Birth Stories
Helen's Birth Story….
After having our first child in hospital, I decided that, if we had any more children, they wouldn't be born in a consultant-led unit. Therefore, as soon as I discovered that I was pregnant with our second baby, I was determined that I wanted a home birth, a decision that was fully supported by my husband John. To give ourselves the best chance of achieving this, in the way that we wanted, with continuity of care and a midwife who was well known to us in attendance, we opted to book an independent midwife.
Vicky provided all my antenatal care at home at times that were convenient for us, which meant that I didn't have to take time off work for appointments or travel to my doctor's surgery. She also came to know John and our daughter Rosie, which also helped to make the experience more special for all of us. Rosie particularly liked hearing the baby's heart beat and was able to hold the Sonacaid. After Vicky had left, she would pretend to be a midwife and feel my tummy. I'm sure that this involvement helped her to prepare for the new arrival and adjust once the baby arrived, as she is very affectionate with the baby and (so far) hasn't shown signs of jealousy.
The pregnancy progressed without any problems and I felt healthy throughout. My main concern was that the baby would arrive too early for me to have a home birth, as Rosie had been born at 37 weeks. However, I reached full term, and at 38 weeks the labour started. The contractions became regular as we were putting Rosie to bed. John then finished inflating the birth pool (it had been partially inflated in the front room for over a week, just in case!) whilst I prepared a TENS machine and placed candles and an aromatherapy burner in the room. We then went to bed for a rest and to listen to the natal hypnotherapy CD that I had been using to prepare myself for the birth. When the contractions were occurring every five minutes, I phoned Vicky and John started to fill the pool. When Vicky arrived, she installed herself in the back room, just coming in to check the baby's heart beat every half an hour. Candles and lavender essential oil were burning in the birth room and I played a relaxing birth music CD, to make the atmosphere in the room as relaxing and private as possible. The first stage was relatively easy to cope with, with the aid of TENS, a birth ball, movement and yoga breathing. Towards the end of this stage, I entered the pool and immediately felt relief and relaxation. The second stage was more intense and difficult, but being in the water definitely helped, and at no time did I feel the need for gas and air (I inhaled clary sage on a flannel). At this point Vicky was closely monitoring the baby's heart beat (although I didn't notice this!) and providing encouragement and support.
At 6.20 am , the baby was born into the water and I picked her up and cuddled her. She didn't cry at all, just looked at me and at her surroundings. Even now, Ellen is a very calm and easily contented baby. We stayed in the water for half an hour to relax and recover, and Ellen seemed to enjoy still being in the warm water. We then left the pool and the placenta was delivered physiologically. Rosie slept until 8 o'clock , and then came downstairs to find me sat on the settee with her new sister. It was wonderful to be at home during and immediately after the birth, in my own surroundings and not having to be parted from Rosie and John. The labour, birth and postnatal period were all very relaxed. Everything was perfect, and I'm so pleased that I had the confidence in my own body to have a completely natural labour and birth, with no interventions or interference. It was an experience that John and I will always treasure.