Birth story - Vicky and baby Kara

My first daughter was an IVF baby and I was induced at 39 weeks due to them being concerned that she was not growing. It was relatively quick but not a great experience and resulted in a 3rd degree tear. When I discovered that I was pregnant again, after I got over the initial shock (!) I decided that I wanted an epidural and all the drugs going! As I moved along into the third trimester and the pandemic seemed to be worsening again, the thought of giving birth in a crowded hospital with possibly no husband for much of it filled me with despair. As such, I decided that I would try to give birth at my local midwife led centre and have a water birth. I had visited before and liked that it was small, quiet and more homely. I also decided to look into hypnobirthing. I had originally thought it wouldn't be for me, but thought I'd read up on it anyway. I bought the book from the PBC and it all made great logical sense to me.

My due date came and went and I became stressed at the thought of being induced in the hospital. At 40 + 3 I did some yoga, and listed to positive affirmations on my Freya app and felt a lot better. My husband also gave me a massage and I went to bed feeling happy and calm. The next morning I was woken at 4.30am with mild surges. I thought that they would go away, but they didn't so I woke my husband a bit after 5 and called the birth centre. They suggested that I come in to be assessed. I listed to the Freya app to keep me relaxed and timed all my surges, practicing my up breathing .

We arrived at the centre about 8am and the surges had eased off a bit. However, they suggested they keep me for an hour to see how they progressed. After an hour or so they were picking up a bit more. They examined me but I was only 3 cm dilated. They decided to see how the next hour went. They then picked up more and we decided to fill the pool. Just as I was about to get changed to get in the pool, my waters broke and I felt as though she was coming.

I got on the bed so that the midwives could see what was happening. I then switched to down breathing and essentially just breathed her out. The midwives were great. They were very mindful of my previous tear and did all they could to protect that, so gently coached me to just breath rather than push.

My beautiful baby girl arrived at 11.17am. I can't believe I managed to give birth with no pain relief or pool or anything other than my breathing. I am so grateful to the PBC for giving me the tools to be able to do this. I had delayed cord clamping and delivered the placenta naturally, enjoying skin to skin time with my baby. I did have some minor tears but nothing major.

My husband was with me throughout which I was so grateful for and was able to stay with me the whole day until we went home about 4.30pm. Because I had no drugs I felt really good so didn't even feel the need to stay the night. The whole experience was so different to the first time and so positive!