Birth story - Mum and baby Boy

🛑 triggers: true knot, significant polyhdraminos, transverse position, oxygen support.

Thank you to everyone who shared their stories here. They kept me so positive, motivated and encouraged. Like nearly everyone here, I am giving credit to the Positive Birth Company for really helping me to build the courage and mindset to be my own advocate and take control of my birth. I didn't have a negative first birth experience but I wanted to be more in control this time around. Get your cuppa ready :).

At around 28 weeks pregnant I made the sudden and drastic (yes drastic as I was a firm no home birth for me thanks type of person) decision that I was going to bring my baby into this world in the comfort of our home. It just made sense since for the previous few months in lockdown, this had been our safe space. Mentally this was a difficult pregnancy and I think this is wholly attributed to the pandemic and state of the world in general. The isolation and general worry about loved ones and friends was really getting me all up in my feelings. Having a very active, always bright and inquisitive 4yo in lockdown too did not help on the challenging front 😅

*My positive far from expected birth story *

I was under the impression that I would have a fairly straightforward 2nd birth following my 7 hour first labour and natural birth.

I felt quite tired very early on in pregnancy and was getting lots of "oh you look so big are you sure it's just the one?" comments. I was measuring big for the number of weeks I was but this was dismissed as no major issue due to the fact that I have some fibroids and also that some people measure big and everything is perfectly normal. My glucose test was negative so I was cleared of any gestational diabetes concerns too.

I had a few extra scans post 20 weeks through the hospital linked to my home birth team to monitor positions of fibroids as baby grew as well as baby's wellbeing and my ever growing bump. My fibroids were ruled to be normal sized and not interfering with pregnancy. One of the sonographers noted that I had a lot extra fluid around baby but that since both baby and I were well, there were no special recommendations made to consultant. I was really pleased because this meant that I could continue my journey with the home birth team. My assigned midwife was lovely and visited me in my home which was so nice in the current climate. I didn't feel rushed during the appointments and my partner and our older son were able to be part of the journey and support me fully. Our older son loved it when midwife came because it meant that he could listen to his little brother's heartbeat which was just so sweet.

I had a lot of physical discomfort with pregnancy in second and third trimester largely due to the "heavy belly". I tried to go for walks here and there to keep active and walked a little more post the 37 week mark to help get things moving as I was convinced this baby would be early and was already feeling ripe 😄.

My due date came and went🥵. I tried not to fixate on the due date but I was really really tired at this point. I still remained determined to stay positive and trust that my body and baby knew what to do and would get things going when baby was ready. The positive affirmations and general information in the hypnobirthing course was really useful in keeping me focused and in control.

At 41 weeks, one of the home birth midwives asked my thoughts on scheduling an induction. I politely declined having one booked in until the 42 week mark which she was supportive of. She offered to book me in for a scan at 41+4 so that it may help my decision as to whether to have an induction at 42 weeks or wait a little longer if all is well with baby etc.

I used my B.R.A.I.N and decided a scan at this point wouldn't hurt and it would put me at further ease for my plan to birth at home. I should mention that this baby was so active and gave some strong kicks through and through 😅, it always felt like he wanted to escape so that was another reason I believed he possibly wouldn't go past the due date.

So I was now 2 days from the 42 week mark and had a scan scheduled that afternoon. For some reason I decided to revamp my hospital bag "just in case". I had packed one half heartedly before because I was not planning on being in hospital but this day I gave it more thought, reminding myself to keep an open mind and better to comfortably prepare myself for any alternative situation. We packed bags in car and installed the car seat. We did school pick up and off to the scan we went. My partner dropped me off and went home with our older son as I had to wait for a second appointment with consultant following scan and thought that could take a while since partners and children are not allowed in due to the pandemic.

The scan showed that baby was well and happy. However he was in transverse position and I had deep waters around him (significant polyhydramnios). The consultation followed soon after and the consultant said she had concerns about waters breaking any moment and baby staying in the position he was in could cause complications. There was also a risk of cord prolapse highlighted. She did suggest that turning baby physically could help with positioning but that there would still be a risk of waters breaking (especially since I was carrying an excess amount and super stretched out) and also that the effort to turn baby may not be successful. The overall recommendation was to admit me to the delivery suite that afternoon and schedule me in for a c-section the next morning! My heart sunk. I really was not expecting such a quick turn of events. The consultant did seem empathetic to my wish for a home birth and she answered my questions fully. I knew that ultimately it was my decision so I used my B.R.A.I.N, called my partner and consulted with him about the next steps. I should say at this point that the position of the baby had never been a major concern for me because I knew he shifted a lot (probably because he had lots of room in the full belly pool to do so 😄). Many times I had felt him engage and then move out and off to the left or right. What I did think was worth taking into account at this point in my pregnancy was the fact that I could not comfortably determine what position baby would be in if waters broke or at any point in labour.

I decided to accept the recommendation to plan for a c-section and agreed to be admitted. The midwife in ward did the checks on me and baby. She noted that baby's heart rate was in the higher range. He was also very active and I was having intense Braxton hicks (I had these for so long this pregnancy. Sometimes they were so intense but not painful I actually used the Freya app to track them for fun - so that wasn't a wasted purchase either 😄). After a little while, Baby's heartrate was in normal range. On further check I was told that he had also moved head down and was engaged which I was already aware of because I felt the shift. They checked with me whether I was still happy to go ahead with the planned c-section or let nature take it's course ( I really appreciated this further check in). I used my B.R.A.I.N again and decided to still go for the c-section.

*Delivery*

I was a little anxious about having a c-section but felt really assured by the team looking after me that I ended feeling very positive about everything in the end. It was really peaceful in the theatre. My partner played some music from my desired playlist and it was a little unconventional because it was not all mellow relaxing type. We had some pop, zambian hiphop, faith inspired songs and also sampled some sounds from the pbc package :). We heard his beautiful cry first and then saw him covered in glorious poop (meconium). He was perfect and finally here! We had lots of cuddles and listened to more music while I got stitched back up which was just amazing! There was no pain, chaos or major anxiety which were my fears. I wrote this 11 days later and I am feeling so grateful and happy with our baby and little family.

I know I made the right decision for me in opting for the c-section and that this was a positive outcome for me. In hindsight I think we would have ended up in hospital due to meconium in water, possible position complication, risk factors highlighted by consultant. Not the home birth I hoped for but still a beautiful birth that brought our baby into our arms. Baby needed a little extra oxygen following the birth and spent 48 hours in special ward as a result. We also found out following the c-section that baby had a True Knot in his cord which had not been picked up on scans and would have been an added risk at this stage in my pregnancy. I was discharged 3 days later and was so happy to be back in the comfort of our home.

Wishing all mummies waiting to meet their babies the best. Stay positive and trust your Instincts! x