Birth story - Natalie and baby Aida

When I first found out I was pregnant, the thought of giving birth was pretty scary! Some friends had used the PBC digital pack and recommended it, so my husband, Michael, and I tried the one hour taster session. In that hour, we learnt so much and my perceptions of labour had already begun to change - we downloaded the digital pack straight after! After completing the course I felt confident about giving birth and made the decision to use the midwife led Birth Centre when the time came. I wrote my birth preferences using the PBC template, packed my bag with tealights, calming sprays and plenty of snacks and was ready to meet our baby!

On the day before my due date, I was having a really 'odd' day. I was feeling really uneasy and tearful and I had a dull ache at the bottom of my bump all day. I spent a lot of time bouncing on my birthing ball and felt better once Michael was home from work. We had a quiet evening on the sofa and went to bed early.

I woke up just before midnight. I thought that, as I was awake, I should probably go to the toilet as I was bound to need to go soon anyway! But, I started to doze back off instead. A few minutes later, I felt a warm feeling between my legs and realised I was wet. I reached over to wake Michael and told him that I had either just wet myself or my waters had gone! I checked and was pretty sure it was my waters. I went to the bathroom while Michael went to get the phone to call the Birth Centre. Whilst in the bathroom, I had my first strong, period type pain. A couple more came soon after so I began timing them on the Freya app. I phoned the Birth Centre and they told me to come in to check it was my waters but said I was likely to then be sent home again.

In the car, the surges were coming every 5 minutes and were quite intense! I hadn't had time to put on my TENS machine or take any paracetamol so I was relying on upbreathing to get me through them. I remember thinking that I should get ready to plead with the midwife not to send me home!

We arrived and I was taken through to be examined. To everyone's surprise, I was 9cm dilated! I couldn't believe it! The midwife began to prepare the pool while Michael supported me through surges with upbreathing and gas and air. I hadn't been sure how I would feel about the pool but once I was in I knew I didn't want to get out! It was an immediate relief. After that, everything happened so quickly. I began to feel a pressure building in my back and bottom but was sure it was too soon for baby to be coming - until the midwife commented that baby had lots of hair! I continued to use breathing and the gas and air (I must have been clamping down so hard on the tube as I had a sore jaw for a few days after!) and, before I knew it, I was holding our beautiful baby girl in my arms! It was such a blur - my labour was 2 hours 51 minutes.

The midwife was fantastic and, despite everything happening so quickly, took time to read my birth preferences. This meant she knew I wanted a physiological third stage and she made sure this happened, followed by about an hour and a half of skin to skin time.

Although we didn't have time to use any of the bits I had packed in our bags or many of the relaxation techniques, I honestly believe that the knowledge that we both gained from the PBC pack helped us to stay calm and in control of our birth experience. Given how quickly things progressed, I could have got myself into a panic but I was confident that my body knew what to do and I could do it using the breathing techniques and Michael's support. We are so grateful that we were able to have the positive birth experience that we hoped for - thank you so much!