Birth story - Alice and baby Lily

Pregnancy:

A fairly straightforward pregnancy, despite the big heatwave of the summer! Scans & blood tests all normal & my midwives were happy with everything.

Had an appointment on my due date & midwife did a sweep (I made sure to use my BRAIN before agreeing to it) and it turned out I was 1cm dilated! Was booked in for an appointment for a weeks time & another sweep if baby hadn’t made an appearance by then.

Birth:

My waters broke at home in the early hours of 1st August (I was 40+6 by then) & called the birth centre who told us to come in straight away for an assessment. Luckily the hospital wasn’t too far away so we got there within 20mins of leaving!

I was examined when I arrived & it turned out that baby had passed meconium inside me so it was bye-bye water birth at the birth centre & hello to the labour ward where they monitored myself & the baby.

My midwife was already there on duty (phew!) & we chatted & she recommended that I have a hormone drip to increase surges & help baby on its way. After talking it over we decided to go for it & off we went. The morning passed by pleasantly with my surges coming & going regularly & I managed my pain with a tens machine & good old gas & air.

I was progressing well but my surges were really ramping up by late morning/lunchtime so my midwife & I both decided it’d be best for me to come off of the hormone drip & explore a different path. By this time I was exhausted so my midwife casually suggested an epidural so I could get some rest (I was initially against having one!). I jumped at the chance & soon was feeling very relaxed & had a lovely long nap!

I progressed well throughout the afternoon & by 6pm I had reached 6.5cm which we were all very pleased about. However come 9pm I was just shy of 7cm & it was slowing down. Due to risk of infection from the meconium & the fact that I had developed a slight temperature during labour we were presented with the option of having an unplanned c-section. Initially this wasn’t what I’d wanted but after a short discussion with my other half & my mum (on the phone) we decided that it was the safest option for baby & for myself.

I was prepped for theatre & taken through. I was allowed my playlist on in the theatre which I found very calming (seeing as I was exhausted, drugged up & a bundle of nerves!). I chose a song to be played when baby was arriving & off we went.

Our wonderful Lily was born at 22:21 to the sounds of ‘Hold My Hand’ by Lady Gaga!

Even though Lily’s birth didn’t go as planned it was an incredibly positive experience & I feel I was very well supported by the NHS throughout.