Birth story - Kirst and baby boy

I had IVF whilst living abroad where the hospital system was privatised & obstetrician led. There was early talk about induction due to the ‘’foetal risks of going beyond 38 weeks.’’ I initially accepted this as ‘the way it had to be’ although I was very fearful about hospitalisation and the induction process due to past medical trauma (to the extent all my IVF procedures had to be done under general anaesthetic).

A friend recommended this hypnobirthing course which was a game changer for myself and my husband. Upon completing the course, we decided to return to Australia to pursue an unmedicated vaginal birth at a midwife led Birth Centre. At 29 weeks I developed PUPPS pregnancy skin rash which was an extreme skin condition that affected everything in daily life. I was offered induction at every appointment which I declined because all I wanted for myself & my baby was spontaneous labour. From 37 weeks, I did acupuncture, chiro, drank raspberry leaf tea and ate dates.

We got to 41 weeks and it was the Birth Centre’s policy to send you for a scan at the hospital to check you’re still low risk and OK for an unmedicated natural birth. All of baby’s tests showed he was healthy but his shoulders & stomach were showing disproportionately wide compared to his head and therefore the hospital upgraded the pregnancy from low to high risk for serious birth injury. I was excluded from being allowed at the birth centre & the safest option was to birth at the MLU at the hospital. The medical team took the time to discuss the options and risks with us. Using the BRAIN method we agreed to a C-section to be scheduled for Monday late afternoon.

Then on Sunday, the night before he was scheduled to be born, I went into spontaneous labour! I stayed at home in our bedroom and laboured all through the night, which was an incredibly empowering experience. My husband supported me with light touch massage and then snoozed while I watched old re-runs of Scrubs and went into pigeon pose over some pillows on the bed to help breathe through the surges. I felt safe, I trusted my body and my instincts. The sun came up and at 6.00am I woke my husband to tell him we needed to go to the hospital (the 30min car ride up the freeway in Monday AM traffic was tough!). He parked the car while I walked up to the MLU and was greeted by a fabulous team of midwives who offered me some gas & air which helped my breathing at 7am.

I told them I wasn’t comfortable to do a VE which they respected and based on the frequency of surges, I was bumped up the queue to be the first c section of the day at 8am. The midwives got me prepped, we were laughing and cracking jokes it was like they were a bunch of bridesmaids getting me ready for a wedding…I felt excited and cared for…a few big surges later and a rush to theatre, the surgeon asked for my consent for a VE to better understand baby’s position and turns out I was 7cm dilated! A few minutes later, our beautiful baby boy was born screaming, 9.2pounds and 56cm long!

So I had an amazing birth, wasn’t quite to plan but I couldn’t have more positive memories of the experience.