Lauren and her husband took my full hypnobirthing course at the beginning of the year before going on to bring their baby boy into the World, they took the course to familiarise themselves with how birth works and what to expect more so than for the hypnobirthing techniques. But when the big day came Lauren utilised everything she'd learnt to boss her birth perfectly! Read on to find out how:
I’d been quite anxious about the idea of birth for a while. Like many other women, I’d heard horror stories and the positive ones seemed to be few and far between. I had taken a hypnobirthing course, but this was more to familiarise myself with the birthing process - I didn’t actually think I would ever be able to do it without the help of drugs. My aim was not to put any pressure on myself and I was in no way a failure if I needed medical help to cope.
I actually ended up having what you might consider a “text book” birth; my waters broke in bed at home at 12.15am and a hospital delivery followed less than 12 hours later.
Let me fill in the gaps…
At around midnight, I felt a “gush” of water and I shook my husband awake. He immediately sprung into action and we rang the MAC. They asked me to come in to check that it was my waters that had gone (trust me, I KNEW it was!). They confirmed this and I was told that I would likely need to deliver the baby in the next 24 hours to reduce the chance of infection. I actually felt comforted by this - I would meet my baby very soon! I was sent home to see if labour would start naturally.
On the drive home, I felt what I can only describe as “pressure”. I wasn’t sure if this was a contraction or not, but it continued when I got home and then started coming in waves. We recorded these sensations and they were coming quickly; 3 every 10 minutes and lasting 60- 90 seconds. I didn’t believe these were contractions as although they were uncomfortable, they weren’t too painful yet. My husband convinced me to ring the MAC again and they asked me to come in for assessment.
When we got back to the hospital, I was examined by a midwife with a speculum (as my waters had gone) but told nothing was happening and it was suggested I go home. I couldn’t face ANOTHER car journey so they agreed to let me stay for 2 hours to see if anything progressed. I wasn’t offered anything more than a paracetamol at this point.
In those 2 hours, my surges become stronger and closer. I was by a window so used that for focus, bounced on an exercise ball and hugged my husband. I wanted to remain upright and active. I was focussing on my breathing and used some of the techniques I had learnt during my hypnobirthing sessions. These really helped calm me and pass the time - but I was still making the stereotypical moaning noises of a woman in labour!
A different midwife then came to examine me. She attempted to insert the speculum and quickly told me that she couldn’t get it in because the baby’s head was there! I couldn’t believe it.
I was then rushed to the delivery suite where I was offered gas and air which helped enormously. I only had one midwife and was allowed to start my pushing phase in the water which helped with the pain but may have contributed to my labour slowing down at this point. The midwife told us that the head was coming down at a slightly odd angle but she didn’t seem too concerned. Actually, her coaching and communication was just what I needed. After a couple of hours pushing, the midwife suggested I move over to the toilet as the angle might help the head come down. And sure enough, it did! At 11.24am, our son was born - over a toilet and in no way how I imagined!
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What a badass! If you've got a positive birth story you'd like to share then please drop me a message or email, the more we can share the more we can move away from an ingrained societal fear of birth.
thedungareedoula@gmail.com