Hospital Waterbirth of First Baby
“We were so pleased to be able to go into the experience of having our daughter with a positive attitude and skills that would see us through no matter what, thanks to Birth-Ed. In the end, we had a pretty smooth birth, enhanced by the tools we had learned.
Having a low-risk pregnancy did thankfully mean limited monitoring prior to birth and little pressure for anything, however the course gave me the confidence to discuss my options before becoming "overdue" and my desire to avoid an induction where possible. I was however keen to not get to 42 weeks and have to contemplate that further, so did decide to have sweeps post 40 weeks.
The initial sweep was done at 40+4 at which they suggested I was already around 1-1.5cm and after which I noticed I'd begun to lose mucus, so feeling positive that arrival could be soon. Second sweep was done at 40+6, after a morning tour of the birthing suite, at which my waters were broken unintentionally. While initially pleased thinking it should hopefully be the start, we were then reminded that if labour didn't start spontaneously within 18 hours, I would need to return for augmentation. Eager to avoid that, we set about trying to encourage baby along.
I continued to lose water throughout the morning. We sent our little dog off to the grandparents and went for a long walk around the neighbourhood, during which I started to notice twinges alike to period pains. These increased in frequency but not intensity for a couple of hours, getting steadily stronger mid-afternoon and into the evening.
Using the breathing techniques and retreating to my own, dark space with relaxing music, I was able to labour at home for some time (meticulously noting down time and length of surges to be able to discuss with triage - something I needed to do and be in control of). My husband was so supportive. Doing the course with me meant he was able to encourage me to listen to my body, drink lots, keep relaxed and provide a back massage when requested (and leave me alone when also requested).
At midnight I felt like the surges were frequent and strong enough that I wanted to be in the vicinity of where I was giving birth and the option of more pain relief, in addition to paracetamol, so we called my parents to drive us to the hospital. We were seen in triage, examined and told I was around 5-6cm. We were also told that unfortunately the birthing suite was closed (due to staffing issues). A big blow! But my husband and I made my desire to have a water birth clear and thankfully the pool room on the delivery ward was available. I was left nicely be by the midwife, who seemed to look on from afar as the student midwife took the lead and assisted when needed but with very little interference.
My partner set up the speaker and playlist, and I got into the pool and continued to labour comfortably there, using gas and air in addition to "take the edge off". A couple of hours later, the midwife said that in another couple of hours they would need to get me out of the pool to examine how I was progressing - I was not pleased to hear it could continue that much longer (thankfully, it did not). I wasn't examined internally again, with the midwives just using mirrors and heartbeat monitors through the water, which I was pleased with in hindsight.
I considered asking for further pain relief but was reminded that anything else would mean I couldn't continue to labour in the pool so decided against it. Other than being encouraged out to pass urine (unsuccessfully), I remained in the pool, feeling an intense bearing down sensation in my back until the feeling suddenly shifted to the front. I don't recall how long that feeling lasted, but the midwives did encourage me not to push too soon. Eventually I guess I trusted my body and our daughter was born - all in one, no head first etc. - at 3.31am with a declaration from me of "baby is here", as if the room didn't know.
She was put straight onto my chest for skin to skin and we remained in the pool to deliver the placenta. The quick arrival did result in a second degree tear which was stitched (very well I was told) a little later. Eventually we were taken round to postnatal and discharged the next day (following a bit of a battle with feeding - later discovered to be an issue with tongue tie, but that is another story).
Overall we were lucky to have the type of birth we wanted, even if not in the initially planned location, and with no complications, and we were very grateful to have tools to make informed choices, manage pain through labour, and make our birth story a very positive one! “
Thanks so much Cathy for sharing your amazing story!
If you’d like to prepare for a positive birth experience too, join our online course!