With me every step of the way

Baby T 10/3/15 8lbs7 7oz...

I contacted the Home Birth Team at Birmingham  Women’s Hospital early on in my pregnancy and Jo came to complete my ‘booking forms’ so I didn’t even need to visit my grumpy GP! The dedicated team meant that all my antenatal appointments were done at home where I saw the same midwife, Jo who built an excellent loving and supportive bond with me and my family. This was extremely important to me and gave me confidence as I felt listened to and built such trust in her care.

I re-joined Paula’s Pregnancy Yoga class, as I had done with my first pregnancy from around 14 weeks and loved how in control of my body it made me feel during this huge time of change. The breathing exercises were so beneficial in the moments I got to relax before the birth and I always enjoyed her talks about the physical processes of birth taking much confidence from the knowledge.

This time around I was also delighted to stumble across The Calm Birth School (an online hypnobirthing course) as was keen to try hypnobirthing but couldn't see any way attending a course would be possible with a toddler at home.

Tuesday 10th was a very normal day, my daughter went to nursery and I felt a strong urge to be really active, a walk in the morning and a longer one in the afternoon - I had loads of energy. Around 3pm i started to have period 'Pains', easy going but niggling.

I had a slight loss of blood, not a mucus show but just a bit of staining which I hadn't had before. I went to have a bath before dinner as I didn't know what to do with myself but ended up getting out pretty quickly as just wasn't settled. We ate dinner together, but I stood up through out. I'd had so many 'false starts' that none of this was particularly out of the ordinary. Having finished my food I left the table and walked into a quieter room where my waters went with a water balloon like Pop! 630pm…

After my bath I had decided to put on a maternity pad, perhaps thinking to keep an eye on the slight blood staining I'd had earlier - I'm glad I did! I called through to T ' my waters have gone I can't move!' and he appeared with a video camera to catch the excitement!! Poppy found it all highly amusing and delighted in her job of fetching a towel. T carried on and put Poppy to bed and immediately my surges started to roll through me. I quickly realised if I gave them my full concentration then they were easier to understand.

I left a message with the midwives and began to time a few of the gaps between surges as knew it was one of the questions they would ask, I was just writing numbers down as didn't have the space in my mind to listen to anything but my surges as they rolled. T came downstairs and I pointed at the numbers " they're lasting a min" he said, "yes but what's the gap?" Followed by something like Shit best get the pool filled! As they were 2 mins apart. I instantly had to zone in, out came the earphones to listen to the Hypnobirth tracks and up went the intensity of the surges.

I found my spot in the kitchen stood up at the end of the breakfast bar. I could be upright or rest over cushions, hands able to grip the sides and give me stability. Instantly the sound of Suzy's voice brought me my centre "hello my names Suzy ashworth..." !! And while the track played away in the background I kept visualising one of my affirmations in particular 'my surges are not more powerful than me, THEY ARE ME'. I knew I was in at the deep end and things were moving quickly....

I started to sing a bit of a whale song saying 'come on, come on' im not a singer! But it felt so soothing and calming in between surges and like I was passing the reassurance on to the baby. Fiona the midwife arrived at 7.50pm just as I started to roar my way through a surge. I heard her make an immediate phone call to the second midwife who must attend as the baby is born, and told her to come immediately which made me feel really strong. Finally I could get in the pool which was a true oh my god! Moment….

The warm water changed the sensation enough to relax my body and mind as the waves of the surges rolled through me. My affirmation was my anchor, the surges are me not bigger than me and at this point T was there to fill in the gaps. He told me Relax Surrender it's time to let go...

His words made all the difference and with that Fiona started to explain that with the next surge I would feel a burning sensation and this would be babies head. I reached down to feel the tiny head of thick hair and with a final surge and a rotation from the baby she was out slowly into the water. I held her there as she gazed up at us arms out stretched and alert in a beautiful underwater limbo land between birth and womb.

As she came up into my arms she was so peaceful and calm, we needed reassurance that she was breathing as she didn't bother with the distinctive newborn cry, just made a few whimpers! Time stood still and I couldn't take my eyes of her... perfect x

Unfortunately I had torn and was brought out of the pool eagerly by the midwives so that they could assess what needed to happen but they did it so thoughtfully so as not to disturb skin to skin or bonding with dad too. They diagnosed a 3rd degree tear which meant I needed to be seen in hospital but they consulted me and talked me through every decision we were jointly making so that I felt in control and perfectly happy.

Transfer was easier by ambulance and the midwives were happy for me to continue with uninterrupted skin to skin, tucking her in to my dressing gown rather than taking her off me or getting her dressed. So although a nights stay and an operation saw a strange 2nd side to my beautiful blissful labour, every move was made with me in mind and kept us all calm & relaxed.

Thank you BWH Home Birth Team, The Calm Birth School and Pregnancy Yoga Birmingham! You were with me every step of the way. xx

Third child, first homebirth, very positive!

Here's my story, can't wait to hear some others!

As soon as it found out I was expecting our third baby I was really keen to have a home birth. My previous 2 daughters had been pretty straightforward in their arrivals with the second taking only 1 hour 20 mins to arrive in the world. My husband was a little unsure about the home birth experience but having had his mind well and truly put at rest by the wonderful home birth team we transferred under their care mid-way through my pregnancy. 

Now as I sit here writing this with my new daughter by my side I can honestly say being under the care of the home birth team was one of the best experiences I have had in the pre, during and post birth care.

Having had both my other daughters early when I started having more regular contractions for about an hour at 39 weeks I decided it was time to wake my husband up and call the midwife! We rang about 5.30am and by 6.15am the first midwife arrived, closely followed by the second. It was such a positive start to it all as along with our elder children we sat watching cbeebies and chatting about the excitement of our new family member arriving. One of our best friends had also joined us by this point to help look after A & I. Being at home meant I felt very relaxed so was happy to breath through contractions and chat to everyone while the midwives turned our loft bedroom into a tranquil haven of birth(!) and my husband had his tea making skills tested to the limit! Having seen our youngest daughter go off to nursery with friends (we decided to keep our eldest daughter at home as she had much more understanding of what was happening) and my contractions getting stronger I went upstairs with John to join the midwives and leave A and K to art and craft activities! I felt a bit nervous not having any vaginal examinations as to whether I would know when to push but in hindsight that was such a fantastically empowering feeling as was able to trust my body in knowing what to do and when. My contractions had become much more regular and intense but I felt really relaxed and able to cope with the pain and loved being in my own dimly lit bedroom. At around 8am I felt very tired and decided to kneel, leaning on the bed. After more contractions I clearly remember thinking I've had enough of this pain it's time to push the baby out- still wasn't sure if this was the right time or not as my previous two labours had started with my waters going and so far they were still intact! With the next contraction I gave a big push, my waters went and 30 seconds later T was born, with the midwife only able to put her gloves half on in time to catch her!

The midwives were so fantastic at clearing up really quickly so my daughters could come and join us and meet baby T. I will never forget the precious memory of us all eating toast and tea in bed only 45 minutes after her birth. I was then able to have a gorgeously long, hot shower in my own bathroom while T had cuddles with her big sister. The midwives stayed around for a couple of hours to make sure T was feeding ok and back to a good temperature. It was so lovely having them around to be part of our memories of that day. A was then keen to go to school so just 3 hours after her birth T had her first experience of the school run as we all went as a family to take A to school, something that could never have happened in a hospital environment.

As T will probably be our last family addition I am so glad she came into the world in such a positive and amazing way. My husband, who was so reticent to begin with, is now an ardent supporter of home birth and happy to chat through the concerns any other dads to be might have. It was nothing but a positive experience with I am so thankful to have had.