“Big Baby’, Straightforward Second Birth after Forceps
Midwife Led Unit (Birth Centre) Birth for second time Mum
Claire’s second baby, MLU
Second Time Mum
Spontaneous Labour
Previous Birth Trauma & Forceps Birth
Back to Back Baby
Midwife Led Unit ‘Land’ birth
I wanted to share my birth story as second time round went so much more smoothly than I thought it ever could, and birth ed was so helpful in getting us to that point!
Pregnancy Story
I was pregnant with my second and feeling ok. Pregnancy had been pretty straightforward but as mat leave approached I realised I hadn't given much thought to the actual labour or how I wanted things to go - I'd been too busy with my toddler and a hectic job to give it much thought! At about 36 weeks I bought The Birth-ed Method to get myself more 'in the zone', and I'm so glad I did!
Though I'd done a course for my first baby I really appreciated Birth Ed's pragmatic and honest approach, which helped remind me that I was in control of my birth choices from midwife appointments through to labour and beyond. I felt informed and confident in my preferences, such as being in the MLU, wanting to avoid chemical induction and opioids. Most importantly though, it gave me the confidence that I could manage a vaginal birth, as I had a very long labour which resulted in forceps and a spinal with my first. I came to realise there was quite a bit of unresolved stress from my first birth which the course really helped me unpick.
As my mat leave weeks passed and no baby arrived I started to get nervous about being pushed for an induction; luckily both Megan and the Birth-ed Community Forum were really supportive and reminded me that I had the power to make my own decisions.
Birth Story
D-Day itself started at 3am on the 27th December - I'd been desperate to have a Christmas day with my toddler and had obviously finally relaxed once that was over! I had a bit of show and then a pressure on my back with contractions coming every 45 minutes or so. I decided to stay in bed and use the up breathing as it was all quite manageable at that point.
By 7am I was sure we needed to ship the toddler to my parents house so my husband drove him over. By this point contractions were more regular but neither of us thought much was happening yet. However as soon as my husband left I started to vocalise through contractions and suddenly panicked that baby was on its way! I phoned triage and they suggested I come in, so as soon as my husband was back we got in the car and headed straight for the midwife led unit.
It was obvious to the midwives that things were in motion and I was taken through to our lovely private room. With an exam I was amazed that I was 7 cm already! The midwife stayed close by and at one point I asked my husband to ask her to step out, remembering the courses advice about feeling unobserved. She did, but not for long as she was convinced things would happen very quickly. As my heart rate was slightly elevated I was offered constant monitoring, which I declined and opted for regular dopplers instead.
As it turned out, the baby went back to back which was painful and slowed things down. I used my breathing and some gas and air, and tried to remember my affirmations. I also remembered to try different positions, remember to keep hydrated and try peeing throughout - again all things I'd learnt on the course.
All of a sudden I was on all fours, practically hanging off the end of the bed, and a second midwife was in the room. Though nervous about tearing, I finally felt the urge to push (which was new for me as we never got there for my first); after the second push I could feel his head and was told one more would bring him to me; all of a sudden all of the strain of the last few hours disappeared and my final push was a euphoric one!
My husband cut the cord and I got immediate skin to skin with my wee boy. We were really lucky in that our midwife paid close attention to our wishes and, once the placenta was born and checks done, we're left to bond for a long time - we even got to stay in our private room for the rest of the day and we're sent home that evening as, despite being a beefy 8 pounds 13, I had just a graze and felt pretty amazing!
I'd never have thought my second birth could have been so different to the first, and genuinely wasn't sure I could cope with a vaginal birth. I'm so proud of myself for trusting my body and doing something I never thought I could. Thank you for helping us have the birth I always wanted.
Want to feel the same self trust and confidence that Claire did?