Birth story - Mum and baby girl

Warning: use of the term contractions, induction, hard pregnancy, reduced mobility, changes to birth plan.

So after a bit of a tough pregnancy, my gorgeous little madam was still very comfortable at 41weeks and I accepted an induction date for 41+5 (a Monday) when my community midwife offered it. A day later I was then phoned by the hospital and was offered an earlier slot last-minute for the next morning (41+2, a Friday) and I accepted - I originally had had no intention of accepting induction unless there was a risk for my baby, however due to severe SPD causing me to be housebound with poor quality of life (and effects on my mental health) I chose to accept as I felt happier at the idea of knowing I would be holding my baby by the end of the weekend.

I had originally intended on a water birth in the local community midwifery unit, but going to the main hospital did change this plan slightly. However, what I learned through the PBC Digital Pack helped me immensely with being able to take control of the changes to my plan and to make informed decisions that were right for me.

I arrived at the hospital and was greeted by lovely midwives who really helped put me at ease despite the pandemic, and who were also really helpful with carrying my belongings as I was on crutches due to my SPD. Due to Covid19 my husband wasn’t allowed with me until I was in active labour, but the midwives were so nice and, as I was anxious about being on my own, a midwife of similar age to me kept checking in and we would talk about all sorts of things- she was incredibly sweet and really went over & above what I would have expected to make me feel at ease. I was examined and we agreed that the Cook balloon was going to be our best starting point for induction, and I even ended up getting a private room on the antenatal ward while we waited for this to take effect, and it was inserted at 1pm. After a few hours I started getting some “twinges”, and soon full-on contractions followed, lasting for 1min every 3mins, like clockwork! I was able to move around very freely and chose to stand for most of the contractions, supporting myself with my hands at the foot of the bed. I was able to listen to music on my phone and pace around the room, which I actually found very soothing despite being a very “still” person under usual circumstances.

At 11pm my waters broke spontaneously during one incredibly strong contraction, which is when a midwife removed the balloon and helped me down to the delivery suite. She also helped me phone my husband between contractions to make sure he would come to the hospital in time. I was now also using gas and air at this point, as well as positive affirmations tracks on my phone and lots of up breathing. Before I knew it, my husband was there as well, and he immediately started checking I was as comfortable as possible. I was soon seen by another midwife who agreed that, while no birth pools were available, I could try the large bath in my delivery room and she immediately started to run it, and my husband automatically put out my LED candles and set the bathroom up as my nice calm space.

The bath was lovely and really helped, but unfortunately the contractions started to become more intense and closer together and I felt that I needed more pain relief. I opted for the pethidine injection so I had to go back to the bed, but the midwife encouraged my husband to move all the tealights to the main delivery room and dimmed the lights for me so I still had that nice, calm space.

By 2am I was 7cm, the contractions were completely back to back with no rest between them and baby had decided to turn from a great position to back to back with me, so I asked for an epidural. This was something I had originally been dead-set against but, thanks to the digital pack, I was able to make the informed decision that this was now a great option for me and it meant I was able to stay calmer and come back “down to green” whereas I had been getting slightly wound up by the continuous contractions. This was given to me within an hour and I was almost immediately much calmer. Although I didn’t have far to go at this point I decided to use the opportunity to get a short nap in - definitely a wise move! After an hour’s rest my husband woke me like I had asked and we enjoyed a bit of quiet time talking about how excited we were for our little bundle to arrive. Soon I started feeling an immense amount of pressure and the midwife told me baby was starting to move down the birth canal, at quite some pace too! My epidural hadn’t actually completely numbed the area so I was able to feel quite a lot as I pushed her out, and that was really helpful for finding the muscles I needed. Within half an hour she was born (shortly before 6am) and we had immediate skin to skin for an hour. I did end up with a small tear and a graze, but it was only at this point that the midwife realised how much I was able to feel as I needed some local anaesthetic for the area before she could do the stitches.

Once I had had time to fully regain control of my legs, my lovely midwife ran me a bath (best bath ever!) and got us some tea and toast. My husband was able to stay with us for a few hours but at 11am I had to go back to the ward, so he had to go home for a while. I had to be monitored until the early evening due to the epidural, but after a day spent cuddling my sweet baby with plenty of skin to skin time on the ward I was snuggled up on the sofa with my husband and baby by 9pm.

Despite being completely the opposite set of circumstances to the birth I had intended to have, it was still an incredible and positive experience as, due to the education part of hypnobirthing and how empowering it was, I felt fully in control at each stage and was able to use my “BRAIN” to ensure I was comfortable with each new step in the process. If there is a “next time” I feel like I would still want to try for a more natural birth, but I feel very empowered in knowing that it can still be a positive experience if I don’t. We now have a beautiful baby girl who is growing so fast already and I couldn’t be happier.