Birth story - Kate and baby Remmi

I honestly can’t believe I am sat here writing this. It feels really emotional to get it down on paper.

Saturday night around 8pm I started feeling a bit odd. Couldn’t really put my finger on it but just felt unsettled and a bit sicky. Didn’t eat my dinner and couldn’t sleep, was sat on my ball untill 1.00am, went back to to bed and finally drifted off at around 1.30am. I woke to my waters breaking in bed at 2.45am and started shaking with adrenalin. Oh my goodness this is it.

Time to put all the practise and research I had done to good use.

It’s fair to say I have severe anxiety about anything remotely medical related, needles, blood, hospitals, dentists. Which was why I had decided a home birth for me was my best option. Familiar, safe and on my terms. My birth plan must have been every midwives worst nightmare. No VE’s, no coached pushing, no episiotomy, no stitches (where possible)

So I started bouncing on my ball again at around 3.30am and contractions started, I used up breathing, tens machine, bouncing on my ball and very randomly tapping my foot hard on the floor until around 11am where my partner filled the pool. First midwife appeared around 8.30am, offered a VE I declined, offered a VE again before I got in the pool, declined again. She did however suggest later down the line if I felt comfortable to do one on myself to see if I could feel babies heard during a contraction. This was a fab suggestion and highly recommend.

Contractions ramped up on the pool and it was time to start down breathing and really going with my body. I could feel the change in contractions and visualised her head coming down. When I stated to push I asked for some gas and air. After pushing for what felt like some time (during which time the second midwife turned up) Remmi’s head was just bobbing in my cervix and going back up. At this point the midwives asked me to get out the pool to try some alternative positions. I found lying on my side with one leg cocked in the air worked better but I still just could get her head to crown, it was right there! A third midwife turned up and she was a force to be reckoned with. “Kate we have got to get this baby out now push with everything you’ve got girl”

I could hear the midwives starting to talk about transfer as they felt I was getting tired (babies heart rate was absolutely fine and I knew I had more fuel in the tank) I used my BRAIN and asked for some more time. We switched positions again to a deep squat, my contractions were starting to tail off a little so the midwives asked Nick to stimulate my nipples to ramp them up again, can’t believe it but it actually worked! After a lot of wailing and giving it my all her head crowned just as the words episiotomy left the midwives lips.

I got away with a small 1st degree tear which I’ve asked to just be left to heal naturally.

My home birth was just incredible. Everything I could have asked for. The midwives were so respectful of my wishes even when the going got tough. If I had been in hospital there is no doubt in my mind that it would have resulted in an instrumental delivery.