It's about time I shared my birth story, so here goes! It's a long one I'm afraid. This is baby number two for us and it's taken a few years to get to this point due to a very traumatic experience with our first.
Just a little insight; I didn't enjoy the pregnancy as it seemed like every day brought a new set of challenges and towards the end I was diagnosed with obstetric choleostasis (OC) and was told I had to be induced the next morning. I spent 2 days on the antenatal ward until they finally had space for me in delivery. Luckily they just had to break my waters but with the OC and meconium in my waters they decided I needed an oxytocin drip immediately. After a few hours, nothing was really happening so they turned it up to full dose before realising my waters hadn't been broken correctly. That's when things got pretty intense and quickly. The pain was surreal! Fast forward several more unbearable hours and my daughter was finally born.
The next year was a challenge with both PTSD and PND which I refused to get help for. I struggled to breast feed and felt guilty/a failure when I gave up. I was doing my best but every one else seemed to be doing so much better. So, 3 years later I finally decided I wanted another but was terrified. The chances of OC again are high and I couldn't go through the same trauma. I managed to push it to the back of my mind and found out I was pregnant, only to have a very early miscarriage a couple of days later. I was so upset but it showed me how much I wanted it so when I found out I was pregnant again I was over the moon.
I decided it had to be better this time so I found hypnobirthing in my area and met Christy. I'm so glad we did! Towards the end of this pregnancy (which was going so well) I was being monitored for OC again which never materialised, when out of the blue they said I had preeclampsia! Within a couple of days I went from being told they just needed to monitor me to 'we strongly recommend we induce you tomorrow'.
I was very upset but my husband was so supportive and we had learned so much from Christy. So I had a sweep and went home where I used everything I could think of to get this baby out! MP3s, birth ball, massage, spicy food, keeping active and trying to stay calm. When I was checked at the hospital the next day I was already 6-7cm and I had no idea I was already in labour! I felt very relaxed and after being told that, I was very happy! I decided to let them break my waters to speed things along and I started to get more intense surges but they were very manageable and we laugh about the fact I was eating my dinner while breathing through them. I timed it so that I could fit 3 mouthfuls in before my husband had to start with the counter pressure! I was gutted I didn't get to finish my ice cream before I really needed to start pushing!
No time for the pool and we had bought so much stuff to help such as my MP3s, music, aromatherapy oils, massage oil, LED candles etc but didn't even unpack them! I used all the breathing techniques with the gas and I didn't feel like I needed anything else. We used the BRAIN acronym a lot and the midwives were amazing.
For anyone worried about a hospital birth I can say that Pembury are so on board with hypnobirthing and thoroughly encourage it. From breaking my waters to giving birth to our little boy took a meer 2 hours and 45 minutes and I was so proud of myself and my husband for getting through it so easily compared to last time. It was hard work through transition, I wont lie, but wow, what an experience.
My luck didn't last long as my placenta got stuck and I ended up in theatre under general anaesthetic to remove it. I had lost an excessive amount of blood and was so grateful I had a hospital birth as they dealt with it all quickly and the staff were great. It was quite a long recovery to get my blood and energy levels back but regardless, the overall experience was still amazing.
Asking questions, making my own choices throughout and using all the tools learnt through our course made the world of difference and I can't begin to express my thanks to Christy!
You are one powerful Mother! What an amazing birth story, thank you so much for sharing it Natalie! To attend, or enquire about, a course with Christy or another of our fabulous teachers head here