Birth story - Naomi and baby Joseph

I had a straightforward, low risk pregnancy and planned to give birth at the attached MLU at our local hospital. Friends of mine had used hypnobirthing successfully for their labours, and one in particular had attended the PBC course in person and let me know about the digital pack. I bought the pack and binge-watched the videos at about 22 weeks, then re-watched the videos with my husband Andrew from 24-28 weeks. We both really liked the emphasis placed on the birth partner’s role, and loved practising the light touch massage a few times a week. I also practised up breathing every night before bed, using an aromatherapy roll-on, and listened to the mp3s in the bath and during naps, especially during maternity leave. Reading the many positive birth stories here each day was great too, as it was reassuring to read about positive births that didn’t necessarily go to plan, as ours didn’t…

I was referred for growth scans as my fundal height did not change between 34 and 36 weeks. Whilst the scan at 36+2 revealed baby was actually a really good size, the follow up scan at 38+2 showed his abdominal growth had slowed. A consultant reviewed the scans and offered an induction, saying the abdominal measurement slowing could indicate placenta issues. I used BRAIN, asking if I refused an induction and went into labour naturally whether I could still birth in the MLU. The answer was no, as it was now too risky. I had also had PGP throughout the third trimester and was finding that increasingly painful, so I decided baby was better out than in and accepted an induction for the following day, Saturday 24th November.

I spent the 24 hours before induction re-watching the induction videos, checking the NICE guidelines on induction, and tweaking my birth preferences for an induction. In the evening I relaxed with my husband, watching TV, and bouncing on my ball to try to get baby in the best position.

The next morning, feeling a bit overwhelmed at breakfast, I watched the induction videos again. I found Siobhan so reassuring and positive that I felt much more confident again about my labour and birth.

After monitoring at the hospital, the pessary went in at 2pm on Saturday. I was already 1-2cm dilated, “very stretchy” and “had the cervix more of a second or third timer than a first timer”. So really we should have known it would be a speedy delivery! But the midwife still down played it - “oh it could still take days” etc.

After letting the pessary absorb for an hour or so we went for a walk round the hospital grounds. This was the furthest I’d walked in weeks thanks to the PGP so the lower back pain I was having I attributed to that, but it was slightly more like period aches than the usual PGP. Then back on the ward I had dinner and they found me a big birth ball to sit on as I felt really saddle sore, like I’d been on a long bike ride. We put up our fairy lights, sprayed aromatherapy spray and I put on my headphones and had a mini rave on my birth ball to classics like Kanye West’s Stronger, then watched some Friends on the iPad. I was actually having a great time in our little bay with the curtains drawn, even though we were on a ward with three other patients.

At about 9pm we decided Andrew should go home because I was only feeling a bit sore, which I still thought was from walking, and for which the midwife had given me paracetamol. Andrew put the TENS machine on me, as it’s hard to do yourself, and left. I soon decided to use the TENS on my back but lay down on the bed to try to rest. But after about 20 min that was getting uncomfortable, even when ramping the TENS up. It was at this point I felt like I was getting surges periodically, and started using up breathing and timing them. They were every 3-4 minutes lasting about a minute, but with the TENS and up breathing, totally manageable.

A few minutes later I ditched the attempt to rest, got up and sat on all fours on my bed. I found I had to ramp up the TENS every couple of surges and really concentrate to breathe through. So at 10pm, 40 min after he left, I phoned Andrew to come back. He returned about 30 min later and I had by this point put the TENS onto full, boost on constantly, and it wasn’t relieving all the sensations. Andrew went to talk to the midwife who suggested I try a bath. I was a bit reluctant as I didn’t want to take off the TENS but agreed, as well as having a half dose of codeine.

20 min later we were in the bathroom. Unfortunately the lights were very bright but at least it was totally private, unlike the ward. The bath was long but narrow so I couldn’t sit on my bum/lie down so was on my knees and Andrew poured hot water over my lower back with each surge. By this point I was finding the first 20 seconds of each surge really intense but up breathing meant the intensity reduced as the surge continued - rather than building to a peak in the middle, they peaked after about 5 seconds then declined, which goes to show how effective up breathing is. They were every two and half minutes, lasting up to minute and a half.

At around half midnight, I was struggling with the lack of time between surges and the idea that this was still early labour - given what the midwife had said about how long it can take to induce. Looking back I should have known by the frequency and length of surges that this was way into established labour, but I wasn’t sure if it was just the effect of the pessary. Andrew went to get the midwife again to actually come in this time (he had been to her before to report on my surges but she hadn’t come in). She observed some surges then said I could have pethidine, but that was my last option for pain relief on the induction ward.

Knowing the pethidine experience of some close friends and family, my birth plan was not to have it except in earlier stages of labour. The midwife said she’d do VE but that had to be back in our bay on the ward, not in the bathroom. I really, really didn’t want to leave bathroom - again, in hindsight, another sign of how fast things were progressing - but after a few more surges and encouragement from Andrew and the midwife I went, not caring about putting clothes back on.

Back in my bay, the midwife examined me and with a look of surprise declared I was 8cm! This was very exciting to hear and I was glad my finding the surges so intense and close together had a reason! However we then needed to pack up our stuff from the bay and move downstairs to labour ward. So there we were trying to pack up fairy lights, clothes etc at 8cm, me grabbing onto Andrew to count me through each surge as it came. They then asked if I wanted to walk or wheelchair to labour ward. I tried to sit but it was not comfy so decided to walk along the corridor then down in the lift to our delivery room.

We got half way to the lift when, at 1.25am, I had an almighty surge and felt water running down my leg. I looked down and there was dark pink puddle. I stated, fairly unnecessarily, “my waters have broken,” and the midwife called another to help and grabbed the wheelchair.

Now at this point I did feel a bit scared. I was in a corridor, with bright lights, covered in fluid and now had a big sense of pressure and feeling of needing to push. They made me sit on a wheelchair, which was uncomfortable, and I uttered the classic:

“I CAN’T DO THIS!”

The midwife said, “she’s in transition.” I thought to myself, yes I know I am, and I’d be fine with it in a nice dark room in a pool, but I’m flipping in literal transition, in a lift, going from one starkly lit room to another. However this admission to myself, and the knowledge I had of transition from the course, helped ensure I still felt a sense of control over the situation.

A few minutes later we got into the delivery room. There was a bed with the back up and I climbed on it and knelt leaning over the back. They tried to introduce the labour ward midwife to me but frankly I couldn’t care less who was in the room at this point, as long as Andrew was there. I had been leaning into him, arms round neck, for almost every surge since packing up our induction bay, and in the delivery room now I had hold of his hand.

For a few surges I did the infamous mooing - I sounded like a cow crossed with a T-Rex, it was the most primitive sound I’ve ever heard. I didn’t like the sound, and didn’t feel very focussed making it. After looking at my birth preferences, the midwives dimmed the lights slightly, which helped, and then I remembered down breathing. I hadn’t always found this easy to practise on the loo, but in labour it really helped and I visualised my muscles pushing downwards, like a cafetière. I felt his head coming down and going back up again too, as Siobhan had described. I wasn’t voluntarily pushing at all, it was all my body working of its own accord.

Between surges, I kept saying stuff like “eyes on the prize” and “I can do this, I am a strong and capable woman” - with Andrew saying other words of encouragement too - thanks positive affirmations!

About 40 minutes after we got in the delivery room he was born! His head came out which stung, but not as much as I was expecting, but I kept breathing until the next surge when the midwife told me I’d have to give a little push to get his body out - but this was really very effortless. He was crying very angrily as soon as he was all out, and I remember looking down and seeing a purple-ish foot between my knees. They passed him through my legs, I turned over and lay down and he cried very angrily for what seemed like ages as we enjoyed skin to skin and delayed cord clamping.

I had asked for a physiological third stage, but there seemed a lot of blood on the bed and with no sign of the placenta after 20 min or so I asked for the injection. It still didn’t come 20 min after that, so I was sent to the bathroom, holding the cord, to try to see if sitting on the loo would encourage it out, whilst the baby had skin to skin with Andrew. Eventually, back on the bed, with a couple of tugs from a senior midwife, it came out in one piece.

Unfortunately after this my birth story becomes a little less positive. Andrew was sent to the car to get the baby bag (we hadn’t brought it in from the boot) whilst I was examined by the midwife. For the first time I was given gas and air, which at first made me feel drunk but happy. However over the course of the next 15-20 min I was examined by a senior midwife, a doctor, and a senior doctor, whilst being encouraged to keep taking the gas. By the time Andrew was back I was pretty out of it. Apparently, due to active bleeding they had to carry out the stitching there and then, with local anaesthetic, but I was told to carry on with the gas and air. The stitching took 40 minutes, during which time I felt I was hallucinating and time was going round in circles, like Groundhog Day. Even after stopping the gas, I was very confused and disorientated for hours afterwards. This was by far the worst part of my whole labour and delivery, and I wonder if had I up breathed rather than used the gas, whether I would have stayed as grounded and lucid as I had been in labour.

I’d finally like to add that I have found hypnobirthing invaluable during my time postpartum. During anxious and emotional moments, up breathing has been my weapon of choice; when cluster feeding at 4am, I’ve reminded myself how strong I am and how amazing my body and baby are. My cousin, also pregnant, asked if I thought the hypnobirthing helped during labour; I laughed - I 100% relied on it. Thank you so much Siobhan and the PBC for giving me a birth I shall cherish forever.