A Big Baby Home Birth

It's been 5 years since my home birth now, but if you're interested...

I'd been under consultant care for a while as I had SPD and was on crutches for most of the pregnancy. I was measuring at "the top end of normal" (whatever that is) but the consultants miraculously were happy and put me back under midwife care. I hated hospitals and even the birthing centre didn't feel comfortable at all. In my mind, I was certain on a home birth from about 28 weeks.

On Sat 5th Jan, I was determined to get things going, so DH and I spent 3 hours shopping around the City Centre, me power walking everywhere. My constipation was still pretty bad so I was hoping it would help get something moving. We got home; I was shattered but no movement of any kind. So I juiced 2 pineapples and a mango (yum), and drank the lot in almost one go (2 pints!)

About an hour later I needed a wee, went and realised that I desperately needed a bm. I pushed so hard it hurt, but there was some success. At the same time, I bled a little and felt a strange kinda clicking in my pelvis every time I pushed.

Anyway, maybe ½ hour later at midnight, ctx kicked in. I couldn’t sleep through them and they were about 8mins apart. I woke up DH and he started to get the lounge and pool ready, knowing we should have enough time.

I was drinking like a fish and after about 2 hours went for yet another wee and lost my plug (very clear mucus, streaked only with bright red blood), ctx were approx. 5-6 mins and my word there was no question I was in labour by then. DH called the midwife but it was so icy outside that it was going to take her a while to get there. That wasn’t a problem though, I had my TENS machine when I was ready. At this point the ctx were just really uncomfortable but still didn’t hurt (mind over matter I think…)

The midwife arrived at around 3:45am, just after DH had finished getting the pool all set up and the whole of the lounge ready. There was plastic sheeting covering the whole floor, with loads of towels and old blankets. I asked MW to check me to see how far I was as ctx were so uncomfortable and I wanted to see if it was worth using the TENS yet. She couldn’t reach my cervix!! The examination was sooooo painful, but my cervix was completely posterior and no telling how dilated I was.

I thought stuff it, let’s go with TENS on low, which worked surprisingly well, with DH watching me to press the button for ctx so I wouldn’t have to worry about it. She checked me again about half an hour later approx 4:15am and I was roughly 3-4 cm – hooray!!! I could finally get in the pool. OMG sweet relief – it seemed to take away so much of the pain it was untrue. I was breathing steadily and concentrating so hard through every ctx, but it felt like nothing was happening – I couldn’t feel baby moving down or anything and was getting verrrrrrrry tired. The water was so warm and soothing but making me a little sleepier than before (I hadn’t slept since Friday night!!)

By 6:30am and 6½ hours of established labour, I became very close to thinking I was fighting a losing battle and started to beg for some kind of help. I kept apologising to DH saying I felt like I’d thrown all our hard work out the window by wanting to go in for an epi, but that I was just desperate for help. MW offered to check me again to make a decision – I was 6-7cm!!! I couldn’t believe I had made it that far and decided (with renewed vigour!!) that screw this – I was almost there and I knew I could do it. I started on the gas and air and could feel that I might just get to the end.

I soon hit transition – I don’t remember much about it, but DH and MW say it was very clear when I was there. I only remember doing weird things like trying to dry off the side of the pool (with a wet hand), and wondering why one of the lights on the ceiling was more yellow than the others (it wasn’t…) and instructing DH to stand in an exact spot at the side of the pool so I could go to him or move away as needed…it was very surreal but that’s all I remember of that.

I was micro-sleeping between ctx at this point; the “sleeps” felt like ½ hour each but DH tells me they were minutes if not seconds, before being woken by the next ctx. They eventually took the gas and air off me because I wasn’t using it, and pushing stage began

At 10:30am-ish I wanted to start pushing so MW checked me one last time and said she could easily feel Mocha’s head ‘right there’ (about 2cm inside. DH got in the pool and stood behind me, holding me up under my arms while I squatted in the water. The pushing was IMMENSE but the MW were fantastic, not touching me or interfering, using a torch and mirror to observe, telling me how to push past the Ring of Fire and get the head out. I reached down and could stroke the top of Mocha’s head and knew I was so close. DH got in the pool with me and held me up while I squatted and pushed – it was unreal, reaching down and feeling the head come out. Finally after an hour of much guided pushing, out came baby Mocha at 11:32am! Labour had lasted approx. 11½ hours. He was GORGEOUS, eyes open and alert, not crying, just gurgling out water, very peaceful. I was so surprised he was a boy! He’s called Noah F.

DH cut the cord and I got out for my natural 3rd stage which was great too. Unfortunately, no one had anticipated baby being quite so big, and I ended up with suspected 3rd degree tearing (hence the trip to hospital). While the MW was assessing me at home, I was out of it on gas and air, DH came back downstairs and announced his weight to me – 10lbs15oz!!!! I nearly had kittens on the spot (which probably would’ve been easier…) At hospital they kept us in because they were all so concerned with the size of Noah (by rights he should have gotten completely stuck with shoulder distortia), whether my SPD was going to be an issue and wanted to make sure he was feeding properly – it was a day before he decided he was going to latch on. Now he feeds like a pro

He’s eating and sleeping well, still trying to work out some kind of pattern, but he did well for his first night at home. I’m so proud of myself to be honest – we followed my entire birth plan to the letter, and even after ending up in hospital we got some of the best lactation help we could ask for.

Baby in a hurry

Well baby Fred arrived in a rather speedy fashion on Saturday afternoon, 5 days late.  He had stayed the right way up following the breech concern at 37 weeks so we continued with the home birth plan, at 4.10 pm we left warley woods and headed home and i had felt some regular Braxton hicks whilst out.  i started cooking a fish pie for tea and realised they were definitely contractions!!! kept having to stop stirring to hold onto the side by 5pm couldn't concentrate and served a rather mediocre dinner!!!  Oscar rang the midwives as the contractions were about 2 minutes apart. I  coped upstairs by walking and had tens machine on which i found helpful.  Oscar realised things were moving fast and started to fill the pool whilst trying to get the girls to bed an hour early!!  I tried lying down on my left to slow it down a bit.  By 6pm the kids were settling to bed bless them they were really confused.  I stayed in the lounge again lying on my side to try to slow things but i didn't get any breaks in the contractions at this point and can only describe it as a steam train!!  Unfortunately the battery went on the tens so the last couple of contractions were overwhelmingly powerful and i was desperate to be in the pool but it was only a third full at this stage.  I had to focus my mind and use my breath.  By 6.10pm i felt calm and oscar was trying to ring the midwives to see how far they were when my waters gushed out followed by the urge to push.  We tried to get me on my knees but i couldn't move so stayed on my left side (at least we got my trousers off!!!)  then 3 pushes later and the head was out followed quite quickly by the body and oscar scooped him up onto my chest.  A boy he cried as the midwives knocked on the door it was 6.23pm.
Unfortunately i had a little tear but opted for no stitches.  We realised this was due to the fact he was actually back to back so head circumference was rather large.  The midwives and student were lovely and i had a natural third stage which took 50 minutes and continuous skin to skin.  Fred weighed 9lb 1ounce and is beautiful.  I finally ate some dinner at 9.30 pm and we were tucked up in bed by 11pm.  The girls woke up to a new brother and are mad about him.  Despite having no pain relief or midwives I loved having my second home birth, such a wonderful environment to welcome Fred into the world.  He is feeding well and we are all mad about him.

Avoided induction

I gave birth to a girl on 11/12/13' 8lb 8 oz and she is called Beatrice.

I gave birth at 42 weeks so just managed the home birth! I did have a bit of pressure to be induced, but resisted a few more days!
My contractions started about 4.30 am Tuesday but were sporadic. They got closer together about 2.30 on Wednesday morning. I called the midwife at 8.30 am when they were very close together and getting stronger. She came and examined me and I was 4-5 cm which was good as if I wasn't in established labour they would not have let me have a home birth. Everything developed well and I really enjoyed being at home. When I was examined at 5.30 pm I was fully dilated and ready to start pushing. First push and my waters broke. I pushed for 2 hours at home, but she wouldn't come out! I had to be transferred to hospital. They did a small cut and she was out within 20 mins. She had her hand up which was stopping her exit.

I really enjoyed being at home for the majority of the labour. I'm really glad I put off having an induction as I knew she would come when she was ready.

Born on a snowy night

Here's announcing the arrival of our baby girl EP, born 23rd January at 3:46 am.

We were pleased that we did have her at home without much fuss which is what M and I wanted. I felt that I was having early contractions when I was at your yoga class on Tuesday night, but they were so mild that I didn't think much of them. I came home and relaxed with Matt for a couple of hours. At about 11:30 we decided to call the midwives to let them know that I was in the early stages of labour. They offered to send someone out but I just wanted to let them know as it was snowing that we would need someone later. I then tried to sleep for a couple of hours but just ended up resting. At 1 I woke Matt up and we phoned the midwife at about half one. They came out for about two thirty, when they arrived the contractions were still mild but about 4 mins apart and i was only 4cm. From there on in things progressed quickly.

By 3:30 was feeling sick so went to the loo, once there I felt ready to push which did confuse me a little as my waters still hadn't broken. I called Matt and we plus midwives made it into the bedroom where as soon as I got there my waters broke 3:41 am that's when the contractions really started to hurt. 5 mins later she was born!

I had a natural delivery of the placenta which took about an hour, during which time I had a fabulous cuddle and Eloise had a feed.

Then the two of us had a bath and Matt, myself and the two midwives a cuppa.

How lovely an experience. My older boys slept through it all and were woken up to a new baby sister Wednesday morning.

Such a chilled out baby

When I first discovered I was pregnant I can honestly say that I expected to be requesting all the pain relief possible & had I been told I needed a caesarean, worryingly, I imagine I’d have been pleased. However, at 14 weeks I joined Paula Sims’ Active Birth Yoga class & immediately started to change the way I thought about pregnancy and, more significantly, labour and birth, and was inspired by thoughts of the body’s ability to birth a baby as naturally as possible.

 

Post-birth, each person attending the yoga sessions re-visits the class, introduces their baby and tells their birth story. After hearing various women’s hospital birth stories, mostly entailing prolonged labours and medical intervention, I was really struck by one woman’s home birth experience: Becky’s labour had been comparatively short, she’d not used any form of pain relief and to put it plainly, she looked fantastic! It was so refreshing and inspirational to hear such a positive story and witness the evidence in her glowing appearance.

 

At home, I recounted the story to my husband, and was not surprised by his point blank refusal when I suggested that we consider a home birth also. Ollie immediately panicked at the thought of “what if something goes wrong; what if there’s an emergency...?” To allay his concerns I managed to persuade him to attend the Home Birth Support Group quarterly meeting with me: hearing the positive stories of other couples who had opted for a home birth (including naturally birthing babies over 11lb and a breech baby) had a phenomenal effect & having discussed his concerns with medical professionals, and other expectant/new fathers, and safe in the knowledge that if a problem were to arise, we could easily transfer to hospital, Ollie completely changed his mind and agreed to support me in having a home birth. He did have one proviso though - that we attend the Natal Hypnotherapy course, as I wouldn’t have the same access to pain relief with a home birth.

 

Throughout my pregnancy I continued to attend weekly yoga classes which greatly aided my physical and mental preparation for the birth, as well as equipped me with in-depth knowledge about labour, birth and good birthing techniques etc. My husband & I also attended the Natal Hypnotherapy course, which benefitted us both immensely, by preparing me for the birth and instilling in me a complete belief in my body’s ability to birth my baby naturally, and also in helping Ollie to understand the importance of the birth partner’s role.  In the weeks preceding my daughter’s birth, I listened to the Hypnotherapy CD daily and as a result was accustomed to sending myself into a state of deep relaxation and was genuinely excited about the birth. Any fears either I or Ollie may once have had, were completely dissipated as a result of the knowledge we equipped ourselves with in preparation for the home birth.

 

As for the birth itself, I really can't stress how perfect the experience was, and how fortunate we feel as a result:

 

·         My waters broke at 5am on Saturday 4^th July 2009

·         I had manageable contractions all morning & early afternoon

·         After taking a Caulophyllum tablet (a homeopathic remedy bought a few weeks beforehand which strengthens contractions) and going for a short walk at around 4pm, I was getting contractions every 4 mins

·         The 1st midwife, Mary Foggarty, came out to me at 5:30 – she was fantastic, really positive, supportive, and happy to let me maintain control over the birth. When Ollie asked if she needed to establish how dilated I was, her response was only if I wanted her to. We were both happy, however, to monitor the progress of the labour by the strength of my contractions and how I handled each. This was really empowering, and undoubtedly a result of the fact I was at home rather than in hospital

·         At about 6pm the midwife asked if I had a TENS machine & when I told her I had one, she suggested I put it on, although as I had left it so late into the labour, there wasn’t enough time for it to build intensity and be effective

·         I got into the birth pool that I’d bought from Birth Pool in a Box, at about 7pm and immediately went into 2nd stage. Getting into the water felt fantastic and I was amazed by the primal, innate, manner with which my body told me it was time to push, and how I went ‘inside myself’ – afterwards Ollie told me he & the midwife had been talking to me & it was almost as if I didn’t even realise they were there

·         The 2^nd midwife arrived at approximately 7:30pm, at the same time as the gas & air, but by which time the baby’s head was crowning. I attempted to use the Entonox for 2 or 3 contractions, however having already completed much of the labour without it, I felt that it was more of a distraction and didn’t use it again during the birth

·         Ollie delivered our baby girl, who we’ve named Boo, at 7:49pm. The whole experience was incredible and quite emotional for him. Boo was so chilled - her heart rate never faltered during the labour/birth; she was under the water with her eyes wide open as she was born & she didn't cry at all when Ollie brought her out of the water and passed her to me

·         I was expecting the midwives to take her out of the water (particularly as she didn’t cry) but they were happy to leave her in the water with me, allowing us to bond immediately. They scored her 10 for each APGAR assessment, confirming to us that she really was perfect!

·         Our birth experience was so straight forward and rapid, that the student midwife missed the birth itself entirely, however it was great to have her there for the 3^rd stage and afterwards

·         I hoped to deliver the placenta physiologically, however quite a bit of time had passed and I felt faint when asked to stand, so instead I agreed to have the injection to speed along the delivery

·         Unfortunately I had a 2^nd degree tear which required stitches; the suturing was completed on my sofa  & I definitely made use of the gas & air at this point!

·         Afterwards, I had a shower whilst the midwives kindly helped my husband to make our bed. I was in bed & sending picture texts of our perfect little girl to family/friends before midnight!

·         Boo’s fantastic home water birth experience definitely impacted positively on her as well as us; she’s such a chilled out baby. Both Ollie and I are complete advocates of home births and can’t speak highly enough of the benefits of birthing your baby in a positive, relaxed, home environment

Small but beautiful

On 17 May 2010, I gave birth to my eldest daughter, Melody, at home in a birthing pool.  I was really relaxed at home to the extent that the midwives were laughing and said they usually have screaming and swearing and the birth was beautiful.

She was born with her eyes open and appeared to swim up to me for a cuddle and a breast feed.  It was the most amazing experience I have ever had.  She was 6 lb, 2 oz born.  When I fell pregnant again, there was no other way I was going to give birth than in the relaxation of my home.  However, although not an issue at the time, the consultant at the hospital said that he did not recommend I have another home birth due to the fact that my first born was small.

I attended a Home Birth Meeting where a midwife there talked through things with me and said that I should get a midwife from the hospital to come to my home and discuss it with me and if a home birth was what I really wanted then as long as the midwifes were available to come out to me it should not be a problem.  I did indeed have another home birth the second time round, albeit it not in the birthing pool as they took me out to break my waters and Harmony was born about 15 minutes later on 16 October 2011 after weighing 6.12.

Without the support of the midwives and the home birthing support group, that second home birth may not have been possible.  The idea of going to hospital to give birth is alien to me whilst if there were any complications, hospital would probably be best. I do feel mothers should be more encouraged and supported to birth where they feel the most relaxed.  After all, home births were "normal" years ago.  I was also able to sell my birthing pool through the home birth  support group afterwards and it was just lovely hearing other people's birth stories

I was in my own world of labour

I had a home birth with my first child in 2008. It was a wonderful, special experience and I wish more women could experience childbirth in the way that I did.

Home birth was not something I had considered at all in early pregnancy, not because I was against it but just because I thought babies were born in hospitals these days! The suggestion first came from my midwife who said having a baby at home could be lovely. I dismissed it at the time, but I think she had put the seed in my head.

As my pregnancy progressed I had a look around the hospital delivery suite and heard about the various pain relief options and interventions and the more I learned the more I felt I would be more comfortable and relaxed at home.  I really felt I could have my baby without intervention in the right setting, where I felt calm and in control - and that for me was at home.

The actual labour started very gently and my daughter was born 24 hours later in the living room, with my partner, mum and cat looking on! In the early stages it was lovely to be at home; I remember watching Strictly Come Dancing and reading trashy magazines between contractions. As the labour became more established I was able to move around the house, have a bath, and lean on the sofa and worktop - anything that made me more comfortable.

The only problem I had was making the midwives believe I was in established labour on the phone - I think I was too calm so they told me to wait longer before they would come out to me. In the end one midwife came an hour before the birth and the second minutes before the birth.  It didn't really matter, I was in my own world of labour anyway and wasn't that aware of who was around me, but it did mean they wouldn't allow me in the birthing pool without two midwives present and the gas and air was delivered too late for me to benefit from.

However, the overall experience will always remain with me as a very special and wonderful time, and one which I'd happily repeat. It was the birth I wanted and that was right for me.

I touched her hair in the water!

My waters broke around 3 am but the labor started in the morning. I used all the techniques learned from my Yoga teacher Paula to cope with the pain. My dad and Simon got the pool ready and I called the hospital to send the midwives.

Yoga helped me to speed up the first stage and it seemed my breathing techniques and Tens machine worked well. Then I used the gas and air, which was delivered via taxis from hospital. During my labor, I was worried the gas air would run out before the replacement arrived. Simon helped me to check and communicated with the midwives.

After I took off the Tens machine and got into the pool, the progress was slowing down. I had to do the sweep to speed up. After this had been done, pain was aggravated and I could only rely on water and gas air to cope the pain. Well, they took off the gas air from me later. Finally I could feel Olivia coming out and I touched her hair in the water!