London Marathon Baby; Vanda’s Positive Birth
Love reading positive birth stories, you’re in the right place…. This positive birth story is with first time mum Vanda and the arrival of her baby boy. Vanda’s son chose his date of birth to be the same as the London Marathon. Both Vanda’s street and the hospitals were closed, meaning Vanda and her partner had to get the TUBE to the hospital! Vanda delivered her boy via a calm water birth.
First I want to thank you. Me and my partner felt super ready, excited and we were so much in sync because of your course. It really help us to talk about everything and make sure we were there for each other!
A London Marathon Baby!
Miguel was late a week and 3 days. He decided to born on London’s marathon day. All the roads were closed, including mine and the hospital too… When the contractions kicked in, I had to go to the hospital right away as I was bleeding and the midwife advise me to go just to check if everything was ok. So we went…ON THE TUBE! Having contractions on the busiest day of the jubilee line is just the most scary thing at that moment! But once outside, we took a moment to laugh about it and take pictures with the marathon behind us while another contraction was coming.
In the hospital, they told me everything was fine and I was 2cm already. It was 2:30pm when we went back home, at this point we managed to get an uber. I remember that’s when contractions started to get really strong and regular. The midwife told me that because it was my first child, she wasn’t expecting me there before 6pm.
By the time we got home (3pm), my partner had an app to count the contractions and the app was saying “go to the hospital now” 😅 I couldn’t talk at this point and I was focusing on my breathing. When my partner called the hospital, they asked to talk to me and I simply couldn’t as it was very intense and almost no time between contractions. “Oh it looks like it’s going really fast” midwife said! I tried to stay at home as long as possible as I knew I was way more comfy.
Back to the Hospital
Around 4:20pm we were back to the hospital! I was 4cm dilated. I was laying on the floor holding a bean bag and squatting! That was the only position I felt good since the beginning. So I knew probably I would birth Miguel in that position! At this point, things started to go really fast, I felt my body needed to push. I remember midwifes saying “this is going to be a quick one”! When I had my “this is not possible moment” I asked for options. I wanted to avoid epidural. Gas and air messed with my breathing so I didn’t like it. They told me they had a pool available and I knew my body would love that as I spent half of my pregnancy in nice baths.
Into the Pool
The pool room was amazing with a candle like light and a proper jacuzzi! The incredible thing is that I was feeling gross before and as soon I come in that room, all changed and I felt like I was a princess going to a spa! My body just relaxed straightaway! During the labour, the water was super clear as the team of midwifes were cleaning all the time.
I kept feeling like I was in a spa!”
We continued working on the breathing which was THE BEST THING throughout this process! It really helped me to understand my body and to know exactly what Miguel needed and when!
Hello Baby
My partner and I were familiar with the candle blow breathing technique when midwifes mentioned it but Miguel pop out on 1 intense push. “Hold your baby momma” as I saw him swimming under my legs, it was the most beautiful moment. I held him as if I was a mom for ages.
It took a while for my placenta to born, but I was calm as I trusted the team 100% and I felt so proud of me and my partner! Miguel was born at 8:32pm. It was a 4h birth story and I couldn’t feel more happy about it. During the pregnancy, I heard so many people saying how magical it is. I never felt that in the pregnancy, but I definitely felt it in birth.
Thank you so much Beth and the team. We felt informed and confident of all our decisions but above all we felt calmed.
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.
