Kira's birth - the long story of a short labour!
Suzybear's natural homebirth lasted only five hours!- She advised some hot curry and sex!
- The TENS machine made me vomit
- We were certainly not prepared!
- A bit of a blur
- I have never felt so relieved
- I felt so satisfied with the labour and birth
She advised some hot curry and sex!
My partner, Vinnie, and I are nurses so once we found out I was pregnant in autumn 2001, it came as second nature to us to do our homework and find out what the research said about birth outcomes, interventions etc. We both decided that we wanted as natural a birth as possible, with as little intervention as possible.
My labour started on my first day of maternity leave, just after my antenatal yoga class as I walking along the street. I felt a gushing sensation and thought that I had lost all bladder control. When it happened again, I realised it could be my waters breaking. I was on my way to my reflexology appointment and all I could think about was that I must get there and then think about what to do next! (All thoughts of buying some lunch went out of the window!).
Since I wasn't having any contractions, and nothing more seemed to be happening, I carried on with my reflexology and then made my way home. By the time I got home I could feel more gushing and called my midwife, Lynn. She confirmed that my waters had broken and that I was 1-2cm dilated. She started talking about induction if I hadn't started labour by Friday morning (less than 48 hours after my waters had broken). She left, adding that I might like to try a hot curry, sex and some reflexology to help things on the way!
By this time it was 5.30pm. My partner wasn't due home from work until 9.00pm, so I rang him just to let him know what had been going on. It was his first day in his new job and I could tell from his voice he was a little shocked! He then arrived home an hour later - on his boss's orders! I then rang my brother and my mother. She was almost in tears as she lives over 200 miles away and got quite upset at the thought of not being able to be with me.
The TENS machine made me vomit
By about 8.30pm I was starting to get restless and had some uncomfortable period-type pains, so I decided to have a bath with some clary sage and jasmine oils to help the process. Whilst in the bath the pains seemed to get stronger and I think I had my first contraction. When the contractions started coming every ten minutes apart, Vinnie got my birthing nest ready, lit the candles and played some soft music.
At this point I realised that I should be using the Tens machine but it was a bit of a nightmare because I was rather oily from my bath and the pads wouldn't stay in place for long. When they did, it did seem to help with the pain, but I had difficulty operating it as I hadn't tried it out before. It was one of the things I had meant to do during my first few days of maternity leave. At one point, Vinnie tried to help by turning the machine up but all that did was make me vomit!
We were certainly not prepared!
By 9.45pm the contractions were three minutes apart and were extremely painful. Vinnie called the midwife and, while we waited, he hunted around to find the nightie I had chosen to wear for the birth. The old towels I had intended to use were still in the washing machine soaking wet - we certainly were not prepared!
The midwife arrived around 10.30pm. As soon as Sally walked in the room, I felt so reassured - she was lovely. She asked me if I wanted her to do an internal to see how things were going and I agreed readily. I was a bit concerned when she said I was 2cm dilated - I couldn't see how I could take this much pain for many more hours. I expected her to say that she would leave and come back later as I know they are only supposed to stay once the women is in established labour (4cm dilated) but she made no move to go and we settled down to the business of getting the baby out.
The next hour and a half is a bit of a blur to me. I remember thinking that I wasn't getting any time between the contractions and they were so painful. Vinnie, on the other hand, reckons I kept falling asleep between them! I do remember asking if the TENS pads were in the right place and Vinnie and Sally laughing because I had two of the pads on my bottom and I was screaming 'Don't make me laugh, it hurts!'.
During this time we tried out many different positions under Sally's guidance. She was so supportive and kept reassuring me that I was doing brilliantly. We made frequent trips upstairs to the bathroom, trying not to drip anything on the new carpet!
Around midnight something changed. I became suddenly very alert and the contractions felt different. Sally noticed and asked me if I felt the urge to push. I wasn't sure, but she could see that my body was pushing involuntarily and told me to go with it. I tried the gas and air but I didn't like the way it made my head swim. I couldn't concentrate on the pushing and it reminded me of being very drunk - yuk! So we went on without it. At some point, Sally called the second midwife, Carol, who I remember apologising to as she walked into the room to find me on hands and knees with my bum in the air facing her - what a sight!
The second stage went on for ages. During a second internal, Sally found I had a cervical lip and asked me if I wanted her to help the baby over it. Yes! And, with the next contraction, I felt a movement downwards. From then on (about half an hour) Kira moved down with each contraction.
Around 2.00am Sally asked me if I wanted to try a different position to actually give birth in - Vinnie sitting on the sofa supporting me in a squatting position in front of him. I was more than happy to try this as I seemed to have tried every other position and didn't feel I could get my legs open enough in any of them! With a couple more pushes, out came Kira.
I have never been so relieved in my life - the pain had gone! We waited for the cord to stop pulsating before Vinnie cut it. He cuddled Kira to keep her warm while I changed position to deliver the placenta, which I delivered in less than 15 minutes. I then spoke to my mum and brother on the phone, with Kira in my arms. I couldn't believe it when Sally told us that I had gone from first contraction to birth in around five hours. Officially, established labour was probably around 3 hours! Sally jokingly said that my next one would be even quicker and easier!
I felt so satisfied with the labour and birth
Vinnie got out the bottle of champagne he had chilling ready in the fridge and Vinnie, Sally and I celebrated the natural homebirth of Kira. She only weighed 5lb 8oz but part of the reason I had trouble pushing her out was that she had had her one hand up on her cheek and the other up to her chin and her head was slightly to one side (which probably caused the cervical lip). I had no cuts or tears, just a couple of grazes which didn't require stitches.
There were times during the labour that I doubted my ability to give birth without any intervention but Vinnie and Sally were so supportive and encouraging. I felt such an overwhelming feeling of satisfaction with the whole labour and birth, despite the incredible pain. After sipping some of the champagne and eating half a Mars bar I relaxed in a lovely warm lavender bath prepared for me by Carol before she left and, by 4.00am, Vinnie and I were tucked up in bed with Kira, neither of us able to stop gazing at her!
Where to next?
- Read the full birth story
- Read accounts of different types of birth
- Read accounts of other home births