The Bump to Baby Chapter Antenatal Class; Sophie’s Birth Story

First-time-mum Sophie absolutely bossed birth after attending The Bump to Baby Chapter Antenatal Class. Sophie used so many techniques she had learned on the course to keep calm and confident in birth; EBRAN, TENs machine, UFO, and so much more. Love reading positive birth stories? You’re in the right place…

My due date was 09.12.22 but I followed the guidance from The Bump to Baby Chapter antenatal class (baby arriving between 37 and 42 weeks) and prepared myself for baby arriving at some point in December.

Due Date Approaching

As my due date approached, I decided to have the stretch and sweep that was offered at my 40 weeks appointment. I was keen to encourage spontaneous labour and hopefully avoid an induction. I had an attempted stretch and sweep at this appointment but my midwife was unable to carry it out. My cervix still being very posterior and fully closed.

I decided I would have another stretch and sweep in a few days and made plans each day to avoid obsessing over my due date coming and going. I re-watched The Bump to Baby Chapter videos from the online course around induction. I had the stretch and sweep and kept my birth affirmations at the forefront of my mind. I also ignored the endless messages asking whether the baby was ‘here yet’.

I had another stretch and sweep at 40 plus 3 days. Again this was unsuccessful with my cervix still being closed and far back.

Booking Induction

At this point I decided to book in for an induction at 40 plus 11. I decided if/ when that date approached I would then decide whether to wait it out or go ahead. Using EBRAN I made this decision on the basis that I wanted where possible to have my baby on the birth unit. A successful induction at 40 plus 11 meant this was still possible whereas at 2 weeks “late” I would be having my baby on the consultant led unit.

I was a little nervous at this time as at our 36 week scan baby was measuring approximately 7lb. I thought she might be ‘too big’ to push out if I left it longer. But – I had Beth’s words ringing in my head and told myself my body was designed to do this. I am also nearly 6ft tall so figured my baby was the right size for my body!

Labour Spontaneously Starting

At 41 weeks I had another stretch and sweep as I was very keen to go into spontaneous labour. My cervix was still pretty closed it was successful (albeit very uncomfortable) – the breathing I learnt at The Bump to Baby Chapter Antenatal Class helped enormously with managing the discomfort.

After the stretch and sweep I had a show the next day followed by mild contractions. I decided to keep myself busy and went for a walk, did a puzzle, had several baths and went out for lunch. In the late afternoon / early evening the contractions intensified and got closer together. My partner and I got out the diffuser, tens machine and played some chilled music. I wanted to keep UFO so spent lots of time on my exercise ball. My contractions were very manageable with breathing (in for 4 out for 7). The tens machine was incredible – I pressed the burst button each time I had a contraction!

On Saturday evening when my contractions got closer together I rang up Gloucester birth unit. We decided to go in to be assessed. When we got there we were greeted by a lovely midwife and shown to a room straight away. Unfortunately on further assessment I was 1cm dilated. This felt very disappointing at first particularly as my contractions had slowed down on arrival. This was most likely due to the adrenaline I was producing when transferring from home to the hospital.

At this point I reminded myself that this was still progress and my cervix had done lots of hard work to even get to this point.”

We decided to go home and get my oxytocin back up.

Back at Home

When I got home my contractions stopped overnight and did not restart again until the following day. As I did before I managed the contractions at home in the same way I had previously with my mum and partner making me endless cups of tea! Annoyingly this was the day that Gloucester’s water was cut off so I couldn’t have a bath as my contractions intensified which was how I had planned to manage my contractions. I ignored that my plan had gone a little astray and focused on my other techniques that meant my contractions were manageable and I felt in control.

Heading (back) to Hospital

When my contractions were around 3minutes apart for a minute we called the birth unit who asked us to come in. We were again greeted by a fantastic midwife at Gloucester royal (Wendy). She made sure we were comfortable in our room by setting up our diffuser. We bought frankincense oil which I highly recommend. She got out the birthing balls (I also requested a peanut ball), turning on the starry lights and playing our playlist.

After an initial examination I found out I was 3cm dilated. I decided to stay in hospital. I was also told at this point that the birth pools were not available due to the water issue. I decided to have some diamorphine to manage the contractions which were getting really strong. I was very tired at this point as my contractions had been on and off for 3 days so I was hoping to get some more rest with the diamorphine.

Another LOVELY midwife

After a few hours Wendy finished her shift and to my delight in came Amina. Amina was the incredible lady that had delivered our Bump to Baby Chapter antenatal class!

Amina reviewed my birth plan and made sure she addressed any considerations I had  detailed. I was super nervous about tearing following previous surgery and she reassured me throughout and did everything she could to avoid this – warm compress, controlled pushing etc.

Ready for Baby

After a couple more hours I got the urge to start pushing. I originally started pushing on all fours. My contractions slowed and I was very tired we decided that lying on my back would be a better position. This wasn’t the UFO position I had envisaged but it enabled Amina to help and guide me more effectively. I also had to give up the gas and air for pushing as it was distracting me from the task at hand!

During the pushing stage to keep my energy up my birth partners were feeding me lots of jelly babies and Lucazade!

With lots of help support and guidance from Amina plus 2 hours of pushing we met our beautiful baby girl at 5:01am on 20.12.22 weighing 8.9lb. I had a couple of minor stitches and went home by 2pm the same day.

I can’t thank Amina and Beth enough for The Bump to Baby Chapter thanks to them my birth experience was incredible. I felt informed, calm and positive throughout. In fact, I’m a little jealous of the pregnant mums that are about to welcome their little ones soon. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world!

Amazing right? If you want to read more, head here to read Holly’s First Baby: Quick Birth. If you’re interested in attending The Bump to Baby Chapter Antenatal Class head here to learn more. If we don’t yet run a class in area, come learn more about our Hypnobirthing and Antenatal Online Course.