Faye’s Birth; Group B Strep

Love reading positive birth stories, you’re in the right place…. This positive birth story is with first time mum Faye. In early pregnancy Faye tested positive for Group B Strep and this caused her some anxiety. Faye did the Birth Chapter Course and it gave her the tools and knowledge to boss her birth. Baby Arthur arrived safely a few days ahead of his due date after 15 minutes of pushing. 

After reading so many stories online, I feel truly thankful to be writing a positive birth story of my own after giving birth to my first child.

I think it’s true when they say you can never really be fully prepared for child birth. There are so many unknowns and so many different turns it can take. But.. you can 100% learn the tools to help remain positive, calm and to make the right choices for you and your baby.

Group B Strep

At the beginning of my pregnancy I tested positive for group B strep. Every now and then this would come into my mind and make me super anxious and think the worst. I always tried to shift my mindset whenever this creeped in and was thankful that I had been tested for it and they knew about it.

Hypnobirthing Course

After coming across Beth’s Instagram I was always reading posts, watching videos and reading positive birth stories. Everyone would always ask, “are you scared about the birth?”. My answer; not really. Our bodies are made to do it and as much as you can try to prepare, what happens happens” so I think I had a pretty good mindset on this one throughout.

I honestly thought my midwife would have given me more tools along the way to prepare but honestly, they didn’t prepare me at all. Due to Covid my chosen hospital and NHS trust still weren’t offering antenatal classes so it was down to myself to put the time in researching what I could!

Birth Preferences

I knew from the beginning I would like to have a water birth. This was in my mind the whole time. However, there were so many other elements of birth I wasn’t aware of. I knew I would like to stay home as long as possible but was worried that because of the GBS and needing an IV antibiotic that I would need to head to the hospital sooner than I’d hope and be there a lot longer. As far as birthing preferences went, these were pretty much all I had until I was aware of everything else.

When I reached my maternity leave at 35 weeks and had more time I started to do the Birth Chapter course and I’m so pleased I did!

I feel like the course gave me so much more knowledge and the tools to help me have a smooth delivery. On the weeks leading up to my birth I kept visualising how I wanted my labour to go and tried to get rid of the negative thoughts when they crept in.

Early Labour

My baby boy was due on the 29th December, on the evening of the 26th I went to bed with pains low down which kinda felt a bit like period pain/trapped wind! I’ve always read that contractions are from higher up so was unsure if this was the start or not. At 3:30am I woke up with the pains being more regular. Although I still didn’t know if they were contractions I started to time them. I bounced on the birthing ball in the early hours and had a bath which really helped. On timing them they were 5 minutes apart so I started to think this has got to be it.

I called the birthing centre at my chosen hospital at 8am when my partner woke up. They said I could go in to be checked out or stay at home until they were 3 mins apart. I managed to go back to bed for an hour or so then was back in the bath, on the ball and using my tens machine I hired.

By 1pm they were 3 minutes apart, longer, and feeling stronger so I called again. The midwife I spoke to this time wasn’t as helpful and told me this would go on for days and I needed to be able to feel them higher up.

I tried not to feel too disheartened by this and spent the afternoon in the bath. After a few more hours the pain was getting more unbearable. I nearly didn’t call again but my partner called at 5:30pm. Thankfully he got the first midwife I had spoken to who asked me to go in to be examined.

Heading to Hospital

At 6:15pm we arrived at the hospital, I was examined and was 4cm dilated! If I hadn’t of called when I did I don’t think I would have made it. I never felt my contractions higher up the whole time up until birth, they reminded really low down.

Once I was there the contractions escalated so quickly and got more and more intense. As soon as I was in my birthing room I was clinging to the gas and air which helped more than I thought it would!

Baby’s Arrival

The midwife filled the pool but I didn’t even make it in there. I was clinging to the gas and air on the birthing ball then made my way onto the birthing couch that was in the room. Although I wanted a water birth, I just went with my body. Ultimately all I wanted was the safe delivery of my baby boy. Unfortunately there wasn’t time for them to administer my antibiotic for the Group B Strep which was a worry. However, I knew I was in the best place if anything were to happen.

My midwife changed shift at 8:30pm and as soon as the next one took over baby was ready to arrive.

When I reached transition I realised that I was lying on my back which was something I’d always told myself I didn’t want to do. At this point I turned to my side as I didn’t feel I could move much more. This helped me deliver so much easier allowing more space in my pelvis for baby to pass through.

My waters broke at 9pm and after only 15 minutes of pushing. Baby Arthur was born safely at 9:15pm on 27th December. Due to not getting the antibiotic in time, Arthur was monitored for 12 hours for any signs of infection. Thankfully he was very well and has remained a well and happy baby!

Looking Back

The whole experience was amazing. I’m so grateful that I had such a short labour and smooth deliver for my first. I honestly couldn’t believe it and expected it to have gone on for so much longer.”

If it wasn’t for Beth and her course I wouldn’t have had the knowledge of positioning and the different breathing to use at different stages. Learning the correct breathing for pushing was one of the most valuable things I learnt.

Thanks so much Beth for sharing your knowledge!

Click the link for more information about The Bump to Baby Chapter’s Hypnobirthing and Antenatal Online Course. Know what you can do to stack the odds in your favour for the birth that you want. Videos, checklists, audios & a support group all created by a midwife to get you feeling excited, prepared and confident for birth.