoming closer together so I started timing them on the Freya app and using my Up Breathing. I still didn't know if they were actual contractions or just cramping from the sweep (since I was cramping for so long with my first son before labor began).

At 7pm I called my mom (who was in a hotel nearby) to watch my son just in case it was labor. I also called my midwife and she lived down the street so she decided to come by for an initial check. I was in control with my breathing the entire time. My husband was counting out loud and I followed with my breath. I put on the TENS machine as the cramping started to escalate and I knew I was in labor. I was having back labor, as I did with my first son, so the TENS machine helped a lot.

My midwife arrived and I was absolutely shocked when she said to me "how comfortable are you with a home birth because you are 9cm dilated!!!!!” (My mom snapped a photo of me in disbelief which I posted below!)

It was then that I started to loose control because I thought I had HOURS to go and definitely didn't want a home birth. We had a room booked at a birthing center with a pool but it was 20 minutes away so we opted for the hospital down the street. We ran into the midwifes car as I started to transition. We arrived at the hospital 5 minutes later and I was having intense urges to push- the baby was almost born on the sidewalk!

Within minutes of arriving in the hospital room, ripping my pants off, my water broke. I tried one push on all fours, but quickly switched to my side. I pushed one more time and with the most intense pain I've ever felt, little Lukas flew into the world at 8:30pm! I was still in disbelief that just 3 hours after feeling some cramping I was holding my baby in my arms... it's definitely true that the second time around your body just knows what to do!

I did have a 3rd degree tear and needed the shot to birth the placenta. In the Netherlands if there are no complications, once you are able to walk to the toilet independently and pee you are free to go home. I walked back inside my apartment a little before midnight, just 5 hours after I called my mom saying that I "might be in labor" haha. We are very fortunate, in the Netherlands a maternity nurse comes to your house (fully covered by insurance!) every day for a week so you can recover and bond with the baby in the comfort of your own home.

Of course my labor was a LOT faster this time around, but I also couldn't have done it without the knowledge from the hypnobirthing courses and the Up Breathing. I would totally do a pain free labor again and as weird as it is to say "loved" the experience. I read SO many of these birth stories leading up to it and didn't understand how simple breathing could help with the pain but it does! I had such a positive mindset and felt so in control of my body.

Lukas is now 3 months old, smiling, giggling and getting plenty of love from his older brother!