Birth story - Katie and baby Ted

It's been just over 2 weeks since I gave birth to our little baby Ted. I had such an incredibly positive birthing experience and found the stories shared on this group so helpful that I'm happy to be able to add mine here too.

At 37 weeks I had a growth scan and was told my baby was measuring large. Advice given was to undergo an induction to avoid possible risk of going past my due date and potentially increasing the likelihood of shoulder dystocia. I was also encouraged not to birth my baby in the midwife led unit but to go to labour ward even though throughout the rest of my pregnancy I was considered low risk.

I had been really calm and looking forward to my labour and meeting our baby but this conversation with the consultant really knocked my confidence and I started questioning if I was doing the right thing for me and my baby by waiting for labour to begin naturally.

Taking time to use my BRAIN and after reading lots of other people's birth stories I managed to reassure myself that I would wait until 40 weeks and then reconsider all the facts to make a decision about whether to be induced or not. So I had another hospital appointment booked on my due date to have the conversation about next steps.

Fortunately for me I started having surges at 02:55 on Sunday 2nd September only 2 days before my due date. I continued to have surges at home whilst allowing my husband to sleep I took myself downstairs to binge watch friends and hooked up my tens machine whilst using the up breathing techniques. I used the baby centre app to track the frequency and duration of my surges. I did try and sleep but the surges kept me up and I was nauseous quite a few times. Eventually I woke my husband when the surges were getting more intense and closer together.

By 10:30 we had called the MLU and they said I could come in. I kept my eyes closed for the whole car journey just focusing on breathing and using the boost button on my tens machine.

After arriving at the hospital I was examined and was so excited to hear I was already 5cm dilated. It was hard at this stage to stay still as I was having very regular surges and lasting a while. The midwife got the pool filled and I was so grateful to get in the warm water felt really soothing. My husband put on some music from our speakers and put out our led candles.

The next bit is a blur. I carried on up breathing and my husband kept telling me to breathe in through my nose and relax my shoulders. He'd paid attention to the hypnobirthing birth partners bits. He was patting my face with a cool flannel and I remember this felt amazing!

I went through transition and had very intense surges thinking all the while this is when I might wobble. The midwife went on her lunch break and before she went she asked if I needed anything, I mentioned maybe gas and air but she countered me asking whether I really needed it. When I thought about it I responded that no I didn't need it but thought it might be good to have in the room. She left for lunch saying let's see how you are when I get back. By the time she got back I had the feeling like needing to push. An immense pressure in my bottom it was hard not to push too soon but I used the down breathing and tried to mentally relax in between surges all the while thinking of the traffic lights and making myself go back down to green. The gas and air never appeared as it was too late.

After a bit of me bearing down and a lot of mooing and heavy down breathing I felt the head and shoulders appear and the midwives encouraged me to stand up to help the rest of the baby be delivered. I tried to resist pushing too soon by focusing on breathing and imagining the surges moving my baby down.

Our baby Ted was born at 14:31 a healthy 9lb 4oz. We got skin to skin immediately in the birthing pool before being transferred to a bed where I got to nurse him for the first time.

The positive birth company was critical to giving me the tools and confidence to birth my baby completely naturally and to listen to my instincts. Thanks Siobhan Miller!