Birth story - Mum and baby girl

I started with mild period like cramps on Sunday at 4am & had a bloody mucus show so thought something was starting to happen. However I managed to get back to sleep and they had gone by the morning.

That morning I had a bath with clary sage & at 11am we went for a walk to the local retail park to try and get things moving. When we got back to the house at 1pm I was having some mild surges so bounced on my birthing ball & watched my favourite film (Dirty Dancing!) By 7pm I had 2 paracetamol and a bath as the surges were starting to become stronger but neither did anything to ease my discomfort.

My surges were irregular and not very strong but we went to hospital at 9pm and I was told I was in early labour and sent home with some cocodamol. I had a bloody show in hospital but the midwife said it could be a few days before I got into established labour, especially with it being my first baby.

I had surges throughout the night but they weren’t regular, around every 20 mins which meant I had no sleep so by Monday morning I was exhausted! The cocodamol made me violently ill so my husband went to Boots and got me a TENS machine which was a lifesaver (we’d borrowed one from a friend but it was broken!) I was having irregular surges throughout the day so we went for another walk to try and get them to a more regular interval but to no avail. By 11pm I was in tears as I was so exhausted so we decided to head to the hospital to see if they could help.

We got there at 11.45pm and the midwife on duty said that there was nothing she could offer unless I was in established labour but she said she would examine me so I knew what was going on. I accepted the examination & at midnight I was 2cm dilated.

The midwife advised we go home but said she wouldn’t turf us out as she could see I was having surges so she recommended a bath. I used my BRAIN and decided not to go home as my body was telling me it was time. Having put water birth in my preferences I decided to try the bath but it wasn’t as affective as the TENS machine so I got out & dried & continued with that. My up breathing also helped & the midwife was impressed with how I was coping!

Before doing the course I think I would have been frustrated that it had taken 2 days of slow labour to dilate 2cm but I was positive, excited & trusted my body. I was going to meet my baby!

By this time during every surge I felt like I needed the toilet & was having a show with every one. I also felt like I needed the biggest poo of my life! This rang alarm bells with the midwife as that is the feeling ladies get when they’re further along so she told me to go with my body and carry on.

By this point I was on all fours on the mats on the floor and rocking back and forth during surges. My husband went to the car to get our bags as I needed an energy boost & while he was gone my waters went at 2.15am! At this point the midwife got me gas & air as I’d requested it so I was using that & the boost button on the TENS machine when contractions came. I’d gone from 2cm to 10cm in just over 2 hours!

I pushed for 35 mins using the combination of TENS and gas & air and baby was born on the floor at 2.50am, less than 3 hours after I’d been admitted onto the Midwife led unit in early labour, Baby was passed through my legs and my husband told me she was a girl. It was the most euphoric experience of my life!

We had skin to skin straight away while my placenta was delivered and my husband had some time with baby while I received stitches for a second degree tear (which I didn’t even feel!)

My husband then ran me a bath while the midwives made us a cup of tea and we were moved into another room to get some rest and give baby her first feed. I didn’t get any sleep as I was too full of adrenaline and we were allowed to go home less than 12 hours after I gave birth.

Before doing the course I had quite a negative attitude towards birth and I was convinced I’d end up having a C section as my sister had to with all three of her babies as she never fully dilated. The course allowed me to understand exactly what was going on with my body which made me trust it & feel confident that I could birth my baby without intervention. I was determined to remain UFO during birth & never got on the bed until I’d delivered! The breathing techniques I learned were also invaluable & worth the £45 alone!

Throughout my labour my mantra was ‘my baby knows when & how to be born’ and I’m still in awe of what my body achieved. It was everything I could have wished for.