Birth story - Susan and baby Niamh

Susan went properly into labour around 2pm on Monday 22nd July, she managed to keep calm using the breathing -and techniques from the online course.

About 6pm the surges were very frequent and powerful and we headed to the maternity unit, Susan had managed to get to 5cm dilated at home.

A short time later the birthing pool was ready, a playlist of music Susan loves on and with guidance from Ann (our lovely NHS midwife) Susan delivered our daughter in the pool at 10:52pm with absolutely no pain relief.

I was absolutely amazed at the strength she showed. Her pulse never even raised too high despite the discomfort she was in.

Baby Niamh Lily McDaid was born in the pool and has been a very calm and settled baby.

Unfortunately Susan had to have an epidural for a small tear stitch as a precaution, which she was gutted about having done all the hard work without pain relief.

The techniques and most importantly the information from the course was invaluable and I cannot recommend it highly enough for mums and dads to educate themselves into making the right choices for their situation.

Being better informed makes the whole experience more fulfilling and certainly empowering for mum.