A happy birth story

I’m so excited to be able to write my birth story. Although I found it lengthy and mentally challenging, overall it was such a positive experience and I feel incredibly proud to be able to share it. ️ I have learned to trust my body, my feelings and choices and feel so empowered by that.
Lengthy birth story, so grab yourself a cuppa! ️
​
A happy birth story:

• FTM

• known baby girl - Emilie Olive (7lb)

• born 21/12/20 at 7.48pm

• 40+5

• hospital birth (midwife led - delivery suite)

• tens, paracetamol, codeine, gas & air, epidural, hormonal drip

• long but positive natural labour - 46 hours from first surge

• induction offered due to “big baby” but strongly declined and had a very positive spontaneous natural birth.

My pregnancy was generally low risk though I was under consultant led care due to low BMI (I’m just really petite). I also had an issue at 20 weeks with what doctors thought was pre-term labour and I had glycosuria throughout which led doctors to believe I had GD so I did blood sugar monitoring for a short while. I also had growth scans every 2 weeks and was told that I was having a “big baby” which was consistently tracked on the 90th-97th centile which was why I was repeatedly offered induction of labour from 38/39 weeks.

I had braxton hicks contractions for several weeks before birth which became much stronger towards 39/40 weeks. At 39 weeks I was strongly persuaded into accepting an induction due to the reasons above and 1 previous episode of reduced movement. I declined this repeatedly as I trusted that my baby was healthy and my body would be capable. Instead of accepting an induction I had 3 sweeps over the next couple of weeks and was 1cm dialated and favourable by my due date (Wed 16th Dec). Contractions ramped up over the next few days and after my 3rd sweep 3 days later I went for a walk up the Malvern hills to try to get things going. It worked! By 10pm that night contractions started to become more intense and by the Sunday morning I had a strong feeling that I was heading towards established labour so I bounced on my ball and went for another local walk. I used the Freya app to time my surges and by midday on the Sunday 20th I was in established labour. I was thrilled that my labour had started spontaneously without the need for induction. In order to up my oxytocin I decided to go to the pub with my partner for lunch. We sat happily in front of a roaring fire and shared a hot pork sandwich! It was very empowering to know that we’d soon be meeting our little girl and we really enjoyed our last ‘date’ as a couple! I managed the surges with up breathing in between mouthfuls of hot pork sandwich!

When we returned home I got in a warm bubble bath and as the surges became more intense I felt the need to bite down and so I used a baby teether and found this really helped. After the bath I became a bit anxious as things were really ramping up so we decided to use the tens machine which helped to distract me, however I did feel that it made me tense up rather than relax and I became anxious again so called triage to let them know that I might be seeing them soon! My aim was to stay at home for as long as possible but being a first time mum, I was concerned that things would speed up quickly so we packed up our bags and popped into triage.

By the time we arrived at hospital I started to struggle with the intensity of the contractions and was given codeine and paracetamol. I accepted an examination as I was curious about my own progress and was a bit disappointed to hear that I was still only 1cm, though things were softening up. Suddenly I felt a trickle and realised my waters had broken, the swab test confirmed this and I was immediately offered an augmentation of labour (hormonal drip to speed things up, pethidine or an epidural for pain relief and potentially antibiotics depending on the time it took from waters breaking to birth due to the risk of infection)

I was concerned about whether this kind of intervention was necessary and although I was anxious about coping with the intensity of the surges, I decided to return home to get the oxytocin flowing and keep things progressing naturally which the dr declared was a brave move! I used what I had learned from my antenatal course with Jo and Helen at ‘Becoming Families’ and I set up a calm and relaxing environment at home with battery operated tea lights and music and went to bed. During the night I used up breathing to cope with the surges, drank plenty of water and swayed my hips with each one. I visualised walking up a mountain and as each contraction peaked I imagined pushing a flag into the earth at the peak of the mountain. This continued every 2/3 minutes and contractions were over a minute long. At 4.30am on Monday morning I felt a strong desire to return to hospital for more pain relief.

When I arrived at hospital I was examined again and was still 1cm and was offered the option of going home or staying, I chose to stay in the hope for more pain relief. I was admitted to the antenatal ward alone and was quite sad to say goodbye to my partner but knew that he would be able to return for visiting hours. By 11am things had continued to ramp up and after another examination I was so happy to hear I was 3cm and was finally offered gas and air! I was absolutely overjoyed and although the gas and air didn’t take the pain away, it made me feel lovely and floaty! My partner arrived an hour later and then suddenly a midwife popped by and offered to take me to delivery suite as a room had become available. I was over the moon as I had prepared myself for a lengthy wait and was also high on gas and air!

Upon arriving in my own room I was full of oxytocin and Entonox, happily singing along to my birth playlist and bouncing on my ball. The midwife offered to break my second lot of waters which I accepted and I continued to labour quite happily though I was at this point only breathing in the gas and air exclusively and began to experience a bit of a “tripping out” where I felt like I was living everything 3 times over! This made me anxious and I began to overthink what was happening within my body and went to a dark and scary place, knowingly beginning to lose control and beginning to feel disappointed as my expectation of a calm water birth was slipping away. I found the following couple of hours extremely mentally challenging. After so many hours of contractions I began to worry about having the energy to push and at 6/7cm I finally decided to have an epidural so that I could rest and relax. This was the hardest but also the best decision I had made. I’m terrified of needles and especially cannulas, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought and the midwives helped me to relax. I also had a couple of hours on the hormonal drip to help me along as the epidural slowed my progress somewhat. Helen popped in for a visit and some wise words of encouragement in my moment of need. She coached me into a better breathing pattern and I gradually regained control, back to a happy place ️

By 4pm the epidural and hormonal drip worked their magic and I was able to relax, I had some IV antibiotics as it had been 18hours since my waters had broken and by 7pm my midwife announced that I was fully dilated and could start pushing! Thankfully I hadn’t released much of the self-administering epidural and I could feel the pressure to push for myself. Along with some coaching from my amazing midwife, I pushed my baby out myself within 50 minutes, just 10 minutes before her shift ended, which was all the motivation I needed as I was desperate for her to meet my baby!

I touched the head of my baby as I rested between each push and was able to bring her up to my own chest. It was the most incredible feeling. I accepted the injection for 3rd stage whilst having skin to skin for half an hour before handing her to my partner for skin to skin as I was being sick. The anti-sickness injection sorted me out quickly and then I breastfed, completely in awe of my new baby girl and continued to fall in love whilst barely noticing I was being stitched for a second degree tear. My midwife was chatty and just so lovely and my oxytocin continued to flow happily for the night and next day on postnatal ward and the subsequent hazy, loved-up new-born days since.

My wish is that my story will inspire others to trust their own body, feelings and choices. You can still have a positive and empowering experience even when things don’t go according to plan. You’ve totally got this mamas!

A positive early birth experience

Sooooo here goes. The start to my labour was a little shock – as it happened before Peach’s due date (Peach was our baby’s nickname), it all happened naturally and with little pain. No sudden gushing of my waters (like all the films would have you believe!) and no sudden onset pain from contractions. So here goes……

I’d had ‘stomach ache’ on and off all afternoon – I put it down to eating something odd/the cup of coffee I’d had (as this often made my tummy turn a little). Later that evening I called triage as the pain was getting stronger and more like a shooting sensation. They said to relax at home (as I had no other symptoms that meant they were concerned for me/baby) and if I still didn’t feel too good to call back. Well about an hour later I did, as the pains were still there, and roughly every 7 - 10 mins the pain came (not a completely set pattern, so I assumed maybe stomach ache still or Braxton hicks). I should add I had an achy back, but no more so than as per usual from sitting at my desk all day. So they said to come in for a once over at 1:15am. 1:30am my dad dutifully drove me to the hospital (as my husband had gone away for a final ‘before kids’ weekend with a good friend in London).

Once in triage I was greeted by a very friendly midwife and a trainee. They hooked me up to a machine to measure my pains and monitor Peach’s heartbeat. 1 hour passed, during which I was monitored regularly and they were happy with everything they saw, but noticed the pains were getting more intense. Both the trainee and midwife did an internal exam and very calmly confirmed that I was in labour, 3-4cm dilated already. At this I burst into tears and buried my face in my hands, I WAS NOT expecting them to say this! It was too early, I was only 36weeks and 6 days! They quickly took my shoulders and comforted me, reminding me it was all ok, baby’s heartbeat was strong, I was almost full term and it wasn’t going to happen instantly so there was plenty of time for my husband to get to the hospital. They asked if anyone was with me, then went to get my dad from the front entrance. They then offered to call whomever I needed, including my husband. They offered reassurance and drinks/ snacks too throughout my time in triage.

I was then moved to a delivery room, where I remained with another midwife and trainee. Who again were most supportive, checking my monitors, talking to me, finding out what I did and didn’t want and monitoring my pain levels to then give me anything to help the pain.

I should add my husband arrived at the hospital around 5:30am.

Further into my labour around 7am I was given gas and air, as my pain had begun to intensify with each contraction, this was my preferred method of pain relief. Prior to this I had simply been given paracetamol and one dose of codine – as my preference was to avoid all other pain medication, which the midwives respected.

Shift swap then took place at 8am, where I had a new midwife and trainee. Again both were super!!! Politely asking if I was happy with the trainee to do internal exams, and if I was not to just say and even during the examination to ask to stop if it was too uncomfortable. Again both were super supportive checking on me, talking to me and keeping me informed on what was happening. They even double checked some things I’d been asked previously (like did I want certain thing or not) I was left to move around as much as I wanted (with the only constraint being that I had to be attached to the monitor constantly). I had a bed I moved around freely, a ball to bounce on and was left to move and get into whatever positions I felt best suited me.

As labour progressed I was given immense amounts of encouragement from the midwives present – which was so reassuring. I was never left alone – again very reassuring. I was informed about what was showing on the monitors – which reassured me Peach was all ok too. The team were also sure to keep reminding me to breathe (utilising the gas and air as I did) and suggestions provided to move into different positions to help me be more comfortable and make delivery easier. The team only moved me when it was really necessary for examinations (they did try to work around what was comfortable for me as much as possible).

When pushing again loooooots of positive reinforcement was provided and I felt I was truly in a safe and supportive environment because of this. Regular changes of bedding were provided too, as these get wet and dirty during labour. My waters didn’t break until I actively started pushing, then 2 more pushes and Peach was here.

Once Peach arrived she was handed to me ASAP, for skin to skin. My husband was then able to cut the cord, as this was a request they had noted early on into my labour. The team provided support for the after birth, ensuring both myself and Peach were warm, well fed and as comfortable as possible. We were left alone to be a little family of 3 for a short while, and the team just checked in on us regularly. We were left in the delivery room to recover and relax for quite a while, even allowing me the chance to shower and refresh. It was amazing as we were not rushed out of the delivery room, so got a chance to really enjoy being with our beautiful new daughter.

I should add that throughout my time in the delivery suite I was visited by multiple other medical professionals. Often this was because they were checking the work of others, or it was necessary due to Peach being premature. But every time somebody entered they knocked first and asked if it was ok to come in, they also explained why they were there so that I understood they were there for a good reason.

Once on the ward I was given the same amazing care as during labour; lots of regular checks on both myself and Peach, as well as every call of the assistance buzzer being met with a friendly face and excellent support. Overall, I had a very straightforward birth, no major issues with delivery, no tears, no need for a c-section, respect and support constantly shown by all staff we encountered, and overall a relatively quick labour lasting from 1:30am-10:43am, with roughly just 20 mins of pushing.

The best day of our lives!

After doing the antenatal course- I was expecting a long birth for my first time and thought I would spend most of that time at home. However, it didn’t quite pan out like way.

My waters broke at 1am the day after my due date. I had no other symptoms but knew I was supposed to call triage. Due to some reduced movements earlier in my pregnancy they asked me to come in for some cautionary monitoring.

I arrived at triage at about 2.30am and was monitored for a while, as I didn’t have a lot of movements to start with. Whilst being monitored I started to have mild contractions. The contractions started to ramp up whilst I was waiting for a doctor to confirm my discharge. The doctor told me at 4am that I was 2cm dilated and should come back to hospital if I hadn’t progressed by 10pm. However, by the time I made it to the car- my contractions were back to back and I couldn’t face sitting in the seat- so we decided to head back in and speak to a midwife.

By the time we got to triage after a very slow walk- I felt like I needed the toilet and decided to sit in the toilet on the hallway outside triage whilst my husband got a midwife. As it was my first baby a number of midwife’s popped in and told me to remember to breathe through the contractions and asked me to head to the waiting room when I could. It was at this point I shouted to my husband to call our continuity midwife on-call number as I knew it was all happening a bit faster than I thought it would. After trying to get signal- he managed to get hold of Helen who told us she would be right in.

I somehow managed to make it to the hallway outside the waiting room in-between contractions and the midwife who was looking after me whilst being monitored saw my demeanour and told me to go back into the room I was in earlier. After heading straight to the toilet and telling the midwife I felt like I needed to poo, they promptly got me on the bed and told me I was 9cm dilated and needed to go straight down to delivery. This was at 5am (an hour after being originally discharged). I told them I wanted a water birth and was told by the time the pool had filled up I would have had my baby. I was offered gas and air- which after I was shown how to use it properly- I promptly told my husband was good stuff (although I used some more fruitful language). I was wheeled to a delivery suite where I was met by two lovely midwives, a student midwife and another lady who said she would look after me until Helen arrived. Helen arrived so quickly and it was such a relief to both of us to see a friendly and familiar face due to how quick everything was happening. We didn’t even have any bags. After only 30-45 minutes of pushing- our little baby boy arrived and was placed on me- screaming his little head off. Weighing a whopping 9lb 14oz.

We had skin to skin for over an hour whilst I was checked and stitched up and was shown how to get him to latch on. My continuity midwife then took over from Helen and brought tea and toast and helped me to shower whilst my husband got his first hold.

After having all of his tests we were out of the hospital by 12.30pm and home within 12 hours of my waters first breaking. The care we received during and after delivery was amazing and we couldn’t thank everyone enough. It was a very fast birth and is slightly a blur- but was such an amazing experience and the best day of our lives!

More like watching someone go for Gold than your favourite pub burning down...

My birth was nothing like I'd imagined. I had hoped for a calm birth on MLU, ideally in water, I'd got my bag of distractions and photos and obscene amounts of snacks packed and we'd practised massage, different positions and breathing techniques. So when my labour stopped 12 hours after my waters broke and it became clear that we were looking at augmentation I was disappointed and a little bit scared.

I'd heard that when you're induced there's a long wait for beds on delivery (in fact I'd made us late stopping at Sainsbury's for a dressing gown and more food), but because my waters were 24h gone and they were worried about infection we effectively jumped the queue and were on delivery with a cannula in within an hour. Our midwife got us ready to go (me and my snack bag were shocked to hear there's no eating once the drip has started), but then because of other emergencies on delivery nothing actually started until 6am the next day, having arrived at 6pm. This was a blessing really - since we were already on delivery, I had a private room and Milo could stay, I wasn't self conscious with the contractions I was having, and we had time to get used to the idea. Scrolling at midnight, I read online that you should think of induction as a choice you've made in the best interests of your baby instead of something you're forced to do and it made me feel more in control.

Everybody says that induction is much more painful than spontaneous labour, and honestly, I was scared. I'd found just the examination when I arrived quite painful and I'd been listening to women elsewhere on delivery screaming all night and I felt almost certain I wouldn't cope without an epidural. In reality I was pleasantly surprised. Milo advocated for me to be able to move as much as possible, the student midwife helped me get my breathing techniques right and we turned our star projector on and giggled and danced and bounced our way from 2 to 4cm within the first four hours. I hadn't really wanted continuous monitoring, but the constant rhythm of little Maisie's heartbeat in the background motivated me to keep going.

By my next examination (6cm) the CTG wasn't reading properly and they wanted me to stay on the bed so they could keep an eye on her heart. This position was much more painful and I was miffed, so I compensated myself with the gas and air, and honestly has a great afternoon after that. It didn't remove the pain but it made me feel calm and relaxed and able to sleep for a minute or so at a time between contractions and took away any inhibitions I had with the staff looking after me, so we talked about everything and anything. I wasn't aware of labour intensifying but it must've done as when I needed a wee and the gar and air didn't reach, the air was blue!

The end of the first stage was hard - all day they'd been gradually dropping the drip as my natural contractions took over, but by this point the CTG was terrible, so while my midwives could see I was contracting with almost no breaks by looking at me, the nurse in charge couldn't see it from a trace and wouldn't let them turn the drip down any further. I asked for an epidural because I thought it would make them take it more seriously, but they called my bluff, and an anaesthetist, and I only avoided actually having one because it became clearer that I was in transition while the poor man was trying to consent me.

The second stage was quick; a fetal scalp electrode was placed as the trace was still pants, and then the FSE reading was not reassuring, the room filled with people, and I had a significant episiotomy to get her out faster. High on the last traces of entonox and aware that there were concerns about her heart, I would've thought I'd be terrified but in fact I just felt really focused. I ditched the gas and air so I could concentrate, clenched my teeth for the cut and pushed as hard as I could, focusing so hard that when she actually came out I didn't notice and had to be told to open my eyes. And just like that, silent and blue until she was rubbed with a towel, Maisie Indigo Forest had arrived.

I didn’t get the golden hour I'd hoped for but it was still amazing. They were worried about bleeding, so there was an injection and then a sharp tug to get the placenta out, then a buzzer pull due to the bleeding, then once they'd established that it was not in fact a haemorrhage but outrageous bleeding from my enormous vagina wound, a poor midwife had to lean on my perineum to apply pressure until someone confident to do the stitches arrived. This meant Maisie was handed off to Milo (who whipped his shirt off like he was on Baywatch) quite early on although I did get a few minutes skin to skin. Again, I would've expected to be beside myself with all the drama but I felt so confident I was in good hands.

The birth I'd thought would be painful and disempowering turned out to be beautiful. In spite of the monitors and drip, I got to move around, relax to a calm playlist (which still brings tears to my eyes if I hear it), see my husband in a new light, and make all the choices I could. Because I'd been to becoming families, I understood what was happening and I had a lot of confidence in my body and what it could do, and I felt proud of being able to manage the pain better than I'd expected. I also want to say that making a birth plan wasn't a waste of time and it didn't go out the window when my plans changed, it helped me remember what my priorities were and what things I was still able to make choices about. Interventions I really hadn't wanted like the scalp electrode and the managed third stage, were absolutely fine when I understood why they were necessary, and I'd worry less about my plans changing next time.

From a Dad’s perspective, Milo described it as an amazing experience, and more similar to watching someone go for gold at the Olympics than watching your favourite pub burn down. He was not a spare part, but advocated for me throughout, helped me with my breathing, asked the right questions, rubbed my back, reassured me when it was tough, and even got a detailed tour of my stitches from the nurse so he could help me understand what had happened later. He also cried more than I did. Although a few things didn't go to plan, it was nothing like the horror stories people love to tell when you're pregnant, and although I'll try for a calm water birth again if I have another one, I'll go into it confident that any kind of birth can be a positive experience.

A healing home-birth (VBAC)

My son was born by emergency caesarean on the back of a 5 day labour and an unsuccessful homebirth. When I discovered I was pregnant again I did a lot of trauma resolution to ensure I could have the birth I needed to heal from my previous experience.

On Saturday 2nd March we had such a lovely day. My husband and I did a hypnobirthing workshop and it really got the good feelings flowing. We did a trail run of the birth pool with my son, he loved it! On the Sunday we had a lovely family day and for the first time I really felt ready for the baby.

My contractions began at bedtime on Monday (4th) March. They were only one an hour so I went to bed and managed to get sleep in between them. In the morning I decided to get my mum to pick up my son so that I could have a good go at “getting things going”. My husband and I went to a midwife appointment then to get a few last bits for the birth.

When we got home my husband set up the room and I spent the time watching some tv and listening to music. By 1pm my contractions were more regular but lasting no more than 30 seconds. I was only really able to get comfortable standing up, swaying, breathing through the contractions, using the TENS machine and my husband sweeping down my legs. By 6pm I believe I was in established labour with consistent contractions (still not the 3 every 10 mins lasting a minute that is the guideline for calling the midwife). We called our Doula as I felt like I could do with some guidance and reassurance. She arrived and suggested that we should call triage to get the ball rolling with the midwives. There was a delay with them getting back to us by which time I was very much in the thick of it, weeping and tiring from all of the standing up. I decided to go upstairs for a lie down, at this point the midwives arrived (around 9pm and both together). They requested an examination, I allowed for them to check my blood pressure and the babies position but declined internal examination. After a short while upstairs and finding the presence of the midwives a bit overwhelming and the pain relief of the TENS machine wearing off, I requested the pool. My husband readied it and I got in, the water was very soothing. The next 2 hours were spent breathing my way through strong contractions but feeling in control and relaxed in between. On request the midwives were really hands off, enabling me to connect with my body and truly feel what was happening and believe my body knew what it was doing. I could feel her moving down with every contraction and when her head was born I was elated! I had done it, birthed my baby, my way! The midwives said they had never seen anyone this elated before the whole baby was born but I knew that was the hardest bit done. My doula used clary sage to speed up the next contraction and with that my baby girl was born. Just the best feeling in the world. We stayed in the pool for my placenta to be born, lapping up the amazing experience. The midwives stayed for a few hours doing their checks and clearing up and then it was just us. We were tucked up in bed by 2am with our precious baby.

Trusting my body and having the strong support system of my husband and doula allowed me to give birth to my baby in the way I had always hoped I would.

A hugely positive C-Section Experience

I went into spontaneous labour at home when my waters broke on Tuesday 25th July 2023 but unfortunately later discovered that our son had pooed so had to be admitted straight away as we both needed to be monitored closely. After 12 hours of labour we discovered that I was only 2cm dilated and not progressing as we’d have hoped so induction was advised. I was hooked up to the hormone drip which start to progress labour and dilation however our son wasn’t happy at all and was showing huge signs of being distressed. Our midwives and doctor closely monitored baby for a while but later made the decision for me to have an emergency c-section. This was music to our ears as we didn’t want any more drama and wanted to know that our son was safe and earth side. We can’t thank the midwives, doctors, anaesthetists and everyone else involved in the safe arrival of our son via caesarean section. Everyone knew what they were doing and the situation was handled so calmly and as dignified as possible. I have nothing but positive things to say about our c section experience and can say there is nothing to worry about if this is the way things go. A hugely positive experience for us and wonderful to meet little one in a calm way.

A “big” surprise!

It was our "last" Friday we said to ourselves venturing out to the pub (I wasn't drinking obviously)

as that morning I'd begun losing my plug but I'd heard so many mixed reviews on how soon that meant labour was starting so I decided to keep my mouth shut until something more happened.

After polishing off a battered sausage in the car about 7pm - what baby wants baby gets guys! - I started to feel what I can only describe as period pains, these came and went every half an hour and were nothing more than slightly uncomfortable. By 10pm I wanted to go home and get some sleep, still in slight denial this was even happening.

I texted my mum and best friend saying it's happening!! I was excited but mostly just trying to focus on all the breathing techniques I'd learnt.

My other half had typically passed out on the bed, I was tired too so I tried to lie down but as soon as I got onto the bed I felt the pain ramp right up and I immediately jumped back up. It was in that moment I knew (39+4) it was all about to get very real.

I went down stairs made a drink and got myself as comfy as I could leaning over my yoga ball. Timing the contractions using the Freya app suggested I should call triage, only just meeting the contraction criteria but they advised I should come in to get checked as I was in a lot of pain and being sick at this point.

I woke my partner up and we headed into the hospital with bedroom bin for being sick in hand.

By this time it was 5am and I was told I was 5cm dilated. I originally wanted a meadow birth with little pain relief but that soon went out the window as I not so politely asked for an epidural (10/10 recommend)

Everything went smoothly from here on, my continuity midwife arrived and looked after me every single moment, my amazing student midwife handed me anything and everything I needed and I was literally loving life.

12 hours later I'm still in labour and they're contemplating speeding things up with an induction as I wasn't dilating very fast. My body didn't like that thought and before we knew it I was 8cm and progressing quickly to 10cm.

The pushing stage started and with fantastic guidance from the team within an hour of pushing my big 10lb boy was born completely naturally. I used little effort and felt my body doing all the hard work for me, it was incredible. Did I know he was going to be 10lbs? Absolutely not! Am I glad I didn't know? Absolutely yes!

He was placed on my tummy to which I exclaimed is he ok and gosh he feels heavy, but it was the most amazing moment of my life. Something I truly cannot put into words. I was surrounded by amazing strong midwives and my fantastic partner whom I'd totally ignored for around 24hours by this point.

We were stitched up, cleaned up and wheeled off for more tea and toast. The days following were just as great as we were visited daily by the continuity team and we were allowed to borrow the hospital breast pump due to latching issues. I loved the experience so much and would love to be able to share my story to others to enable them to have a positive experience too.

A healing VBAC

I gave birth to my beautiful daughter at Worcester Hospital at 35weeks. After a difficult pregnancy, I wanted to have another vaginal delivery even after previous 3rd degree. I wanted to have a very controlled hands on birth following the OASI bundle.

Luckily I was given lovely Midwives Hayleigh & Steph to support and care for us in labour. I had another quick 1hr 40 Labour but they made me feel safe and in control. My flight and fight kicked in and I would like previous panic and push baby out quickly but this time, I was made to feel safe enough to feel in control and slowly deliver together with hands on support we did it. Hayleigh helped deliver my daughter and followed what I asked for and I was able to have a very controlled empowering and in my chosen position birth. Something that I always wanted to experience.

As for postnatal I also only had minor 1st that didn’t even need stitches. It made such a huge difference this time around being controlled and not tearing. It also shows that another vaginal delivery after 3rd and no reoccurrence is also possible. So Thank you Hayleigh for giving me a positive birth experience I always wanted. It was really empowering.

My daughter was 5lb 4oz I had a premature labour, however I felt safe and myself and daughter were well looked after. Our little rainbow was born perfect with no medical problems. So even when you have had previous birth trauma and labour happens early which is scary, it can still overall be a positive empowering birth."