We attended your one day mindful mamma course in November and I wanted to share the experience of our birth with you, as it was due to the techniques that we learnt that day that we were able to have completely natural birth, despite circumstances not being as we wanted.
Molly Grace Banks was born at 1.54pm on Saturday 27 December weighing 8lb 3oz.
Although she was past her due date, when I went into labour on Boxing Day, I was still all set for the home water birth we had planned. I had my show at about 6.30am and mild contractions started around 7am.
Throughout the day I had more ‘show’ and intermittent contractions so we decided to call our Doula and the hospital to let them know. The midwife came round at about 2pm and said that this stage of labour could last a while so I should have a bath and rest and call them if things changed.
After I’d had a bath, around 5pm my contractions started to get closer together and more intense, so I got onto my ball and spent my time bouncing/twisting and inhaling lavendar oil whilst watching bits of ‘ Madagascar ‘!
By 8pm the contractions were about 3 mins apart and so we called the hospital and our Doula so that they could be here. The midwife examined me at 9pm and I was 3cm so things were going well and she said that she would stay as the baby was going to be born that night. I was coping really well and managing my contractions with breathing, inhalation of lavendar oil and moving around.
At about 12pm Dave got the pool ready and started to fill it as I was beginning to feel the need to get into it. Jenny the midwife examined me at 1am and I was 6cm so she agreed it was time to get into the pool. However as I got up to go downstairs my hind waters broke and they had meconium in them.
Unfortunately this meant we had to transfer to hospital and would need to go under consultant care which would require constant monitoring. I was upset but knew that we had to go for the babies safety.
On arrival at hospital I was hooked up to a monitor and brought a rather flat ball to use!! It was really difficult to move around as I had before as everytime I changed position the monitor fell off! After an hour and a quarter the midwife asked if she could examine me and I was still 6cm and they discovered that the fore waters hadn’t yet broken. The consultant wanted to break my fore waters and give me syntometrine to speed things up as they were concerned that the baby may swallow meconium. As the baby was fine at this point, I politely refused the interventions and my waters broke on their own 5 minutes later. (The consultant wasn’t particularly happy with me at this point!).
From about 4am til 7am I found that my breathing and lavendar oil weren’t quite enough so I had gas and air. At 7am, as it appeared things weren’t moving and due to my moving around they were struggling to keep a track of the babies heart, it was suggested that I was examined and a monitor put on the babies head. I agreed to examination but again politely refused the monitor and Dave and our Doula said they would try to hold the monitor in place as I moved around. Unfortunately the examination showed that things still hadn’t progressed and I was starting to get tired and stressed at this point, so again I was offered syntometrine and we were given time to discuss things.
I was certain I didn’t want the intervention and so Stephanie suggested that we ask if I could be taken off the monitor and move into the bathroom to try and regain some focus and hopefully take my mind off being in hospital which is why I was struggling. Although the consultant was very unhappy with this decision, our midwife was very supportive and spent a lot of time sat on the bathroom floor listening to baby with a sonocaid!!!
During this time, Dave worked with me to talk me through the contractions with visulations and breathing techniques we had learnt from the hypnobirthing course we did. This really helped, however after about 3 hours the consultants were very insistent that I needed to be constantly monitored as they couldn’t fully assess the baby.
We moved onto the bed and Dave continued to talk me through my contractions. (The monitor still wouldn’t stay in place as I was moving so had to be held on!). About half an hour later Donna the midwife asked if she could examine me again. I had reservations as I’d had quite a few since my waters had broken but I also knew that we needed to know progress as I had been told that if things hadn’t moved along by 1pm, I would have to have a section.
I was beginning to feel the need to push and when Donna examined me she found that my cervix was fully dilated and the babies head had started to move down. We then commenced pushing during which I continueld with my breathing and visulisations. Apparantly just before Molly was born I had begun to have enough and as her head crowned I asked for ventouse to get her out!!! However a couple of pushes later both her head and body shot out very fast!
A baby doctor was on standby but wasn’t needed as she was absolutely fine!
I had a physiological third stage and delivered the placenta about 15 minutes after Molly was born.
Although I didn’t get my home birth, I still managed to have the total natural experience that I wanted, although I hear that my hospital notes are full of comments about my refusal of everything!!!
Unfortunately a few hours after having Molly, I passed out and my pulse rate was 130. Due to this we spent our first night in the high dependency unit and didn’t come home until Tuesday 30 December (following a theme – I discharged myself!). My iron levels had fallen very low and the hospital felt that I should have a blood transfusion. As I felt ok in myself I didn’t think this was necessary and so am taking iron and resting at home instead.
I feel 110% better since coming home and we are getting on really well with Molly.
Thank you so much for the course, we would recommend the techniques to anyone, as they are so good and effective.
Dave, Sarah and Molly xxx