Valerie’s Positive Water Birth
Love reading positive birth stories, you’re in the right place…. This positive birth story is with first time mum Valerie and the arrival of her baby boy, Aiden. Valerie chose to have membrane sweeps when she hit full term, and went into labour after her second membrane sweep. Valerie had a calm water birth using gas and air for additional pain relief.
Membrane Sweep One
I had my first membrane sweep at 40+1 on the Monday and got told baby was fully engaged and I was 1-2cm dilated so the sweep was successful. The midwife booked me in for a second sweep at 40+5 just in case but didn’t think I would need it.
A membrane sweep involves having a vaginal examination that stimulates the cervix to produce hormones that may trigger natural labour – (NHS)
The first sweep caused some bleeding and period like pains, which I thought may turn into contractions. That evening they kept getting more intense but by next morning it had all fizzled out. Throughout the week I kept losing my mucus plug. I still had cramps here and there but can’t call them anything but that – just cramps.
I had always been told “when you have contractions you’ll just know” so I was convinced my cramps didn’t hurt enough yet.
Membrane Sweep Two
The midwife was shocked when I showed up to the second membrane sweep at 40+5 on the Friday. She performed the sweep around lunchtime and my cervix was at 2cm. Again I had period like pains afterwards and mild bleeding. I told my partner that I felt similar to Monday after the first sweep so probably no need to come home early. By the time he got home from work around 5pm I had had a bloody show and my cramps had got more painful and a bit more regular.
We decided to have dinner and an early night just in case. While my partner got some sleep, I started timing my “cramps” around 8pm as they kept me awake and got more and more intense. They were coming around every 6 minutes, lasting 45 seconds. Another hour later I woke my partner up saying they really started to hurt now and kept being more regular and stronger, every 4 minutes and roughly a minute.
Half an hour later we called triage just to find out when to come in. The midwife suggested taking Paracetamol and having a bath. My partner ran a bath for me but things ramped up so quickly that I got in the bath. I had one contraction (yes, contraction, now I KNEW) and said “f*** this sh** we’re going”. I think I said “Paracetamol my ar**” – it didn’t do a thing. 🤣 I didn’t realise my partner had kept an eye on the time and noticed they were coming at 2.5 minutes lasting about a minute.
Heading to the Hospital
We made our way to the hospital and got there at 11pm Friday night. We went to the birth unit and ended up in a room with just a bed and a ball, no pool, no nice atmosphere, nothing… My contractions were so strong at that point already that I couldn’t stand upright anymore or talk through them. It felt like without squeezing my partner’s hand I just couldn’t get through them.
The midwife seemed so chilled asking all sorts of questions I don’t even remember. I kept having to ask her to repeat them over and over again as I couldn’t concentrate on her. Eventually she did an examination and… told me I was at 3cm. WHAT?!?! That much pain and only 3cm? I was so deflated thinking how am I supposed to get to 10cm,. How long is this going to take? Am I going to need an epidural (which I was the only pain relief I was terrified of and wanted to avoid at all cost!)?
Using the Pool
Luckily my partner remembered water helped me throughout pregnancy with my aches and pains and asked for gas and air for me as well as a pool. The only pool available was on the delivery suite one floor down. I wasn’t sure if I could bare to move but we ended up wheelchairing me to the delivery suite just covered in a blanket as fast as possible so I could get back on the gas and air. At that point I didn’t even care anymore how many people saw me or not.
I was just completely in my own little world occasionally looking up at my partner”
The pool had already been prepared and getting into the warm water was just amazing! The midwife reckons my waters broke as I got into the pool.
Contractions were every 2 minutes now and quite painful. All this nice atmosphere I wanted, dimmed lights, music etc… honestly I wouldn’t even have noticed any of it! I barely noticed the gas bottle being empty and the midwife disappearing to get another one at one point. I was just completely in my own little world occasionally looking up at my partner who was kneeling opposite me on the steps of the pool.
Ready to Give Birth
I soon felt my body pushing, thinking this can’t be it, I’m only at 3cm, it’s too soon, stop pushing. The midwife didn’t guide me at all, just kept taking notes and listened to baby’s heart beat every 10 to 15 minutes or so. At some point I felt like the pushing got so intense I couldn’t fight it. It felt like I needed the biggest poo of my life!
That’s when everything changed and I felt so much more in control. I decided to trust my instinct and my body and to go with what felt most natural. I used the breathing to help with pushing, still on gas and air for every contraction.
Arrival of Baby
The midwife disappeared again saying “baby blankets, something something, don’t have baby before I’m back”. I had to ask my partner whether I really heard her say baby. A few more contractions and he told me he could see the head (I was kneeling in front of him the whole time so he kind of had a front row seat).
I am so glad he gave me some updates to reassure me baby was actually making an appearance. The stinging was intense at this point and almost made me stop pushing but he encouraged me to keep breathing and before I knew it the head was out. Two more contractions and the rest of the body followed with one big gush that felt like jelly escaping my body. The midwife grabbed baby from behind me and passed him through so I could pick him up and there he was at 2.55am after 2 hours and 43 minutes of active labour (according to maternity notes) and just 4 hours after we arrived at the hospital.
I ended up with just a labial tear that needed three small stitches. Baby and I had skin to skin the whole time and the midwife helped me with breastfeeding and getting the little one to latch.
I couldn’t stop looking at him, barely believing I had just given birth and that he was so perfect. ❤”
On Reflection…
Yes you do kind of forget about the pain within a few days. This may be partly because of total sleep deprivation to the point you don’t remember your own name. 😅
Thoughts and advice that might help others:
- Do your PERINEAL MASSAGE! I can’t tell whether it was that that made a difference with not tearing but I’d do it all again. I got my partner involved once or twice a week and did it by myself the other times in between as much as I could reach – thinking surely something is better than nothing, even if I could only stretch one side at a time rather than reaching with both hands at once. (Try one leg on the toilet or squatting.)
- Don’t focus on numbers and measurements!
- It is so easy to focus on dilation and then get all deflated or panicky about how much longer labour might take but its SO misleading. TRUST YOUR BODY!
- BREATHE! And get your partner to keep reminding you because chances are, you will forget.
- Make sure your partner knows what you want and might need. You probably need them to speak up for you because you’ll be in your own little world!
- Keep HYDRATED! I drank 4 litres of water in 4 hours! It was the best thing he could have done. Those rooms are incredibly hot and being in warm water makes you sweat even more. Plus gas and air dries your mouth!
- Take PICTURES! This might not be for everyone but I found even pictures of me looking like an absolute mess holding my baby boy, still in a bloody pool with gunk all over us are now the best pictures my partner could have taken. We did have the conversation in the weeks leading up to the birth so he knew I was ok with it. During labour I wouldn’t have let him leave my side. I wouldn’t have cared much about those photos but the very, very first fresh newborn pictures are THE BEST.
