Birth story - Zoe and baby Carter

A little back story, I’d had quite a traumatic first labour and delivery with my three year old and I had worked hard at changing my perception of birth and reducing the anxiety I felt towards it through positive affirmations, reading positive birth stories and completing the hypno-birthing course by The Positive Birth Company.

I had been induced in my first labour and suffered non stop contractions and a failed epidural which led to a forceps delivery and episiotomy. I knew I didn’t want this to happen again and wanted to do the best I could to make sure it didn’t and it worked!

This pregnancy had had its challenges like my first with Hyperemisis Gravidarium, SPD and some concerns around a heart complication I’d suffered from as a child so I’d made peace with the prospect of a hospital birth. I didn’t let this get me down or change my ideas of the type of birth experience I wanted; a non-medicated labour and delivery with minimal clinical intervention.

For around two weeks before we met our baby boy I had been getting what felt like surges on and off for a few hours at a time. I’d noticed that my mood had also changed and I was feeling the need to hibernate and be alone with just my husband and son.

On the day of my labour I had a niggling back pain that seemed to become stronger with accompanying pressure and some consistency over time. By 5:30 that afternoon I realised they were surges and I was feeling ‘back labour’ as some women had expressed in the birth experiences I’d heard of and read.

Baby boy was a little quiet that day which had happened with my first so I thought it best to check in with my hospital and they advised I come in for monitoring. At midnight I gave permission for the midwife to check how dilated I was as I had been experiencing consistent surges now, painful but still mild enough to breathe through comfortably. It was here that I was told that they were concerned about baby’s movements and were advising I be induced as soon as possible.

As I was already 3cm dilated and knew I didn’t want to be induced, in my briefing with the obstetricians I told them I would do what I could to get into active labour myself and they gave me a couple hours grace to do so.

I was alone due to Covid restrictions so I walked around the hospital and car park, did squats and other exercises and waited for my husband to arrive as soon as I was in the active stage of labour.

He arrived around 2am and I was now 4cm dilated and in active labour. Breathing helped so much in this stage and we were moved to the delivery suite. I was a little disappointed I could no longer have range of movement as due to concerns over baby I’d have to be constantly monitored but I tried to remember my positive affirmations and take back control where I could.

Surges became much stronger very quickly with an intense need to poo, I breathed through them and my husband put some pressure on my back during surges which was a great distraction. I noticed a difference in intensity to the surges and the midwife advised she check me and I agreed, I was 6cm dilated, already!

I used the bathroom and then realised very quickly when I had no time in between surges that I was in transition. I returned to the bed and without any active pushing I felt babies head move into the birth canal. I was amazed that this had happened without all the intense pushing I was told was necessary with my first!

I had dilated to 10cm in the space of a few minutes and baby was coming! The midwife noticed he had the cord around his neck and became worried and called for the emergency team but he was born without instrumental intervention, although the midwife did assist his body to be delivered when Drs were concerned he was not breathing. My 8lb 15 baby was seen quickly and returned to me on my chest.

I was so proud of myself that despite the things that happened outside of my control I still made decisions that I knew were best for baby and I and my experience and recovery for that matter was such a different experience to that of my first.

We are expecting again and I am actually excited about giving birth and would like a home birth this time around!