Birth story - Laura and baby Daisy

I thought I would share my birth story, although it didn’t seem positive at the time and for a few weeks after if I’m honest, I know the positive part (and the most important of course!) was that our baby girl arrived safely into the world!

I’m a first time Mummy (still love the fact I’m now called Mummy ☺️) and this was our first pregnancy. 

We had a straightforward pregnancy with no concerns - before getting pregnant I didn’t smoke; didn’t drink; we both took conception vitamins as this pregnancy was planned; I went to the gym 5-6 times a week and we went on walks with our dogs every day. We fell pregnant the first month of trying so we were very lucky. 

Fast forward to 37 weeks + 2 days.. I was on my second full week since finishing work, it was around 9.30am and I realised hadn’t felt our little girl move yet this morning. She was moving as usual the night before. 

I drank a cold glass of water, this didn’t make her move.. I tried eating some chocolate buttons, nothing.. then I lay on my left side as advised in my yellow maternity notes and still no movements.. By this point I was getting concerned as expected. 

I sat on the couch while texting my husband who was at work, to say I was about the ring the Hospital and could he ask his boss if he could leave work to drive me (he works 5 minutes away and his boss’ are lovely!). While I was texting him one of our dogs came over, jumped on the couch (which he knows he can’t do unless there’s a blanket down) and he started to lick my stomach.. He always snuggled into my bump when pregnant but he had never licked it. Panic started to kick in now. I just knew something wasn’t right. 

I rang the hospital, while trying my very best to not cry while on the phone and they said to come down to get checked over. 

There was some confusion what maternity floor we needed to go to and I burst into tears when a midwife asked us why we were there. The lovely midwife took me straight into a private room and hooked me up to a monitor and we heard her heartbeat - I had never been so relieved!! 

They put me on a heart rate monitor and asked me to push a button every time I felt a movement.. I hadn’t felt one while being on it for over 40 minutes.

They decided to put me on a drip as that would really make her move - or have a rave as the midwife said. 

I asked if I could go to the toilet first as I was bursting for a wee due to thinking I may have had a scan. In the time it took to waddle to the toilet and back - which was in the same room, I came back and the room full of new people in scrubs and got told I was going for an emergency c-section right now.

My heart sank. I had my heart set on a water birth and to use my newly acquired hypnobirthing skills. 

The rest happened so quickly and I didn’t really take anything in. 

I signed the consent form and was instantly being pushed down to theatre by a few midwifes who were running with my trolley.. that scared me! I think one of the midwives must have noticed my face (I’ve got a face that shows what I’m thinking before I know what I’m thinking 🙈) and ordered the girls to stop running with me. 

I had a spinal which worked very quickly and they began the section. It happened so quickly that they were already pulling her out as my husband was rushed in to the room from putting the scrubs over his clothes. Our baby girl was here 👶 

Unfortunately I didn’t get the delayed cord clamping I had wanted and they took her to the side to work on her breathing as she needed some help - they said she was a little shocked but she was soon breathing herself. 

Daisy weighed 5 lbs 12 oz and I had skin to skin once they were happy with her stats and breathing. I’ve never felt so happy - this topped our wedding day! I can’t put into words the amount of love I had for our tiny little girl as soon as they lay her on me. It was out of this world. Nothing else mattered as she was here, she was safe and she was healthy. 

While they were removing the placenta the surgeons shouted ‘placenta abruption’. This was the reason our little one wasn’t happy, the placenta had started to come away. 

Daisy arrived into the world 2 hours from when we walked into hospital and we are so very thankful for the quick acting staff, the reason we have a healthy 11 week old now is due to them! 

Daisy did have to spend 2 day in Neonatal as a precaution being treated with antibiotics incase the placenta came away was due to an infection but as her stats were fine after 2 days, she came off them and we went home as a new family after spending 4 days in hospital. 

I would by lying if I didn’t say I felt cheated that I didn’t get to give birth in a pool, I didn’t get to give birth naturally and I didn’t get the chance to use hypnobirthing - all of which I was in the mindset of doing but it had to be done and I can look back at the delivery now and know it was positive, as there were no complications and our little girl is healthy! 

If and when we decide to have a little brother or sister for Daisy, I will definitely go back to hypnobirthing. It completely changed my mindset of birth in a positive way! 

It was only when I read your digital package I realised how negative birth is show on tv and when people talk to you about births, they tend to focus on the negatives. Although there are negative births out there, we need to change our thinking and see the positives in all of those ✨ 

Birth is the most natural thing in the world and I’m still amazed at how our bodies change in order to bring life into the world. 

I have recommended your digital package to 2 mum to be’s who have raved about it! ☺️ 

Thank you for changing my mindset on birth and for empowering me in the build up to birth xx