First of all we want to say a big thank you for the amazing course and for all your help and advice in the run up to the birth. The course not only really helped during the birth but also before the birth which we have shared below.
At the beginning of my pregnancy, we were placed under a consultant so that we were monitored more closely as our first daughter was 5 weeks premature.
At 34 weeks, the consultant advised us that the baby was measuring big (likely to be around 10lbs at full term) and recommended that I was induced at 38 weeks to avoid the baby "getting stuck". I was very uncomfortable with this as I wanted a natural delivery and wanted the baby to come when it was ready but, despite voicing my concerns to the consultant, it fell on deaf ears and it was said that it would be "convenient" to be induced, and that we could "organise childcare" for our daughter. Following those comments, we asked if there were any serious risks to myself or the baby and it came to light that there was not so we agreed to review the baby's size closer to my due date in the hope that the baby would come naturally by itself.
The worry of induction however meant that my blood pressure increased significantly and sadly the consultant put doubts in my mind as to whether I could give birth naturally and that the baby could get stuck. Having completed the course I knew that I shouldn't be having these doubts so I continued practising the relaxation techniques and easy breathing each day and I found that the more I did them, the more I relaxed and believed in myself again which really helped my blood pressure to come down and keep me calm.
Fortunately, my waters broke naturally when I was 38 weeks + 5 days at 23.35 and I began to experience the early stages of labour. We headed to Frimley and they kept me in the labour ward as my waters had broken. We had 24 hours for labour to begin naturally before the risk of infection increased. But despite my waters only being broken for a matter of hours (and there being no immediate risk to me or the baby) the midwives were pushing the idea of getting induced saying, "why not get the baby out sooner now your waters have broken" and "you don't want to be stuck on a ward waiting for something to happen do you?"
Still feeling very uncomfortable with induction given there were not any risks at that point, I insisted on wanting to give the baby a chance to come naturally (just like it had with our first child once my waters had broken) and fortunately within a few hours I was in active labour.
The labour itself did not entirely go to plan. The baby was back to back and was triggering frequent and painful contractions. At its peak I was contracting 8 times every 10 minutes, getting breaks of only a matter of seconds between contractions. The easy and mountain breathing techniques along with listening to the relaxations helped massively in allowing me to zone out and getting through the bulk of these contractions, although I did use gas and air towards the end.
I got to 6cm dilated but unfortunately, due to having so many contractions and constantly having the urge to push, my cervix became swollen and I was no longer dilating. After discussions with my husband and the midwife, we took the decision to have a 'mobile epidural' to prevent the urge to push and allow the swelling to die down. Because it was only a small dose however, I could still move around and still had the ability to control what I was doing.
Fortunately, the swelling went down and baby Oliver was born about an hour later at 11.35 on the 20th January, weighing a fairly weighty 9lbs 10ozs with no further intervention. So it was a quick and intense 12 hours from when my waters broke to when he was born. The goddess breathing really helped me push him out, especially when they told me I was seconds away from needing an episiotomy if he didn't come out shortly which I wanted to avoid if possible. Despite being told this, I kept calm and continued with the goddess breathing and out he came.
Although there were a couple of curve balls experienced during the labour, the breathing and relaxation techniques taught during the course helped both me and baby Oliver keep calm throughout the birth. The midwives also commented on how calm and happy Oliver was throughout the labour. My husband Tom was also a huge help during the labour and with him being familiar with all the techniques meant he could guide me through where necessary.
We are now 2 weeks into this wonderful journey of having Oliver in our family and he is still a very calm and relaxed baby. Having a calm birth we feel played a big part in this.
Although it turned out differently to my birth plan, we were always open minded with what could happen however, I think had we not done the course, things could have turned out even more differently, perhaps with more intervention which just shows how invaluable the course was to all three of us - myself, Tom and Oliver. The course made a huge difference for me in particular both before and during the birth and I am so pleased we did it! I cannot recommend the course highly enough. Thanks so much again Hannah, you were a fantastic teacher!
Love Sam, Tom, Rosie and Oliver xxxx