A few weeks ago I was sent a wonderful birth story. One that shows the importance of attending a good quality, Midwife Led birth preparation course.
Will you know when your waters are the wrong colour? Will you understand what is going on? Fortunately, Jezne and Scott attended a Talking Babies Midwife Led course which meant they knew exactly what was going on, what to look out for and when to call a Midwife for help.
Their birth story is very empowering and I would like to thank them for sharing it with you. In the words of Jezne…
‘Knowledge is definitely power’
‘Hi Emily.
Hope you are well.
I wanted to let you know that our daughter was born on the 25th. We have named her Evie and even at just over two weeks old she is a feisty little madam. Being on the smaller side at 5lbs 15 at birth has not held her back.
I wanted to say a big thank you for all the information you provided during the classes. I learnt so much and am pleased I was able to put much of the breathing techniques into practice. A lot of the relaxation techniques were also so helpful during those long days and nights of the final few weeks of pregnancy.
Virtually all of my birth preferences went out the window when the day arrived. I was 40 weeks and three days when I felt the first cramping sensation at 7:00am. Over the next three hours I experienced these about every 10 to 15 minutes, then things ramped up pretty quickly. Moving between my birth ball, the bath and pacing up and down the hallway the contractions got very intense until the only comfortable position was swaying back and forth on my hands and knees. My husband was working from home and regularly checked in on me, reminding me to keep breathing steady. At 14:30 we called the labour line as the contractions were regular and I was making a significant amount of low moaning noises with each one now to get through them. As my waters had not yet broke we were told to stay at home a bit longer. However as soon as we hung up I felt an almighty urge to push resulting in my waters releasing with a film scene worthy gush. Unfortunately, the water was a very dirty colour. I cannot credit my husband enough for taking charge by putting clothes on me and getting me in the car when he was now very anxious about the baby and I was a bit useless at getting a move on. To add to his stress it was now after 15:00 so we hit all the school traffic. I had another five contractions in the car trying to hold back from pushing.
Upon arrival we were whisked straight up to the labour ward where an examination confirmed I was fully dilated. I had to double check with the midwife I had heard her right. I couldn’t believe it. The breathing had worked so much that I had got all the way without any pain relief.
This is where much of the calmness ends. The baby’s heart rate showed signs of distress so within minutes there were 8 staff members in the room and my legs were up in stirrups. I was offered gas and air but only had time for a few measly puffs as I was encouraged to push as much as I could now with each contraction. So much happened during the final part but I fully understood everything I was told and this is due to all the information the classes provided. I think also hearing there were concerns for the baby made me more determined to push with everything I had to get her out quickly. One staff member told me to hold my breath when pushing but this went against everything I had learnt and practiced. I shook my head and kept going with my birth breath, jaw open, releasing noise and thinking “down” with each push and I am so glad I stuck with that as it gave me something to focus on. With constant encouragement from my husband, help from a ventouse and an episiotomy, my body and adrenaline took over and baby was born at 16:34. The whole thing done in 9 and a half hours. Baby was assessed immediately and despite all the scares she had given us, she was absolutely perfect.
Though I did not have the water birth I wanted, I did succeed with my original goal. I didn’t want to feel helpless or panicked during labour and the classes proved invaluable to achieving that. Yes, it was by far, the single most hardest thing I have ever done in my life and I felt extremely battered, exhausted and shaky for a while after, but at no point did I feel scared or think I wouldn’t be able to make it through. Knowledge is definitely power.
Thank you Emily for all your hard work supporting mums and couples through this amazing, surreal experience.
Love Jezne, Scott and Evie’
A big congratulations again to Jezne and Scott they both clearly did exceptionally well at staying calm. If you would like to prepare properly for your birth like Jezne and Scott please join a Talking Babies course today.