Birth story - Rachel and baby Martha

So I found myself pregnant in 2016,and we were thrilled. I enjoyed pregnancy, and other than some nausea early on, I was lucky enough to sail through. As I have coeliac disease, which can affect your absorption of nutrients, I was advised to have growth scans, which is how we discovered at 28 weeks that my little girl was breech, and breech she stayed. I tried everything, swimming, acupuncture (which involved waving a smoking stick of a strong smelling substance called moxa near my big toe), hypnosis, a chiropractor and even two attempts at external cephalic version which involved an obstetrician manually trying to turn her by manipulating my bump - ouch. But she had other ideas, and never moved an inch. So Nina was born by a wonderful elective caesarean section on her due date. It was really brilliant. Calm and controlled. Like someone washing up in my stomach. We chose our own playlist and she was born to The Coral ‘Dreaming of you’. We had delayed cord clamping and as I had expressed colostrum antenatally I was again lucky that she latched on straight away and we had a pretty smooth breast-feeding journey.

Fast forward two years later, and we found out we were expecting again. This time I was desperate for a VBAC (a vaginal birth after caesarean), one because I really wanted to experience labour, and mainly as with a toddler who appeared to have lost the use of her legs whenever she saw me (CARRY ME MUMMY x 100000 a day) I hoped it would be easier if I could avoid major surgery. So imagine my disappointment at my 28 week scan when I found out this baby was also breech. I was told they still had plenty of time to turn, but following my previous experience I felt deflated. This time I just spent time in the evenings in odd positions (see spinning babies website), and had one appointment with a chiropractor. I had also started Pilates at 12 weeks and went every Tuesday evening. It was one of the highlights of my week and meant I could spend an hour gently exercising and spending time focussing on this growing baby. I was due to start the acupuncture again at around 33 weeks but, as it can turn a cephalic baby, I thought Id better just check. I work in a hospital and so popped into the pregnancy assessment unit on a quiet afternoon and they kindly popped the scanner on me and my mind was blown when I saw a giant head in my pelvis. Having never had a head down baby it suddenly occurred to me that I WAS GOING TO HAVE TO GIVE BIRTH. I was madly excited but also very scared.

I immediately signed up for some local hypnobirthing one on one sessions held by a lovely midwife. I am medical and have attended lots of births, whereas my husband isn’t at all. We both found hypnobirthing a massive asset in our preparation for the birth. We went over the anatomy and physiology of labour and birth, and aids and techniques to use during the birth. My husband put together a spotify playlist that we listened to in the lead up to the birth. I also started raspberry leaf tea and capsules, and eating a shed loads of dates and infusing clary sage. I was desperate to get the baby out on time, as a VBAC is much less likely to be successful if induced.

During this time, I had many appointments regarding my intended birth preferences and I was informed, due to the theoretical risk of scar rupture during labour, I would ideally be continuously monitored and could only deliver on a labour ward. I was adamant that I had was at no higher risk than a first time labourer and felt that I would find monitoring very constrictive and would much prefer to labour on a birth centre, with one midwife, with access to a pool. I sat down with the birth centre head midwife and she listened to me and the hospital agreed to adapt their policies in line with my preferences if I went into labour spontaneously. I was delighted and so happy to have stood my ground.

Fast forward to my due week, I finished work at 38 weeks and spent the next two weeks trying to relax, having some reflexology sessions (would highly recommend) and batch cooking. I consented to a sweep at 39 weeks as I wanted to do anything to increase my chances of going into spontaneous labour, but my cervix was high and closed so they were unable to do it. I kept positive and active and enjoyed the extra time I had on maternity leave without a baby. My due date came and I felt pretty great, I carried my toddler to the park on my shoulders and then we had friends for lunch. Whilst they were there I started having some discomfort in my groin that was lasting 15/20 seconds and stopped me in my tracks. There was no pattern to their arrival, and they would come every 20 minutes to a few hours. I really thought nothing of them but my friend who I was with who had had two babies told me I looked like I was having a contraction. I laughed it off and got on with my evening, putting my daughter to bed. That night I had a few more episodes but I slept well and woke up the following morning with lots of energy.

I had a midwife appointment that day at 40 + 1 so decided to walk there, and the more I walked the more regular the feelings came. I sat in the office waiting for the midwife, I got a message from my lovely sister in law telling me that she was engaged! I burst into happy tears and quickly thought, I hope the baby doesn’t come today as don’t want to steal their thunder!

I told the MW about the occasional discomfort I was getting and we planned to do a 2nd sweep to see how things were going. Unfortunately whilst she monitored my bump, it was noted that babies heart rate was a bit high, approaching 200, but the baby was also incredibly active. She decided to send me into triage just to get checked - this meant no second sweep, but I felt okay about it. My husband picked me up and we popped down to our local hospital where they popped me on the CTG and monitored baby for 20 mins. Of course her HR had gone back to normal, and I had no more episodes of cramps/discomfort since before my MW appointment so I prepared for another wait. I mentioned to the triage MW about my missed sweep and she offered to do it then and there. Decided to go ahead and she performed it quickly and painlessly. Her face was a picture and when I asked what the problem was, she told me that I was 4cm dilated and she thought I would deliver in the next 24 hours! Just as she said that, I had an episode of what I now know are surges and it picked up on the CTG. I thought - GAME ON. I was so shocked that without even realising, I’d dilated to 4cm. She advised we go home, relax and let us know when things got going a bit more. She just had a feeling that things would happen quickly for me. All the midwives were so excited about a possible VBAC on the birth centre and their positivity was catching,

We popped to M&S on the way home to get a hearty supper (fresh pasta and garlic bread) and it was there I had my first ‘proper’ surge - by this I mean, it stopped me in my tracks and I had to hold onto my husband to catch my breath. I used the up breathing techniques that I had learnt through my hypnobirthing and we slowly made our way to the car and home. For the rest of the evening, they continued every twenty minutes or so whilst we ate, put our daughter to bed and settled into our evening. We made plans with our neighbour for childcare overnight if required (this had been a big worry of mine and I felt a huge relief when I knew that she would be well looked after) and I decided to get an early night and sleep upstairs in the spare room so that if I was uncomfortable overnight I could get up and walk around without disturbing my husband. I managed to sleep on and off for a few hours and woke around 2am. At this point I had started timing my surges using the Freya app and listening to some affirmations. I was starting to lose a bit of focus so jumped into the bath, and whilst in the bath I felt my mucus plug give way. I had no idea there could be SO much. It felt like handfuls and handfuls of jelly, and kept on coming intermittently for the next few hours. By 3am, I was having surges every 4-5 minutes and getting uncomfortable so I woke my husband and we made our way to the hospital, once my neighbour had come over to take over childcare. We listened to a Spotify playlist that my husband had lovingly put together - it was absolutely amazing!

We arrived at the birth centre where they examined me and I was slightly disappointed to find I was 5cm dilated. I stayed positive and they offered me some paracetamol and codeine which I took. We went for a little walk, as I found when I walked the surges came more regularly. I got on the ball and bounced whilst my husband made our room feel more homely. He put up fairy lights and we set up an aromatherapy diffuser. We played our playlist through the speaker. It was perfect and I found it very relaxing. We went for another walk but after a while I started feeling sick and I vomited in the corridor (sorry hospital cleaner) so we made our way back.

My husband gave me a soft touch massage, something I thought I would hate, but I actually found very relaxing. I actually managed about 20 mins sleep, but I was very aware that whenever I stopped moving, my surges would slow down.

The plan was to examine me again after a few hours and if minimal progress possibly break my waters. This happened at around 8am, when I was reexamined and I was now 7cm. They had to get the on-call obstetrician to agree due to the nature of my previous birth, and they were happy so my waters were artificially broken just after 8. As I was having a VBAC, my midwives were monitoring baby's heart rate every 15/20 minutes using a hand sonogram. They were very discreet and allowed my husband and I to feel like it was just us in the room a lot of the time.

At this point, my husband decided to go for a wander around the hospital to look for some breakfast. It took him an HOUR. During this hour, I went into established labour having 3 contractions lasting over a minute within 10 minutes. I called my midwife who started filling the pool. I was using my up breathing and visualising a ski slope and with every breath I was picturing myself skiing down through powder, and in the breaks between I was imaging I was travelling back up in a ski lift. This really helped. However as the pool was becoming full, and my husband was still AWOL on the lookout for hash browns, I started to feel myself losing a bit of control, especially when I heard my husband's voice on the phone to his mum outside having a general catch up about her recent house sale. I firmly stuck my head out and demanded he get back in as things were progressing and I could see that I must have looked that way as he quickly ended his phone conversation and reentered the room to help me into the pool.

At this point I got to sample the gas and air. I initially didn’t like it as I found it hard to combine with the breathing. I eventually found that for me it didn’t reduce the pain, but it did make the pauses between surges really really funny. I spent the breaks in the surges laughing my head off and talking crap. It was great! I liked being in the pool as when I was struggling I could let my body completely go and flail around like a bit of an animal which is easier when in water than on land. Saying that, in time I started to really focus during my surges, holding onto my husband, and using the gas and air to do my up breathing. We worked so well as a team and I found it incredibly helpful. After an hour or so in the pool, I was finding it more and more difficult to focus and started hearing myself saying I couldn’t cope and couldn’t go on. My MW was amazing at keeping me focused. At this point she offered my some diamorphine to help with the pain, if I accepted this I would have to get out of the pool as I would need closer monitoring. As I hadn’t planned to deliver in the pool, I decided to accept this and started getting out of the pool in anticipation.

I proceeded to have a ten minute surge whilst my husband tried to get me back onto the bed and the MW was out of the room getting the diamorphine. This bit is a bit of a blank to me but my husband tells me I was like a possessed wildebeest and making some incredible noises. He didn't feel scared or worried as he’d done hypnobirthing with me and he knew that this could happen and he just kept on keeping me calm and being supportive. The MW returned and gave the diamorphine as an injection and then re-examined. I was 10cm - I’d been transitioning. I knew this wasn’t ideal timing as they don’t like to give diamorphine so close to baby being born if possible, but I stayed calm and felt EXCITED. My baby was nearly here. Without even realising it my body started to push with each surge. I would like to say I practiced my down breathing, but in reality I just went with the flow and didn’t find that I needed to concentrate on my breathing, it just happened. Between surges, I was on cloud 9 (post diamorphine) and very cliché telling everyone I loved them. Twenty minutes after getting out of the pool, I found my body pushing involuntarily during and between surges and very calmly (with the occasional also involuntary scream) the baby's head was delivered and 30 seconds later, to ‘Closing’ by Philip Glass (ironic) my second daughter was born onto my chest. My husband was able to tell me her gender (we had a surprise), and after the cord has stopped pulsating, the MW cut the cord. It felt amazing. I consented to the injection and my placenta came easily. As she had come out with her hand next to her eye, I had a second degree tear, and a small tear at the front which required the consultant to come and repair. I was still high as a kite so I obviously told her I loved her too.

Martha was born at 12.05pm at 40+2 weighing 8lb 8oz and she was perfect. The MWs were over the moon that a VBAC had happened on the birth centre, as of course were we. We got home later that day, and my daughter woke up to a new sister.