C and N have asked for anonimity but are happy for me to share their birth story. C‘s previous birth was traumatic due to a postpartum haemorrhage, and she was keen to try everything she could to have a natural and positive birth with her second baby. She had planned for a water birth but things progressed quite quickly and she didn’t get time to fill and get in to the pool. Despite this, she still felt she had a really positive birth using the hypnobirthing techniques I’d taught them. Here’s her birth story.
My birth... well my waters broke at about 7pm (they didn’t break last time, so that was new - there is so much!). We sorted out baby number
1 with Granny and then went to get checked, all fine, very mild contractions basically stopped whilst waiting in triage, home by 11 ish. Triage was a very stressful environment that evening. They were short staffed and busy busy with labouring mums, and mums being checked. I kept my headphones in listening to the backing track to the hyponobirthing recordings and focused in calm breathing and my ‘calm water spot’ (a natural pool at the foot of a snowy mountain 🤷🏻♀️).
When we got home my contractions where about 10 minutes apart. I felt like we had a few hours before things really started. I sent my husband to bed and had a shower, practicing the hypnobirthing techniques. I then settled in my bedroom with the lights right down, I did all three hypnobirthing audios. By 1am things we’re heating up and the contractions getting stronger. I called my husband to come and support me, but then we quickly realised we needed to get back to the hospital.
I stayed calm in the car despite the contractions intensifying, just focusing on my breathing and the mantras - such as every contraction bringing the baby closer to me. Once we got to the hospital, it took a while to be let into the unit, and I was then in triage. I could feel the baby starting to come and the urge to push. I kept breathing but I’m afraid I did let a bit of panic and stress set in at this stage. The midwife called for my husband who was waiting outside because of covid. He came in, saw me trying to get into the wheel chair and shouting out in pain and fainted! I hadn’t really communicated that things had progressed to him, so when he came in and saw me being held on the wheel chair and shouting out, he was pretty shocked. He was expecting to see me preparing for a nice sit in the pool I think 😂
They got me to a room, and my husband joined very quickly. I think it was less than 20 minutes and maybe 6 contractions later, I had given birth without any pain relief at all. It was raw and intense, empowering and most importantly for me, natural. It wasn’t the calm water birth I had invisaged, but that was fine. I didn’t need any stitches and have had a good recovery. We were very lucky, and got left alone in the birth room for a long time, allowing us to have skin to skin, establish feedings and just recover slowly from the birth.
Comments