Birth story - Rebecca and baby Nathan

I am a first time mum who was induced at 40 weeks. The pregnancy was, from the beginning, a bit stressful due to a missed miscarriage in January and then bleeding in the first trimester. Luckily our hospital provided lots of support and scans. At the scan we also got told that I had a low PAP-A hormone, and high resistance in the Doppler, meaning we would need extra growth scans and would not be allowed overdue. The pregnancy progressed perfectly and the scans showed him growing well.

I was nervous about birth and having had a rather stressful time with pregnancies my brother and sister in law treated us to the positive birth pack. It was incredible! We started at 28 weeks, doing a session a week and incorporating 3 sessions of meditation before bed for me to relax. I was very scared about labour and the course gave me such a positive view of what was to come. Also it really helped my partner realise what a vital role he would play, he fully embraced the course and meditation.

At 36 weeks we had a meeting with a Dr who said that they did not want me going over due to the risk of the low PAP-A and the potential for the placenta to fail. Me and my partner used our B.R.A.I.N and decide this was a good idea so booked in for an induction on 40weeks. The Dr also suggested a sweep at 39 weeks but again having researched this I decided to decline.

I was induced at 40 weeks, this meant several attempts over a few days and on and off contractions, I stayed calm throughout thanks to many of the breathing techniques this course taught me. My waters then broke naturally in the middle of the night so I was taken to the labour ward where my partner joined me.

I decided to accept the epidural as my hospital offered a walking epidural so I could be active. I put headphones on and listened to meditation tracks and remained calm throughout. 14 hours after entering the labour room and 50 hours after being induced a Dr informed us that the baby was distressed and heart beat was dropping and they wanted to do an emergency c section within the next half hour.

My partner described that I was effortlessly calm, in my mind I just kept thinking 'my birth partner is by my side and on my side' and I knew with him with me I would be fine. I met the surgeon and was prepared for surgery, all the staff were wonderful and I thanked the surgeon for potentially saving the life of our baby and looking after us. I wasn't expecting to have a c section so I didn't know what I would feel about what could be a sterile environment but it was magical.

He was born and taken to meet my partner and get cleaned and I could see his beaming face whilst he was explaining how beautiful our baby was. The staff then wrapped him and as I had put in my birthing suggestions that I wanted skin to skin they placed him on my chest. I didn't expect to, but I felt instant love and I just thought although it was not my ideal birth it was magical and I loved meeting our baby boy.

I feel that if I hadn't completed the positive birth course I would not have been as calm. I was able to find coping mechanisms to reduce stress and use my B.R.A.I.N. to make sure we made the right decisions. I want to thank the positive birth company for their course which meant I stayed calm and view my boys birth as wonderful.