Birth story - Linda and baby girl

*Possible triggers* Use of the words pain & contractions. Previous trauma & cesarian section, coached pushing, stitches.#

My first labour was a little traumatic and still makes me tear up a little when I think about it,  which ended in an emergency section under general anaesthetic. So, I didn’t meet my son until he was 2 hours old. I went into labour blind with little knowledge, I accepted everything I was told by the professionals caring for me along the way and absolutely none of my preferences were met. I actually laboured alone in a hospital ward after induction, until I was 9cm dilated. This all made me very focused on having a positive birth experience second time round and I was determined to have a VBAC.

Being consultant led for a few things and having had a previous section, meant I couldn’t have my first choice of a home birth but I managed to compromise and they were happy for me to labour in MLU and have a water birth if I went into labour spontaneously. However, my consultant was keen to book me in for a section around my due date and it took a lot of persuading to extend this and hold off booking a date until my due date had arrived. Wednesday 5th August was the latest I could push for at 11 days post dates. The 5th Aug arrived and despite two successful sweeps and lots of positive signs, I had not gone into labour spontaneously yet.

Wednesday 5th August

I arrived at hospital as planned at 7.30am (at 40+11) for my planned section with the option of an Artificial Rupture of Membranes (ARM) first. This was offered as my consultant knew how desperate I was to birth naturally this time. I went to the consultant led unit and was shown to our room which to my delight, had a birthing pool! I decided to try the ARM and let them break my waters. I would be assessed after 4 hours and if nothing had happened I would go for my cesarean as planned. Breaking my waters was very similar to a sweep but the midwife couldn’t rupture the membrane because it was so tight to babies head so she used a monitor which was placed on babies head (which might have been needed later anyway) as this was guaranteed to do the trick. This worked and I slowly let out a trickle of water over the coming hours. I was extremely hungry after fasting for my section but tried to ignore it.

Surges started every 15 minutes for about an hour at 10am and I started to get excited but then they stopped for over an hour. 45 minutes before I was due to get assessed things started to ramp up again and quickly I was getting 3 surges in every 10 minutes and the Freya app told me I was in active labour. Yay!

The consultant then came in to discuss my options at 1pm and recommended I be put on an oxytocin drip which had never been discussed as an option before and would mean constant monitoring and no water birth to which I was extremely disappointed about. We used our BRAIN and my fiancé suggested I asked for more time, as we felt things were just starting to happen now. They agreed to give me a few more hours.

Surges began to get more intense so I put my tens machine on which really helped and the boost function was amazing!! Mark was pulling out all the stops from his PBC training and trying to keep me relaxed and breathing through each surge. I was examined again a few hours later and my midwife Heather confirmed I was 7cm dilated (around 3.30pm) and asked if I wanted to go in the pool to which my answer was a resounding yes!! I was still extremely hungry and asked if I could now eat because I was in established labour but was told not to in case I still ended up needing a section. I was starving!!

The pool helped a lot with the surges and I managed to cope with these until I was fully dilated at around 5pm. I then had no surges for about 15 minutes, then felt a change in my body and the feeling of needing to push was overwhelming. As the surges became more intense I experienced a lot more pain in my back, at which point I asked for gas and air. The midwife was sure I would have the baby before her shift ended at 7pm but this didn’t happen. 

A new midwife, Doreen, arrived at 7pm and continued to support me through surges which were getting more intense and the pain in my back was unbearable at points. I also struggled to get comfortable and find a position that worked for me in the pool. I felt so weak and tired and had very little energy which was definitely due to not having eaten all day. I was extremely hot and sweating lots and after a hour or so my surges had started to slow, so the midwife suggested I try something different and come out the pool for a while. 

I tried squatting which helped move babies head down more but I was so exhausted I struggled to get up and down in between contractions so I asked to lie on my side on the bed. Doreen then asked if she could bring someone else in to help her, and although it wasn’t in my plan, suggested a more ‘coached’ approach to pushing. At which point I agreed, as I needed all the help I could get and I had a horrible feeling I would be taken for a section if baby didn’t arrive soon. 

I was told earlier I would only be given an hour of pushing for baby to arrived before going for a section and I was now well beyond that. Fiona joined us and they both really helped me focus my breath, pushing and reducing the use of the gas and air so I could focus. During this I felt the head moving further down and could feel that I was crowning. I was finally making progress. They kept telling me I was so close to meeting my baby. I was encouraged to reach down and touch babies head but I didn’t want to.

This last part felt like it lasted hours but it was probably only about 40 minutes. I was crowning for some time but I struggled to get babies head out. I was coached to push with a midwife pushing on either leg and with every bit of strength I had, the head was finally born and I sobbed with relief and happiness. I looked down and was amazed to see my babies head of dark hair between my legs and I even saw the head moving. The most surreal, profound and emotional experience ever!! Using the next surge I birthed the rest of my baby into the world with ease at 9:49pm. The relief and excitement all consuming. 

My baby was placed on my tummy as the cord wouldn’t reach my chest and we had delayed cord clamping to received all the blood back from the placenta before Mark cut the cord. During this time we were encouraged to look at the sex and Mark told me we had a baby girl. We were both in disbelief and overcome with emotion. Mark cut the cord and my baby girl was placed on my chest for skin to skin. We had both been convinced we were having another boy. 

Although not in my birth plan the midwife advised I receive the injection to speed up the delivery of my placenta due to the risk of me loosing too much blood to which I agreed. This happened in a blur while I stared at our beautiful baby girl. I birthed the placenta easily within 10 minutes and my body did all that for me with no effort from me.

We were then left alone for skin to skin for an hour and the midwife returned later to give me a few minor stitches and check baby over. It was just so magical and amazing. I couldn’t believe I had done it and that we had seen our baby girl being born. Truly amazing and worth every bit of effort endured. 💖

Recovery has been quick and worlds apart from my recovery from the C-section. We were home 7 hours after birth and I was out walking with the pram a few days later. Our bodies are truly incredible! This has allowed me to be so much more active for my toddler and has also meant I didn’t have the same weight gain as I did with my first born. 

My birth was such an empowering and positive experiences that I feel so proud of and I can’t thank the Positive Birth Company enough. Mark was such a massive support and really helped to keep me calm and relaxed. The digital course and book gave us the knowledge, tools and confidence we needed to push for the birth we wanted. 

I can honestly say with 100% certainty that if we hadn’t found the PBC course, I would have missed out on this amazing experience and would have had a planned section on my due date which was pushed for by my consultant. I wouldn’t have had the desire or the knowledge to argue for an alternative and wouldn’t have had the belief in myself and my body. 💕 

Thank you PBC.