Birth story - Laura and baby Edison

My birth story went nothing to plan but it was still incredibly positive and both my husband and I have said hypnobirthing gave us the skills to remain calm and positive throughout the entire labour.

I had been trying to put off intervention and induction but got to 42 weeks and felt I had put it off long enough so agreed to an induction on Monday (10th September). We went into hospital at 4pm and was shown to a private room where I was given the pessary and a sweep. I was told at this point I was actually 2cm dilated (Was told 4 days earlier my cervix was totally unfavourable and a sweep was impossible). I spent the night in the hospital on my own watching movies and trying to get comfy. Cramps were quite strong and constant at this point but totally manageable.

By the time my husband got back to the hospital at 8am the contractions had started. I bounced on the ball and walked around our room and by about 11am they were coming every three minutes and I felt I needed some relief so I asked for paracetamol and dihydrocodiene. This instantly gave me some relief but also slowed the contractions right down to about 15 mins apart. This went on until the evening when they told me I was 4cm and would try breaking my waters to speed things up. They took me through to the delivery suite and broke my waters but realised the baby had pooped in there at some point so told me unfortunately I couldn't have a water birth. I didn't mind too much as we had our battery candles, oils and hypnobirthing tracks to see us through.

The surges started back up and were getting more powerful as the night went on. They said they would give me until midnight to get to 6cm on my own otherwise they wanted to get me onto a drip. The next few hours are a bit of a blur but we listened to our playlist and the midwives kept commenting on how relaxed our room was. By midnight I had got to 6cm but only just so they said they would be happier to administer the drip to which I agreed. This did speed things up and by 8am I was fully dilated. They said they would let me rest for an hour then I would start pushing. Within minutes my body started to push anyway and I was doubled over the top of the bed. My midwife said to go with it and soon I was standing over the bed holding my husband's hands while he helped me with my down breathing.

After an hour the midwife said she would get a doctor as nothing was happening. Soon there were 4 doctors and the midwife in the room. They asked me to get on the bed so they could check and see what was happening. Turns out baby's head was tilted and stuck in my pelvis. After two doctors had checked me over they decided to speak to a consultant who thought it would be best to take me for a c section. They were so apologetic as they knew I had really tried as much as possible to have a natural birth but at this point I was just so excited to see baby that I didn't mind how he came out as long as he was healthy. Baby was monitored often and never once got into any sort of distress.

The whole c section experience was so relaxed and happy. An amazing team got me ready and prepped, it didn't take long and we chatted about The Greatest Showman while they got me ready. Within minutes my whole body felt like I was floating on a cloud. We waited about 10 minutes and they told me to try and push baby out rather than them pulling. Then as soon as he was out they passed him over to us for skin to skin contact which was just such a calm and beautiful experience.

Baby was so relaxed and settled and I honestly loved every second of bringing him into the world. My husband and I both agreed that neither of us would have been so calm and focused had we not done the hypnobirthing courses. Even if things don't go to plan it still puts you in a great place to accept change and make the best of it with confidence. I must also say that the staff at our hospital did so much to meet my birth plan as much as they could. I felt like they totally respected my wishes at every step of the way.