Birth story - Miranda and baby boy

We were induced at 2pm on Sunday 3rd June at 38+4 days due to raised BP and the risk of Pre eclampsia as I had this with my first. We decided using BRAIN that this was the right decision for us.

I agreed to 2 sweeps leading up to Sunday to see if this would get things started on their own without the need for the medicines however they were not successful. So my husband and I arrived at the hospital on Sunday full of excitement to meet our little man soon.

I really wanted to experience the feelings of birth which are described in the videos and this was very important to me through the ensuing days.

I was given the pessary at 2pm on Sunday and by 4pm was have irregular surges but we did think that this was the start however as with the latent phase of labour these surges kept coming and going and I did not get into the rhythm of regular surges until 1.30am on Tuesday morning. I don’t want to pretend that that interim was easy as I don’t think that would be fair however through every surge I used my up breathing and I kept repeating my favourite affirmations , my surges cannot be stronger than me because they are me and that each surge was bringing me closer to meeting my little boy.

The interim time was not wholly positive so I won’t dwell on it, however I will say that it has shown me that my body is incredibly strong and resilient.

At 1.30am on Tuesday morning I was having regular surges and so agreed to go on the monitor to check the frequency and the midwife confirmed I was 4 in 10 so it was positive. At 1.50 my waters broke on their own and due to the length of my induction I agreed to an examination and was 2cm so it was all moving in the right direction. However I did now feel I needed a little help to manage going forward and agreed to pethadin to help me rest a little between surges. I also was shaking uncontrollably which they told me was likely adrenaline and whilst worrying about this because it the wrong hormone it made me focus my breathing.

I agreed to the pethadin at 2.45, received the injection at 3.10. On the next 2 surges felt the need push and they found I was 9cm, we very nearly didn’t make it to labour ward but we did with 3 mins to spare. Sorry if it’s TMI but I managed to get on all 4’s and gave birth to my little man completely on my own at 3.28am. Only 1hr38mins from being 2cm and with no chance for the pethadin to take effect as my little one wasn’t drowsy at all!

I can only describe the feeling of my body pushing as awesome it is just the most incredible experience. I am in awe of my body and that I actually managed to do this.

The birth of my little boy has healed me from my first rather medicalised birth in a way I couldn’t have known was possible. And I have the positive birth company to thank for that. The up breathing was my saviour and kept me going the whole way through, my husband and I were hugging through every surge and this closeness definitely made me feel safe and I believe helped my labour progress quite quickly. I’m on cloud 9 every time I talk about my birth.