Birth story - Rhian and baby Rowan

I came across the PBC around 30 weeks and found the digital pack incredibly informative. My husband and I watched a video or two each evening, and I listened to the positive affirmations each night, practiced breathing and bought the affirmation cards so I felt surrounded by positivity at home. This all made me feel very excited and calm about giving birth.

Our boy was very comfy and despite being due on my birthday he decided he didn’t want to share the date and enjoyed another 12 days in my belly😊 I declined a sweep at 40 weeks but using BRAIN agreed to one at 41+4 weeks as my midwife had booked us an induction appointment 41+5. I also had acupuncture a couple of times before my sweep. I had developed a cold sore and thrush (joy) the week before and really hoped baby would stay where he was until I was healed - he kindly obliged. Unfortunately a swab taken for the thrush revealed I had Group B Strep, which I was initially gutted about as our hospital policy meant we could no longer have our MLU birth. This is where the digital pack massively helped me as I am normally the sort of person who would get really hung up at our plans being changed at the last minute and feel really negative and disappointed. However I took a breath and we used BRAIN to consider all of our options and felt that we made the right decision for our baby and determined to still create a lovely birth environment to have the same style of birth on the labour ward.

I was keen to avoid induction and our boy obliged, with surges starting in the early hours of our induction date. I felt really excited as soon as surges started, I tried to get some sleep but by 2am felt too uncomfortable lying down so got up and bounced on my ball and listened to music, then had a long soak in the bath with candles and my lovely chilled labour playlist.

My waters went around 7am with a pop and labour ward wanted us to go in due to Group B Strep as needed to start administering antibiotics. My hubby made me a lovely smoothie for brekkie while I finished off packing up our bags and then we headed off to the hospital.

Things felt like they were ramping up a bit once we had arrived at the hospital, I was already 3cm dilated and the midwife offered me a bath which helped. Hubby lit candles and put our playlist on and kept me fed and hydrated while I relaxed in the bath. We were thrilled to get the only birth pool on labour ward, and hubby got to work setting up a gorgeous, serene birth environment. This helped me power through to being fully dilated with up breathing and gas and air within 4 hours after getting in the pool.

The midwife left us to it for the most part, and actually commented what a privilege it was to be there as for the most part deliveries on her ward are normally far more medical, and she loved how natural and calm we were, particularly how well I coped using my up breathing.

Unfortunately our midwife had a shift change at 8pm, and while the new midwife was lovely I wobbled as felt a change in the room and got slightly out of my zone. I ended up trying to down breathe and listen to my body for 4 hours to no avail and started to get really tired. Baby’s heartbeat was slowing so we accepted forceps and delivered on dry land. I had an episiotomy and injection for placenta, barely felt a thing as was enjoying skin to skin so much with our gorgeous boy.

My hubby was amazing throughout, keeping me fed and watered and telling me how great I was doing and helping my breathing. Massage in the water felt amazing. My mother in law joined us just as he was being delivered which was so special - she had been babysitting our furbaby all day😊 and kept me cool with a fan while I pushed our boy out.

A huge thank you to the PBC, I feel incredibly thankful to have had such a wonderful birth and feel like superwoman!