Stephanie’s Birth; delivered on the bathroom floor!
Love reading positive birth stories, you’re in the right place…. This positive birth story is with Stephanie and the arrival of her little girl Sophia. Stephanie went into labour at 40 weeks and 10 days. She delivered her daughter on the bathroom floor at her local maternity-led unit! Stephanie used EBRAN during her labour to make decisions around pain relief. During the later stages of her labour Stephanie found sitting on the toilet helpful and her daughter was delivered on the bathroom floor!
It gives me so much happiness to write my positive birth story after reading so many amazing stories on here.
Approaching my due date
On Monday 27th September I had attended at the hospital and received a sweep due to being a week and a day overdue. The midwife said my cervix was still closed however soft and going in the right direction. I was a bit deflated as I was hoping things would have moved a bit quicker. No one prepares you for being overdue and the feelings of impatience this brings! We left the hospital having been booked in for an induction on Friday 1st October. I was resigned to the fact I’d be induced over the weekend and going naturally wasn’t going to happen. This again brought on its own worries. However watching the induction section of the course helped me understand and accept the process.
During Tuesday 28th September, I went shopping and my fiancé and I had a nice relaxing evening together. I went to the gym and I went for an incline walk on the treadmill. He went to spin then home for a lovely dinner and watched the football. Totally relaxed and discussing the induction at the weekend. I went to bed around 11pm with not even a twinge.
Early Labour
About 12.30am I woke up with strong cramps. They were strong enough that I couldn’t get back to sleep and a feeling I hadn’t experienced before. I got up and went downstairs for some paracetamol. During this time I could feel this was more than cramp that I had been getting the previous week. It came in waves and I decided to time these just in case. Quickly I realised these were contractions and they were coming on strong. I was getting them every 3 minutes or so, lasting around 45 seconds – 1 minute long.
Using The Course
This is where The Bump to Baby Chapter kicked in. I started my breathing technique, in for 4 out for 7. Looking back, I can’t explain how much this helped to keep me calm and in control. I decided to get my stuff together, ran a bath and let my fiancé know what was happening. Continuing with the breathing until around 2.30am when contractions were becoming more frequently and a lot stronger. We phoned the MLU and were told to come in for an examination. The next hour I was focusing so hard on my breathing. I tried a tens machine but it wasn’t helping so powered on with the breathing and a hot water bottle on the way to the hospital.
We arrived around 3.30am and were greeted by midwife Lisa who was super calm and welcoming. She initially gave me the option to wait an hour with her and continue with the breathing to get things progressing further or be examined to see how far along I was. I knew, having done the course, my body was definitely in active labour so opted for an examination. I found out I was 5cm dilated and good to be admitted into the birthing suite. She asked me where I had got my information as she was impressed I had managed at home just using certain techniques. I told her all about the Beth’s course!
Labour Progressing
We went into a room on the Community Midwife Unit (MLU) and the process was explained by Lisa. I got a Covid test and got myself into my nightie, trying to be as comfortable as possible. I continued my breathing throughout this time and it kept me calm and in control.
Around 4.30am I was given gas and air and sat on a birthing ball to make it as comfortable as possible. Contractions were bearable with the gas and air along with breathing technique. I missed the odd one and the pain was pretty intense so I’d recommend really concentrating on catching them at the right time even if it means tuning out of conversations. I stayed calm with my amazing fiancé giving me water. He remembered this from Beth’s birthing partner section! I had Lucozade even when I didn’t feel I needed it, this was a god send!!!
My fiancé asked my pain relief options at this point as I wasn’t enjoying the gas and air. The midwife said either pethidine or epidural, both of which would require me to move to the ward and slow down labour. I used EBRAN and decided I wanted to power through. The midwife gave me so much motivation that my baby would be born before she finished her shift and I found so much energy from that. Positivity breeds positivity!
Coping Techniques
The midwife then made up some massage oil and put on some music (Smooth FM, not the Clyde 1 we had originally requested 
) both of them took turns to rub my back as I rocked on the ball. The midwife then got me to move into different positions on the bed, including hunched over the back and sitting completely upright. It was a bit of a blur at this point as I was tiring and taking in a lot of gas and air.
I think around 7am I was feeling the downward pressure getting so strong. I was struggling staying in the same position for any length of time. The midwife told me if I felt like pushing to do so. Just listen to my body so I started doing this hunched over the back of the bed, grabbing the back of the bed, lifting one leg at a time, then sitting upright but I didn’t feel anything was really working or progressing.
Optimum Positioning for labour
I could tell the midwife was super keen to get me in a good position so she suggested going to the bathroom and using the toilet. I wasn’t sure at first but wanted this baby to come so would try anything. She explained to me she could only let me push for so long and then there would be potential I’d have to get transferred downstairs to the ward to potentially get some intervention to deliver baby safely.
I sat on the toilet and began pushing. This was definitely the right position for me. I could feel movement and each push felt like things were progressing. The midwife was due to finish at 8am but told her boss she was going to see this through and I’m so glad she did. She talked me through each push, encouraging me so much and giving me the motivation to keep going. My waters still hadn’t broken so the pressure was unbearable.
Eventually we got the to stage the baby had turned and I could feel her head ready to come out. The midwife got my fiancé to sit on the toilet and lower me onto the floor for delivery. I panicked for about 10 seconds but knew the next few pushes would give me the most precious gift in the world and it did. The midwife had to break my waters at this point as they were still intact. She then slowed me right down, getting me to push slowly and breathe in short bursts in between.
Delivered on the bathroom floor
At 09.16am Sophia Lawrie Falconer was delivered on the bathroom floor to the tune of Whitney Houston ‘The Greatest Love of All’ by the amazing midwife Lisa. The emotions were indescribable and when she was put in my arms I felt a love I didn’t know existed. The last 9 months of pregnancy and pain of labour were worth every single second. Who would have thought she would be delivered on the bathroom floor!
I was moved to the bed and given an injection for my placenta which came away pretty quick after. Thanks to the midwife and information from the course I didn’t need stitches having only received a small tear and grazing due to the controlled delivery.
I now had my baby girl in my arms and my fiancé by my side – best day of my life.
I owe so much to the amazing midwife who helped me every step of the way, Beth for providing so much information to allow me to stay calm, stay in control and make informed decisions throughout and most importantly my amazing fiancé Dougie who was literally with me every breath, kept me calm and did everything he could to help me.
Thank you also to the September baby WhatsApp group, amazing group of girls from this course who have been an incredible support for each other.
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.
