Second Time Mum Homebirth (BBA)
This second time mum shares her experience of giving birth to her second baby at home (BBA). After a very long first labour, facing decisions around induction and potential cardiology issues- this birth was very quick, safe and straightforward! Thankyou for sharing!
From early on in my pregnancy I had decided I wanted to try for a home birth. Having had a really
positive experience in my first birth at a Midwife Led Unit, I wanted to do everything possible to
recreate this (including having access to a birthing pool). I felt this was most likely to happen if I
birthed at home, so I told my midwife this at my booking appointment which she was more than
happy to support.
My first trimester was “normal” with no complications. Around halfway through my pregnancy, I was
booked in for a foetal echocardiogram, as my first daughter was born with minor cardiac
abnormalities. The echo came back clear with no signs of a heart defect and they advised they
couldn’t foresee a problem with going ahead for a home birth, which was so relieving!
From around 28 weeks gestation, my midwife started to pick up irregular heart beats (which was
exactly the same time as my first daughter). After some more monitoring, they initially advised
against a home birth. But after speaking to the birth choices team we decided together that a home
birth was still a safe option - I would just have to take the baby for an in-depth cardiology review
some point soon after birth.
The irregular beats continued and the rest of pregnancy went smoothly. I caught covid-19 at
around 38 weeks pregnant but luckily it didn’t effect me badly and I quickly recovered by 39 weeks.
At my 40-week appointment, I reluctantly agreed to have an induction booked for 41+5. The
midwife insisted I could decline, but after doing some research I decided this was a good plan for
me (despite me being terrified of being induced!). 41 weeks came and went, and I had an
unsuccessful sweep at 41+1. I was booked for another sweep at 41+4 as a last ditch attempt. I
was so deflated and upset at my appointment, but my midwife found my cervix to be really
favourable and 2-3cm dilated. She said I could have the early induction interventions and still have
a home birth, so I left the appointment really excited and on cloud-9.
That evening (41+4) I started to get some niggles after losing some mucus plug. I wasn’t sure if
things were starting but I called my mum who was to be childcare support for my toddler as she
lived a couple of hours away. She arrived at 10pm, by which point all signs of labour had stopped.
Great! I called my mum all that way for… nothing. I went to bed feeling low and anxious about
being induced the day after.
LABOUR
I woke at 5:30am to what was definitely labour, I was 41+5 weeks gestation (planned induction
day). The classic period-type cramps that came and went. I tried to relax and sleep through them.
My first labour was 53 hours long so I was ready to be in for a long ride again. By 6am I decided I
couldn’t stay in bed, so got up with my daughter and partner. We muddled through the morning
routine with me breathing through mild contractions every 15 minutes or so. At 7am, my partner
and mum took my daughter to nursery, so I started to get my labour space ready. I moved the
already blown up pool into position, turned on my birth playlist and fairy lights, and created my
dream birth space.
I was having to stop, sway and moan every 10 minutes or so. I thought to
myself “how am I going to cope?! I wasn’t struggling this much until 2 days into labour last time!”.
My mum and partner arrived back around 7:30am and I asked my partner to start filling the pool
ready for later. I told my mum that I think the baby might be here tonight or tomorrow excitedly -
she took one look at me and replied that it’s going to be sooner than that. I thought to myself - no
chance!
By 8am, I was needing to squat deep into my contractions and had become very vocal. I kept
feeling the urge to open my bowels, but nothing was coming. Eventually, I really leant into this
feeling of pressure and my waters popped with an almighty audible gush. The physical relief was
huge, and the relief that my body was doing the right things was wonderful.
At around 8:15am, I really needed my partners help to breathe through the contractions. He said the pool was nearly ready but I didn’t want to use it until I absolutely needed it, so I held off. I asked him to call the
labour ward as my induction appointment was at 8am so it needed cancelling.
Whilst he was on the phone, I had a wobble. I asked him to get the midwives out as I was no
longer coping well with the pain. My mind was telling me how ridiculous I was being and that they
were going to come out and find me to be 2cm dilated, I really thought I was not coping well at all.
In hindsight - this was transition.
My contractions at this point became quite erratic - some 5 minutes apart, some less than a
minute. I felt I was starting to lose a bit of control, but also, with the absence of any pain relief, felt
a sense of complete clarity and awareness. I then felt a lot of pressure in my cervix, I moved my
hand down without thinking to feel what was happening. I could feel something smooth and hard
inside! I told my partner in complete disbelief that I could feel something, surely it couldn’t be her
head?! With the next contraction I was crowning. I felt that familiar burning sensation, my baby was
coming whether I liked it or not! I left my body and trusted it to do its work and asked my mum to
ring 999 in case the baby needed any assistance once she was out.
With the next contraction I told
my partner to get behind me, and with a huge animalistic roar she flew out at just gone 8:30am. I
was so low to the floor in a deep squat that my partner couldn’t catch her, so she landed on the
floor below me. I looked down in awe, frozen in time. After a few seconds I realised we were alone
- it was up to us to make sure she was okay. I scooped her up in the towel and rubbed her down -
she immediately cried and pinked up. Just like that she was here!
Only 3 hours after my first
contraction (a whole 50 hours shorter than my first labour!). After a few minutes (and having to tell
the call handler that no, I would not be cutting her cord with a shoelaces and scissors!), I waddled
over to the sofa with lots of help to start our blissful golden hour.
After 5 or so minutes, that ambulance arrived followed shortly by the lovely midwife who had done
my sweep the day before. Everyone was hands off and allowed me and my baby to establish
breastfeeding, the ambulance quickly left after checking my observations and taking my details.
After a long while of cuddles on the sofa, the midwife checked me and found a small graze but no
tears. She helped me have a shower and get into some clean clothes and we all had a blissful tea,
toast and biscuits. The midwives left after a couple of hours and we spent the next few hours
relaxing and taking in every inch of our new addition. My toddler arrived home from nursery later
that day to meet her new baby sister at home, which was everything I dreamed of and exactly why
I wanted a home birth.
On day 3, after her newborn checks, we took a trip to the hospital to have the cardiology review
and they found no evidence of any problems. So after this, we were discharged to start out new life
as a family of four.
Are you considering plans for your second baby? Our online course is a great support to help you work out what choices feel right this time around!