This week’s birth story comes from a lovely couple Amy and Alan who attended a TCBS Hypnobirthing Course with Katie Daibess of Birth and Becoming, covering Troy, Michigan in the USA.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful story with us!
“This was my second pregnancy- my first came early at 34 weeks + 5 days. Which means I had a slight increased risk of delivering preterm again. Wednesday the 29th I was 35 weeks + 6 days, I thought “I’ve pretty much made it to 36 weeks! Yay!”
Well at 2am I was woken up suddenly by a pretty intense period cramp feeling, but then it went away. Then came back, then went away. After 3-4 more of these I thought…maybe I should start timing these. After 30 minutes of timing, it turned out I was having contractions about 5-4 mins apart.
I didn’t want to wake my husband just yet, because it had only been about 45 mins total. (From what I’ve learned you should time them for an hour because they could go away completely). I got up and went to the bathroom & just like I thought…blood. Here came the “bloody show” and I indeed was going into labour! YAY!!!! I was ready!!! I started texting my doula to let her know. Then called the midwife hotline. Because I was “late-preterm” they wanted me to go into hospital now. I was excited!
Contractions were pretty mild, I was able to pack my bag, eat a little quick bite & off to the hospital we went! On the way there I listened to my positive birth affirmations track and breathed through each contraction. In between I was able to talk & laugh a little with my husband. I was actually really enjoying the whole thing!
We got to triage, and contractions started to intensify, but I felt completely in control. I was dilated to 1 cm. My husband was in contact with the doula. I got my COVID-19 test done as quickly as possible so that results could come back in time for my doula to be present for the rest of labour. By 6 am we were in a room, and I was on a birthing ball moving around and breathing through each contraction. The toilet became a good labour place for an hour or so. Then I moved to the shower, which was AMAZING! I stood up & let the warm water run on my low back.
I opted to get hooked up to an IV because my strep B test results wouldn’t have come back in time, so I got penicillin via IV. I was still able to move comfortably with the IV in as well as the baby monitor that was strapped around my belly. I was up & moving around, changing positions frequently & my husband helping me get through each contraction.
By 11 am my water still had not broken, I asked to get checked again & was dilated to 3 cm dilated. I was already starting to feel pretty tired. I laboured for another two hours and then asked again to get checked, I was still at a 3/almost 4 cm dilated. My midwife suggested breaking my water might help move things along a little quicker. I agreed, as I was ready to meet my baby. About 30 minutes after breaking my water my contractions got very intense. I asked for an epidural. My midwife & doula reassured me that I could do this without one and were very encouraging. But I was comfortable with getting an epidural and really just wanted to be able to rest some before it was time to push. By 2pm my epidural was in full force, and I was able to relax. I was laughing and talking with my doula & husband, it honestly was great.
Around 4:15 pm I started to feel some contractions again, not painful, enough to know they were happening, and I was still able to use my breathing to get through some. I was still changing positions frequently.
Babies heart rate started to drop every time I had a contraction, I could feel him moving lower and lower into my pelvis. After about 10 times of his heart rate dropping, paediatric doctors started to come in the room and a regular OBGYN as well. I kept my eyes closed but could hear them all talking. My doula reminded my husband & midwife that I didn’t want a lot of people in the room. My midwife calmly asked if she could speak to one of the doctors outside of the room. She was confident that I could continue with labour and that baby was going to come very soon.
I got into my pushing position at 5:01 pm. I knew exactly when to push and was able to make my own call on when to do so. My husband was on one side and my doula on the other. 18 minutes later I reached down and was able to grab my baby boy and place him on my chest to hold him!!! My husband cut his umbilical cord and he was able to stay in the room with us the rest of the time.
It was the most amazing & empowering experience! I wouldn’t have changed a single thing!”
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