Birth story - Emma and baby Luca

With my first son I went into labour and delivery very unprepared for what I was about to do, I hadn’t learnt about how to breathe through contractions and as a result felt panicked most of the way through my labour, and ended up having a forceps delivery due to fetal distress. Having using the positive birth company this time around I believe that I would have had a totally difference birth experience if this pack had existed when I had him.

This time round I was determined that I would go in to have my baby prepared, calm and excited. I first learnt about the positive birth company when I was around 25 weeks pregnant and quickly watched through all the videos and had my fiancé watch them all as well and we instantly felt that this time round we were going to smash this natural birth.

I have high risk pregnancies due to having Lupus and also had some difficulties at 36 weeks pregnant with reduced fetal movement which resulted in a 3 day stay in hospital. My baby was also diagnosed with some kidney problems antenatally as well, so my consultant recommended due to his reduced movement and the increased chance of earlier placental deterioration due to my lupus that we be induced around 39 weeks. We used our BRAIN and decided that if I can’t get into labour naturally before then, that we would accept the induction. Over the next two weeks baby was engaged and I had several sweeps but did not have any luck with labour starting naturally so the date of my induction came round.

It was a Friday morning I was due to come in so I spent the days before getting my house clean and tidy and ready for me to come home to with a newborn, took lots of naps and listened to all the videos I found most helpful over and over again. I had relaxing baths listening to the relaxation tracks and overall I felt calm and excited to meet my baby.

The day of induction we took our first born son off to preschool, kissed him goodbye and knew that the next time we would see him he would be a big brother!

We rang the induction ward and it turned out that due to some emergencies they didn’t actually have a bed for me and said to call back in the afternoon so I had a long shower, made myself feel pretty and then my fiancé and I went for lunch at one of our favourite restaurants and then a long walk over the Surrey Hills.

We called back and they had a bed for us so we headed over to the hospital and arrived at 16.30 and to my strange excitement, found I had the same cubicle as I had had when I had stayed in hospital a few weeks previously so felt strangely at home in my little cubby hole.

The midwife came round and explained that the labour ward was actually still very full so they couldn’t start my induction yet so we would be waiting around for a while.

At 10pm a doctor finally came round and spoke to us and we discussed my wishes. I had decided previously that although I was accepting induction I was determined that it be as natural as possible so would only accept the hormonal drip as a last resort and wanted to give the pessaries the maximum time they were allowed to work and breaking waters etc which the doctor agreed to. I also said that I did not want continuous monitoring and as long as I didn’t have the drip I would not accept it and I wanted to be in the birthing centre. The doctor pretty much as no chance but that it would be up to the midwife in charge ultimately.

I had a VE and was found to have a favourable cervix and that the 6 hours pessary would be the best route to take, this was then put in at 11pm. Before the pessary I did 30mins continuous monitoring and afterwards I needed to do another 30mins. I had planned to then go walk around the hospital to help things get going, but as by this point it was nearly midnight I decided to get some sleep and conserve my energy as I was expecting to be in for the long run. So I fell asleep around midnight.

I then woke up at 2am feeling some very slight cramping, got up and went to the toilet and then fell straight back to sleep. I woke up at 4am feeling the surges enough that I couldn’t sleep through them anymore, I informed the midwife who said I needed 30mins monitoring, which I accepted and this started at 4.30am, during that 30mins I went from gentle and sporadic surges that barely registered on the monitor to regular powerful surges that I was finding difficult to cope with laying down on the monitor.

At 5am when I came off the monitor I was still on the antenatal ward and was told that my surges weren’t enough to move to labour ward yet so I got up, got my fiancé to put the tens machine on my back and I put my headphones in and that was it, I was in my zone.

Over the next hour I concentrated on my up breathing and listened to the positive affirmations on repeat. I wasn’t even listening to the words but the calming music and the familiarly of Siobhan’s voice was so soothing and centring for me. I found the most comfortable position for me was standing at the side of my bed and leaning on it with my head resting on my arms and rocking my hips from side to side.

An hour later, at 6am I was struggling to not make noises and the contractions were powerful, lasting a minute and were 1-2 mins apart. I sent my fiancé to find the midwife because I was determined I needed to be off of the antenatal ward at this point and I wanted my space, private birthing space away from the other 5 women and husbands on the ward and more importantly, my pool! This is when the positive birth company really benefited us because the midwife tried to refused to come and check me because ‘I wasn’t due a check yet’ but my fiancé stood his ground and told her that I wanted a check and then he would keep asking until I got one so begrudgingly at 6.30am she checked me and found me to 4cm.

I explained that I wanted to go to the birthing suite because I wasn’t on a drip, my monitoring had been perfect so the midwife went and called the midwifes on the birthing suite to see whether they would accept an induced labour, pretty much telling me not to hold me breath because they won’t. But my guardian angel of midwives was on my side and a wonderful midwife called Sarah (who it turns out normally does home births so was completely into my birthing vibe) said she would take me and would get the pool running right away. So at 6.40am we were gathering our stuff together and a wheelchair arrived to swoop me round to the birthing suite.

I arrived in Meadow Suite at around 06.55 and was told to go into the en suite and have a wee to make sure my bladder was empty and because my midwife’s shift was actually just starting so she was doing handover etc. I came out of the toilet to find my fiancé at set the room up with our tea-lights, was trying to get our speakers to work, the lights were low and the birthing pool was running and I was thrilled and felt my oxytocin flowing and with the next surge I spotted the gas and air I was waiting for waiting for me on the side so I got down to grab it and suddenly it changed. I felt the huge change in my body and heard myself make a whole new noise.

The midwife from the antenatal ward was midway through explaining how I had only just gone into established labour in the last half an hour and was just about 4cm and my lovely birthing suite midwife said well let’s get a sterile pack and a mat under her knees because this baby is coming now. 3 minutes later my waters broke and a minute after that my baby was born! On my notes my second stage of labour is officially listed as 4 minutes and it was the most incredible thing I have ever felt.

My body just completely took over and I did not once actively try to push, my body was just doing it. I tried to concentrate on my down breathing and felt him move down my birth canal, and at the moment I felt him twist round into the optimum position I remember very clearly thinking ‘THIS IS THE BEST, MOST AMAZINGLY INCREDIBLE THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE’ and then there he was being passed up between my legs and into my arms.

Despite such a speedy birth I was left with a tiny 1st degree tear that didn’t need stitching and felt incredible. We spent the next 12 hours snuggling in our birthing suite room getting to know our new son before going home to our own bed that night. The only thing I wish would have been different is that he was born so quickly after I got to the birthing suite that my pool wasn't full enough for me to get into and I really want to know how the pool feels!

Three months later I still can’t believe how much I enjoyed my birth, how fulfilling it was, how it healed the emotional scars left by my first traumatic birth and how much a positive outlook and breathing exercises completely changed the experience for me.

I can’t thank the positive birth company enough and have recommended to everyone else I know who is pregnant and will do for the rest of my life!