Birth story - Becky and baby Bea

At my 38 week midwife appointment I was referred for a growth scan due to two consecutive bump measurements which were below the average curve. At 38+5 days I went for the growth scan and along with reduced growth, the doctor was also concerned with the lack of water around the baby and my feeling reduced movements so they advised an induction on the day of my 39 week milestone. I was incredibly apprehensive about induction due to the negative connotations of long, painful labour and the likelihood of it ending in a c-section. I was also told that I had moved into a high risk pregnancy so the birth centre was no longer a possibility, which made me incredibly upset given all the hypnobirthing work I had done being centred around this environment.

I used my BRAIN and decided to go ahead with the induction. My husband and I packed plenty of games, TV shows and snacks and prepared to be in the hospital for a long time before any action! We reframed the experience as the last time it would just be us two for a while, and really embraced the time we could spend with each other. On Friday morning at 11am I had my first pessary and a sweep. I had to be monitored for an hour after the pessary but I was then free to walk around the hospital so we walked around the grounds and got plenty of fresh air. I was having cramping sensations like period pains in the afternoon, but no patterns of surges. At 7pm I was checked and whilst the cervix had softened it was suggested that I should have another pessary and sweep, after which this the cramping subsided, so Tom went home when visiting hours ended at 9pm as we didn’t think anything was happening. I was told that I wouldn’t go to the delivery suite until the morning at least, but that I would be checked by a doctor at 1am to see how I was doing. From 11pm I was feeling mild surges so put the Freya app on and breathed in lavender oil, and they were more than manageable. When I was checked at 1pm I was 2cm dilated but the cervix wasn’t as soft or as forward as they’d like, so I had a final sweep and pessary. This was the only sweep which was painful and after this the surges became stronger and I started bleeding. I could feel a pattern with the surges but just put a heat pack on my back, continued my up breathing with lavender oil and tried to remain calm, whilst really missing my birthing partner! I kept loosing blood so asked the midwife to check and they called the doctor who told me that I was ready to go to the delivery suite. At this stage I had a massive wobble because my Husband was 30mins away at home and I could sense that things were progressing quickly and they were surprised by my progress! 

I gave Tom a call and he arrived just as I had got into the delivery suite. I could feel my adrenalin kicking in and told Tom that I was panicking. He quickly got to work setting up the room with candles, room spray and The Positive Birth Company MP3 music and I became calm again and could focus on my up breathing whilst Tom massaged my lower back. I was advised to be continuously monitored which concerned me, and the midwives really tried to get me to be on my back on the bed. I insisted that I wanted an UFO position and thankfully they managed to put a clip on the babies head so I was able to lean on the headboard of the bed and remain upright whilst still being monitored. I was so happy I had the confidence, through my hypnobirthing preparation, to have my views heard and the knowledge of what would help my labour progress. 

From getting to the delivery suite, to being ready to push was 2.5 hours. During this time I maintained my UFO position and used gas and air whilst up breathing, with Tom giving me snacks, water and rubbing my back / cooling me down. I was completely relaxed and could easily manage the surges by counting my breathing and knowing when the 45 seconds of a surge would end. After 2.5 hours I felt a massive need to poo, and made a loud animal noise so knew that I had transitioned! The midwives asked me to lie on my back as they baby wasn’t coming down in the position I was in, but actually with my legs in stirrups this was a good position for my down breathing and Bea came out within 15mins and was born at 7.37am on the Saturday.

Without preparing for birth with hypnobirthing I know I would have gone down the wrong path and would have been led down a very medical route. It isn’t just the oxytocin, knowledge and breathing which was useful from The Positive Birth Company but the knowledge and guidance on using your BRAIN. Thank you so much, as I had an amazing experience, and Bea had a calm and relaxed entry into the world despite induction and monitoring.