Birth story - Prudence and baby Beauden

*Trigger warning* - Fetal distress, meconium, placenta bleeding, miscarriage, low mobility, contractions

I have really gone back and forth in my head about weather I post this but after speaking to my husband I thought even if this helps one person I will be glad I did this. I am by nature a bit of a wimp and a fainter. I was always really scared of birth and for a long time it put me off wanting children but my body clock got the better of me and here we are.

Pregnancy:

We had 2 back to back loses in 2021 and early 2022 so I knew I was always going to be quite anxious going into a 3rd Pregnancy within a year of each other. But in August 2023 we found out I was pregnant and quickly the morning sickness took hold of me. I had sickness of some kind until 27 weeks but that was my only really negative side effect. My pregnancy was a dream other than that. I stayed super active right up to my due date and swam over 1k on my due date, and walked 7km too. I finished spinning at 39 + 4 and I only missed my class at 40 + 1 because I went into labour. I am a huge advocate to stay as active as you can as I think its helped me so much now!

Labour:

10th April is my due date and I was absolutely convinced I was going overdue by 12 days so like Siobhan said I was making plans for post due date. My husband and I decide to go to the cinema on due date and we walk the 2 miles there as I was keen to keep active to get baby moving. On the way I start experiencing back pain and I have to sit down regularly but I finally make it. In the cinema this continues and I can't get comfortable. We walk home and I have to stop a few times again and it all stops when I get home that night. I did think this was the start of something but from all the birth stories was aware it could still be days away!

Tuesday 11th April:

I wake up and the back pain and now lower ab pain is coming in waves and I think ok maybe something is happening. I send my husband to work as I was keen for him to start his pat leave as late as possible. The pains dulls down so I go about some life admin around town and I think I did start nesting as I must have known it was around the corner.

At about 1pm the waves come back and it feels like its got a bit of a pattern. It was totally manageable and I could go about the house doing things. I didn't time them as I felt I didn't want to start clock watching. I tried to have a nap as I could feel a long night ahead but they kept waking me up. My husband came home about 6 and I cooked dinner stopping now and again for the waves! I wanted to go for a post dinner walk in the rain so we went to the park and I had to stop about 6 times for what I now know are contractions! We go home and put friends on, some candles and I sit on the ball. They start to ramp up frequency so I decided to start timing them with the freya app. I was just really pleased that my birth got started on its own and I was at home so think that was helping me with my oxytocin and just hugging my husband.

About 9ish we called triage as I just felt like we should give them a warning I was in labour and they said to wait it out until 3 in 10 lasting more than a minute so we did. About 2am I got to about that and I called them again and they said to come in and be looked at. So we went in and the car journey wasn't as bad as I was expecting I just zoned out to be honest and put a mask on. Once in the birth centre I was told I was only 1-2cm dilated which I actually wasn't annoyed about because I was just pleased it definitely was happening! They gave me a sweep and in doing so popped my waters. So in a way it was nice to know our baby would be here within 24 hours. I liked that there was now a timeline for us. They said to go home and wait it out. So we did.

We go home and I told my husband to sleep so he did on the sofa while I literally moaned like some sort of wild animal next to him and inbetween contractions was being sick into bowl! Yummy! At about 11am I had been having them for around 75 seconds coming every 2 minutes and the birth centre were ready for me to come back... so off we went in board daylight with me fully in the swing of it which felt so strange!

Once we arrived I suddenly got the most horrendous back pain. Honestly it was worse than the contractions and it made me feel so faint that my blood pressure was very very low so I think the MWs were concerned but they didn't make me feel they were at the time.

I decided I wanted an epidural at this point as I was only 4 cms and I needed to rest. So they said I could be moved to the labour ward. But there was a few emergencies so it was about 6 hours until I actually got one.

About 6ish my mobile epidural was given to me which wasn't as bad as I thought. The doctors and midwifes were amazing and reassuring all the way through.

After this is when things took a turn... they examined me and saw I still had some waters bulging and that might be why I wasn't progressing very fast. So they popped them. But then as soon as I got on my side my wee boys heart rate really dropped for quite a while and wasn't recovering so they moved me onto my back again and it got slightly better but his mobility really stopped for a prolonged period. All the doctors who came in were amazing. They kept us super informed and involved in the discussion. They were suggestions of a section at this point but said it would need to be under a general as my epidural hadn't been in long enough. Which made me super nervous and I said I was to the doctor and she totally understood.

But his heart rate and mobility improved slightly and they kept a close eye on me for another 30 mins or so. But I moved onto my side again and the heart rate really dropped again. So the doctor was concerned as she felt the baby was distressed. My husband was worried I could see in his eyes and since then he has said what kept him so calm was how calm I was. I used my BRAIN and thought I wanted a healthy and happy baby and didn't want to put him under any more stress so I went with the advice of having a C-section. I wasn't put under any pressure from anyone. I was given the facts and felt I could make an informed decision. After 30 mins my epidural had now been in long enough that they could give me a spinal block so they topped me up!

Within about 20 mins I was in theatre and a baby was being pulled out of me and my husband was blubbing his eyes out telling me it was a boy. This is honestly the happiest moment of my life. Nothing else that happened that day will ever put a negative spin on this moment. When he was taken out of me they said he had the cord wrapped round his neck, my placenta had ruptured and there was meconium in the waters. He needed immediate assistance with breathing which he didn't respond to initially but eventually he did and I heard a big cry and my husband walked over with him absolutely beaming from ear to ear!

I immediately I got my clarification I made the right decision after being told about all the bother he was in. He wouldn't have made it out the downstairs exit even if I persisted. The doctors and nurses were amazing at making it super positive experience congratulating us and really explaining every part of the process and what needed to happen next.

We went off to recovery. I got my skin to skin, he fed like a champion immediately and it was perfect. He did get picked up on his 6 hour check as having a problem with his oxygen so he spent a few days in neonatal helping with his breathing but he is fighting fit now and we are just completely in love with our little man!

I wanted to make sure I told this story as after doing PBC with my husband I was desperate for that water birth in the birth centre. I saw it as an epic challenge! But in reality I am still so proud of myself because I kept calm, collected and together throughout the whole process and that is what I took from PBC without knowing it. Knowledge definitely is power and reading the birth stories more similar to mine is what helped me in the end. I knew what was common, what wasn't and when to be concerned!

My advice would now be make sure you read all types of birth story as you never know whats going to happen, watch video of all types of birth, make sure your partner has the knowledge too and at the end of the day what matters is that you meet a happy baby!

Nothing about my experience was negative despite it not going to plan. PBC made me excited for birth and made me learn to take all the positives from however it happened!!

Good Luck mums-to-be and look forward to that newborn love euphoria over that birthing hill!