linkspurr
31-12-2009, 18:59
Apologies for the length of this birth story but I feel I had to share it in its entirity.
I can't begin telling the story of my labour without a bit of background. I've been preparing for pregnancy and birth for a number of years. Over time I've come to believe that birth should be a natural and calm experience and free from interventions unless there is a medical necessity and after my labour I am even more passionate about that belief.
DH and I had been planning to try to conceive in October 2008 however I received a posting overseas and was away from October 08 until February this year so our plans were delayed. I arrived back in Oz and we immediately began trying to conceive knowing that it may not come easily. We were shocked to find out that we were pregnant after our first attempt but we kept the news to ourselves knowing that sometimes things don't always work out as you expect. We let family know on Mothers day that we were pregnant and expecting our first baby in December. We also passed on the news that we had chosen a private hospital almost an hours drive from our home as the place for our child to be born because the hospital offered a midwife run facility with the option of a water birth and our OB was also very much in favour of natural birthing. Our families were surprised to begin with but gradually got used to the fact that we were planning a different style of birth.
As the pregnancy progressed we found out we were expecting a little girl and we began to prepare for her birth even more. We found a student doula who was willing to join us on our journey towards parenthood. Whilst DH was somewhat unsure about this development he was soon embracing the concept and now is very encouraging of others using a birthing support partner. We also undertook a hypnobirthing course with the aim of a completely drug and intervention free birth.
After doing the course I practiced my affirmations daily (at the gym whilst on the cross trainer) and my relaxation sessions at night. I felt myself relax more about birth and began to look forward to labour. We prepared our birth preferences and were quite detailed about what we wanted to experience. We were also realistic that sometimes things don't go as planned and we were also prepared if things deviated from our ideal situation.
We were told that Hypnobirthing parents typically give birth before their due dates and with that in mind I was planning to work up until 39 weeks so I could maximize my leave time with my baby and joked the whole way that I intended to have the baby the day I finished work. Little did I know that sometimes these thoughts can become self-fulfilling.
Flash forward to 39 weeks, I finished work as a shift worker at 1.30am and headed home. I'd seen my OB three days before and she said that she expected to see my at my appointment in a week's time, she didn't see anything happening anytime soon. My first day of maternity leave saw me set the alarm for 8.30am (after only six hours sleep after finishing work) so I could go to the gym for a cardio workout and a body balance class. I started experiencing some discomfort in my back about 9am and I noticed that it came every few minutes but I didn't think much of it because I'd had no other signs. I headed off to the gym and still had the sensations in my back every few minutes but kept my plans and did my workout and then the gym class. The instructor of the class is a good friend and after the class I told her that I didn't think I'd be back for the next week's class because I'd really struggled during the class. We ended up having lunch and doing some shopping. The pains in my back were still there and were getting stronger as the day progressed. Eventually I couldn't stay social anymore and bid my friend farewell so I could go home and deal with the situation. I immediately filled the bath and began listening to my hypnobirthing tracks. I found some relief but was all alone and feeling very emotional - the phone rang and it turned out to be my hypnobirthing instructor just wanting to see how I was going. She talked me through a couple of surges and told me to call the midwives for some advice. I did and they told me to come in to be checked. DH was still at work at this stage but his workday was almost over and I waited for him to come home but I made sure I had everything ready to go. We made a very quick trip to the hospital and I was taken to a standard room straight away to be observed. Even though I hadn't wanted to have EFM I agreed because I was unsure as to what was actually happening. I was getting surges every five minutes at this point. It turned out I was in early labour but only 1cm dilated and was given the option of staying at the hospital or going home. We decided that we would be more relaxed at home so we headed home to try and get some sleep. By the time we got home it was 9pm.
DH went straight to bed but I wasn't able to sleep, the surges became much more intense and by about 2am were three minutes apart. I'd spent more time in the bath and shower but without DH's help I was really beginning to struggle. I spoke to the midwives again and they told me to come back to the hospital so I woke DH and we again made the trip (much slower due to roadworks and WAY MORE INTENSE). When we arrived at the hospital it was about 3.15am and I was whisked to the birthing suites. This time when I was hooked up to the EFM it was very obvious that the surges were much more intense this time. We decided to call our doula at this point but we were very aware that she already had a client who was having a scheduled c-section at 10.30am that day and as soon as she arrived we told her that we knew her other client was much more priority and if things hadn't progressed by the time she would need to leave then we would completely understand.
I got into the tub straight away and DH worked through every surge with me and kept me very calm and relaxed. It was an intense experience but we were enjoying it. Whilst the water was great my bladder called and I decided get out before I became a prune and try other options. I was very tired at this point, having had very little sleep since finishing work and not having slept since the surges started and I elected to try the bed for a bit (this was shortlived) from there I briefly tried a fit ball which I found very uncomfortable and I ended up perched on the toilet - a true godsend! Every surge was intense but I only ever felt the sensations in my spine and whilst the surges were constant there was no break from the pain in my spine. I spent a lot of time in the shower before agreeing to an internal examination to check my dilation - the midwife told me I was about 8cms and was making good progress. I lost my plug at this stage after some sumo-like moves - it wasn't until this point that I really thought I was in labour.
Things slowed down and whilst my surges were still very intense we weren’t getting anywhere fast, we must have spent hours at the same level of dilation and I found myself spending a lot of time in the shower. I asked to get into the bath again but the midwife wanted to leave that until I was crowning. I instead opted for the TENS machine but it really didn’t do a lot for me other than distract me a little when I played with the controls. My OB was called and after an internal she gave me some options, as there were no signs of distress I could continue to labour, she could give me synthetic hormones to intensify my surges, or we could begin to think of a c-section. I was adamant that I wanted to continue labour naturally and asked the OB if I could get into the bath – she agreed and I was off the bed like a shot and begging for the TENS machine to be disconnected. DH and the doula started removing the sticky pads gently but I was in no mood to be treated with kid gloves and I told them to rip them off so I could get in the bath quicker. DH was told to go and take a nap because things were going to take a while longer.
The tub was ready and I quickly got in and laid on my side in the water – as soon as my body was submerged a surge stronger than any others hit me and spun my body around and I ended up on my hands and knees in the tub. I quickly felt pressure downstairs and I yelled out that something had changed and I knew that our little girl was on her way. Instinct took over and I knew immediately what to do, within a minute the head was out and her body soon followed at 9.54am. I was still on my hands and knees and our baby was gently guided underneath me into my waiting hands and then I sat up in the bath with our little girl. DH had no chance to nap and luckily made it into the room for the birth and quickly had tears flowing. The birth was easily the most profound moment of my life and bonded DH and I like nothing I ever imagined. We stayed in the tub until the cord finishing pulsing and DH made the cut (after three attempts) and we then went back to the bed. I wanted a natural third stage so we had skin to skin contact and baby led attachment and I had no pressure to deliver the placenta. Eventually it came out about an hour after her birth with no difficulties. She was weighed and prepared for us to return to our room while I showered and tidied myself up. Our doula disappeared to assist with her second birth for the day but she came back later in the day for a debrief. I emerged from the labour with no tearing - a definite benefit of having a waterbirth.
Our birth, whilst long, was everything I dreamt of. It wouldn’t have been possible without hypnobirthing, the support of DH and our wonderful doula and our wonderful midwife. I was agreeing to baby number 2 within minutes of delivery and as time wears on I am even more excited about birthing. I feel so blessed to have given my daughter a natural birth without the effect of drugs and I wish everyone could have the magical experience that we had.
I can't begin telling the story of my labour without a bit of background. I've been preparing for pregnancy and birth for a number of years. Over time I've come to believe that birth should be a natural and calm experience and free from interventions unless there is a medical necessity and after my labour I am even more passionate about that belief.
DH and I had been planning to try to conceive in October 2008 however I received a posting overseas and was away from October 08 until February this year so our plans were delayed. I arrived back in Oz and we immediately began trying to conceive knowing that it may not come easily. We were shocked to find out that we were pregnant after our first attempt but we kept the news to ourselves knowing that sometimes things don't always work out as you expect. We let family know on Mothers day that we were pregnant and expecting our first baby in December. We also passed on the news that we had chosen a private hospital almost an hours drive from our home as the place for our child to be born because the hospital offered a midwife run facility with the option of a water birth and our OB was also very much in favour of natural birthing. Our families were surprised to begin with but gradually got used to the fact that we were planning a different style of birth.
As the pregnancy progressed we found out we were expecting a little girl and we began to prepare for her birth even more. We found a student doula who was willing to join us on our journey towards parenthood. Whilst DH was somewhat unsure about this development he was soon embracing the concept and now is very encouraging of others using a birthing support partner. We also undertook a hypnobirthing course with the aim of a completely drug and intervention free birth.
After doing the course I practiced my affirmations daily (at the gym whilst on the cross trainer) and my relaxation sessions at night. I felt myself relax more about birth and began to look forward to labour. We prepared our birth preferences and were quite detailed about what we wanted to experience. We were also realistic that sometimes things don't go as planned and we were also prepared if things deviated from our ideal situation.
We were told that Hypnobirthing parents typically give birth before their due dates and with that in mind I was planning to work up until 39 weeks so I could maximize my leave time with my baby and joked the whole way that I intended to have the baby the day I finished work. Little did I know that sometimes these thoughts can become self-fulfilling.
Flash forward to 39 weeks, I finished work as a shift worker at 1.30am and headed home. I'd seen my OB three days before and she said that she expected to see my at my appointment in a week's time, she didn't see anything happening anytime soon. My first day of maternity leave saw me set the alarm for 8.30am (after only six hours sleep after finishing work) so I could go to the gym for a cardio workout and a body balance class. I started experiencing some discomfort in my back about 9am and I noticed that it came every few minutes but I didn't think much of it because I'd had no other signs. I headed off to the gym and still had the sensations in my back every few minutes but kept my plans and did my workout and then the gym class. The instructor of the class is a good friend and after the class I told her that I didn't think I'd be back for the next week's class because I'd really struggled during the class. We ended up having lunch and doing some shopping. The pains in my back were still there and were getting stronger as the day progressed. Eventually I couldn't stay social anymore and bid my friend farewell so I could go home and deal with the situation. I immediately filled the bath and began listening to my hypnobirthing tracks. I found some relief but was all alone and feeling very emotional - the phone rang and it turned out to be my hypnobirthing instructor just wanting to see how I was going. She talked me through a couple of surges and told me to call the midwives for some advice. I did and they told me to come in to be checked. DH was still at work at this stage but his workday was almost over and I waited for him to come home but I made sure I had everything ready to go. We made a very quick trip to the hospital and I was taken to a standard room straight away to be observed. Even though I hadn't wanted to have EFM I agreed because I was unsure as to what was actually happening. I was getting surges every five minutes at this point. It turned out I was in early labour but only 1cm dilated and was given the option of staying at the hospital or going home. We decided that we would be more relaxed at home so we headed home to try and get some sleep. By the time we got home it was 9pm.
DH went straight to bed but I wasn't able to sleep, the surges became much more intense and by about 2am were three minutes apart. I'd spent more time in the bath and shower but without DH's help I was really beginning to struggle. I spoke to the midwives again and they told me to come back to the hospital so I woke DH and we again made the trip (much slower due to roadworks and WAY MORE INTENSE). When we arrived at the hospital it was about 3.15am and I was whisked to the birthing suites. This time when I was hooked up to the EFM it was very obvious that the surges were much more intense this time. We decided to call our doula at this point but we were very aware that she already had a client who was having a scheduled c-section at 10.30am that day and as soon as she arrived we told her that we knew her other client was much more priority and if things hadn't progressed by the time she would need to leave then we would completely understand.
I got into the tub straight away and DH worked through every surge with me and kept me very calm and relaxed. It was an intense experience but we were enjoying it. Whilst the water was great my bladder called and I decided get out before I became a prune and try other options. I was very tired at this point, having had very little sleep since finishing work and not having slept since the surges started and I elected to try the bed for a bit (this was shortlived) from there I briefly tried a fit ball which I found very uncomfortable and I ended up perched on the toilet - a true godsend! Every surge was intense but I only ever felt the sensations in my spine and whilst the surges were constant there was no break from the pain in my spine. I spent a lot of time in the shower before agreeing to an internal examination to check my dilation - the midwife told me I was about 8cms and was making good progress. I lost my plug at this stage after some sumo-like moves - it wasn't until this point that I really thought I was in labour.
Things slowed down and whilst my surges were still very intense we weren’t getting anywhere fast, we must have spent hours at the same level of dilation and I found myself spending a lot of time in the shower. I asked to get into the bath again but the midwife wanted to leave that until I was crowning. I instead opted for the TENS machine but it really didn’t do a lot for me other than distract me a little when I played with the controls. My OB was called and after an internal she gave me some options, as there were no signs of distress I could continue to labour, she could give me synthetic hormones to intensify my surges, or we could begin to think of a c-section. I was adamant that I wanted to continue labour naturally and asked the OB if I could get into the bath – she agreed and I was off the bed like a shot and begging for the TENS machine to be disconnected. DH and the doula started removing the sticky pads gently but I was in no mood to be treated with kid gloves and I told them to rip them off so I could get in the bath quicker. DH was told to go and take a nap because things were going to take a while longer.
The tub was ready and I quickly got in and laid on my side in the water – as soon as my body was submerged a surge stronger than any others hit me and spun my body around and I ended up on my hands and knees in the tub. I quickly felt pressure downstairs and I yelled out that something had changed and I knew that our little girl was on her way. Instinct took over and I knew immediately what to do, within a minute the head was out and her body soon followed at 9.54am. I was still on my hands and knees and our baby was gently guided underneath me into my waiting hands and then I sat up in the bath with our little girl. DH had no chance to nap and luckily made it into the room for the birth and quickly had tears flowing. The birth was easily the most profound moment of my life and bonded DH and I like nothing I ever imagined. We stayed in the tub until the cord finishing pulsing and DH made the cut (after three attempts) and we then went back to the bed. I wanted a natural third stage so we had skin to skin contact and baby led attachment and I had no pressure to deliver the placenta. Eventually it came out about an hour after her birth with no difficulties. She was weighed and prepared for us to return to our room while I showered and tidied myself up. Our doula disappeared to assist with her second birth for the day but she came back later in the day for a debrief. I emerged from the labour with no tearing - a definite benefit of having a waterbirth.
Our birth, whilst long, was everything I dreamt of. It wouldn’t have been possible without hypnobirthing, the support of DH and our wonderful doula and our wonderful midwife. I was agreeing to baby number 2 within minutes of delivery and as time wears on I am even more excited about birthing. I feel so blessed to have given my daughter a natural birth without the effect of drugs and I wish everyone could have the magical experience that we had.