Birth story - Sara and baby Thomas

*Possible Trigger* - Use of word contractions.

Another expecting mum recommended to me the Positive Birth Company and the Hypnobirthing course when I was around 26 weeks. I did not have very high expectations, as I was sure birth was a painful process, always had been and always would be, but I decided to look it up and give it a shot. BEST DECISION EVER!

My husband and I watched the videos together and practiced the relaxation and breathing techniques, so when the time came I felt ready to take on the challenge!

My water broke around 5am in the morning. It was really like many other mums here had described, I felt a small gush of warm water (enough to wet my pants though haha) and I knew that was it. I woke up my husband at 5.30am and told him about it, but we decided to stay in bed a little longer to get some rest, as we knew it could still be a long way to go till baby arrived.

At 6.30am we got up and had breakfast and at that point I was feeling period-like cramps, totally manageable. Soon after though, things started to pick up, so I went on the Freya app and started timing my contractions. It wasn't long till Freya told me I was in established labour, but I thought it was not possible, it was too early on... Oh boy was I wrong about that! Haha

At 9am I was definitely in established labour, but I was managing it pretty well with the breathing and Freya - which was a life saver! I took a paracetamol, my husband helped me put on the TENS machine and I moved to the bathroom, where I sat on the toilet facing the wall - in what ended up being my only position during labour as I found it super comfortable.

At 10.30am I felt it was time to go to the hospital. I remember thinking that if I were in the hospital I might just ask for an epidural, as things were feeling pretty intense. I did not have a lot of time in between contractions, things were very intense, but I was managing it. I knew that when women start asking for an epidural they are usually in transition, but once again I thought it was too early for that and just focused on breathing.

At 11am my doula arrived to bring me to the hospital (this was last year June, so we had just come out of lockdown and she had not been able to be at home with me, but she was in touch with my husband the whole time). The last contraction before leaving my apartment I felt the clear need to push! I had no idea whether I was dilated enough, but the hospital was only 20 minutes away, so I tried breathing through the pushes for the whole car ride. My doula suggested lying down to slow down the contractions, and that helped a little.

I reached the hospital at 11.25am and my son was born at 11.51am! It was surreal! I remember walking inside the hospital without doing any registration or check-in, walking up the stairs to the delivery room, stopping here and there during the contractions, but I was so determined and focused on getting to the room that nothing else mattered. The nurse did a quick exam and told me I was 10cm dilated and to start pushing. My gynaecologist arrived shortly after and, with a couple of pushes, my son was out! ....What a feeling!!

The placenta came out quite quickly and easily and I did not have any tears, so no stitches were required.

The nurses and doctor left and we had over 1 hour of skin to skin, with my son moving around trying to reach my breast

I still can't believe the whole experience, but I am so glad I came across the Positive birth company and I have been recommending it to all my friends! Trust your body, trust your instinct. You can do it!