Nicola and Mairi - positive induction and ventouse
Answering a few of our questions:
What was the best bit of the birth for you: “Other than meeting my baby! I would say how Dom (birth partner) and I dealt with changes during our birth was the best bit. We were both terrified and clueless before the Hypnobirthing course and I ended up giving birth with just a tens machine for pain relief and handling all the interventions that were needed without panicking, and Dom did everything possible to make the birth run smoothly for me as he was supposed to. I'm immensely proud of us both.”
Did your birth partner advocate for your preferences: “I had to push back on an induction many times and the only reason I agreed in the end was due to Mairi's heart rate dropping so I decided it was the best thing for us. For active labour our midwife was lovely. Dom gave her our preferences, she read them and stuck to them.
How did Hypnobirthing help with your birth: “I think it completely changed my experience of birth. I ended up having an eventful birth with most of the things I was worried about actually happening and even though a lot of it really was out of my control, I still felt in control. I had so much more knowledge! I felt able to handle it all and knew what everyone was talking about. The main thing for me is that even with everything that happened I still feel that my birth was a positive experience even though I know if someone had described that birth to me before I would have been horrified. It's all because of how my mindset changed and honestly I feel so powerful having dealt with it so well especially when I think of how absolutely terrified I was before. I also think this had a knock on effect on how I recovered after the birth too as I felt completely back to normal about two weeks after giving birth, I genuinely didn't feel as though I'd had a baby. I think the fact that I didn't have to give any negative headspace to the events of the birth enabled me to heal much quicker than I would have if I was upset or traumatised by the birth. I was talking to a midwife the day after I gave birth and saying that I'd have another baby, I was not put off at all! A very positive experience.
The birth story
“I'd been feeling pressured into an early induction and had been resisting as it's not what I wanted.
We had a growth scan booked on the 13th June and we'd decided that if she was showing any abnormalities (first we'd been told she was a big baby, then the last scan said she wasn't growing but they weren't sure) then I would accept the early induction. Her growth scan was absolutely fine, no issues and everything looked good with the placenta so we decided I would be induced at 40 weeks but not before. Because of this I was asked to be monitored on the CTG that same day to check her heart rate.
I had been feeling tightenings in my belly so I was hoping I'd go into labour naturally soon anyway and these showed up on the ctg which the midwife commented they might turn into labour soon if you're lucky. Then Mairi's heart rate started to drop drastically. They called the consultant who said I should be admitted and monitored overnight then induced in the morning.
I was very upset but also really worried about Mairi and her heart so went along with the plans for induction in the morning. We left hospital to go get all our things and headed back to be put back on the CTG machine. During this monitoring, Mairi's heart rate dropped drastically again and for 4 minutes so they started prepping me for an emergency Caesarean. It was hectic and scary as the midwife had pressed the emergency button when her heart rate dropped so within seconds my bed was surrounded by midwives.
I was extremely stressed but then her heart went back to normal so the doctor decided that as Caesarean wasn’t necessary. The next day I was put on the CTG again and her heart was fine. At 11.30am I was given a gel pessary (used as the first stage of induction) and told I couldn't leave the hospital but could wander round the grounds. Luckily the hospital had a nice walk within the grounds through forest and a little park and it was a lovely day so we went for lunch and walked around the forest and just chilled out as best we could. I was having mild contractions roughly every 10 mins but they weren't consistent and they were fine, just like strong period pains. Dom had to leave at 8pm as that's when visiting hours finish so I wasn't happy but I was hoping to get some sleep!
The ward was completely empty now so I had a shower and got into bed when I felt and heard like a balloon popping and an elastic band twanging at the same time! I stood up and my waters had broken so I text Dom to tell him to come back and called the midwife. She told me Dom wasn't allowed back until 8am (it was 10pm at this point) I was put back on the CTG machine and left alone.
My contractions started coming closer together so by about midnight they were four minutes apart. I told the midwife this but she said she wasn’t going to examine me as I wouldn't be dilated enough and that I could go to labour ward at 4 cms and Dom could come in then but not before! I was getting annoyed with her by this point.
My contractions were getting more painful now and I honestly wasn't handling them as I wasn’t allowed Dom with me. He was in the carpark at the hospital as wanted to be close by, he had my tens machine so I went to get it. I also went to the toilet (in quite a big way) and knew from this course that this meant labour was progressing.
I decided to go back upstairs to see the midwife and I was 5cms dilated so I was taken down to the labour ward. I was so relieved but by this point I was very upset and desperately wanted to get to where I was giving birth plus get away from this midwife who had also commented about me needing Dom because he was a 'Hypnobirthing expert' which obviously I'd never said, I just said I wanted my partner with me.
Once we got to the room it was completely different, we regained our control, Dom was great and handed our new (much nicer) midwife our birth preferences and started getting out my things, eye mask, headphones, aromatherapy roller that I'd decided I'd need for the birth. Dom explained we'd be using hypnobirthing techniques while I put my eye mask on and zoned out. I had the headphones on for a little while but felt they put me off so I just used the affirmations from the MP3s in my head. I didn't touch my aromatherapy roller because for some reason I knew that if I smelt that I'd throw up even though I'd been sure that it would be an anchor I'd need before.
After that I got into position on the bed, I was on my back as I was absolutely exhausted after not having sleep since Monday night and it was now the early hours of Thursday morning but I had Dom hold onto me from the side and I just breathed through every contraction, using the tens machine. After a while I felt like the tens machine was actually making them worse so I stopped using that and just breathed through each one. I have no concept of time at all from then so I don't know how long I did that but I was completely calm just breathing through contractions. It didn't occur to me to ask for pain relief as I never felt unable to handle the contractions which was very different to how I'd been feeling earlier when they would have been much less painful.
Then my body started pushing, it was like this uncontrollable feeling of just pushing. It wasn't me doing it at all, it was all my body. The midwife told me to stop as being a first baby there was no way I'd be 10cms already. I tried my hardest to resist the pushing and managed to a few times but it was awful and felt very wrong. Looking back, I knew what was happening and should have pushed back but I deferred to her in the moment which is frustrating but it's how I felt at the time. .
I did get angry in the end and asked her what was wrong with my body then if I shouldn't be pushing yet it was making me. She examined me then and I was 10cms dilated so she said I could start to push when I felt the urge, she admitted I was right and was just listening to my body. I cried at this point as I was overwhelmed at the thought of meeting my daughter but I was also feeling excited. I pushed for over an hour but there was no signs of Mairi coming out and her heart rate started to drop again so a consultant was called in and it was explained to me that as she wasn't coming out and was getting distressed, they were going to use a ventouse.
I was worried but I felt OK about it, I was desperate for her to be out now she was getting distressed and even though I really hadn't wanted any interventions it felt like the right way to go to make sure she arrived as safely as possible. Dom checked with me that this was how I wanted to do things and I said yes let's carry on. She came with the help of the ventouse at 8.06am.
I don't know where I found the strength as I was absolutely exhausted by this point but I managed it. I kept asking if she was OK and then she was put on my chest and I couldn't stop crying from the relief that she was here!
Birth and parenthood have both changed me massively. I thought being forty and having my first baby would take a massive toll on my body and that I'd struggle badly yet it seems to me my body was made for birth regardless of my age. I feel powerful and so proud of myself after the birth and I can't wait to have another baby (if we're lucky enough) never thought I'd say that! I'm also proud of how I've handled parenthood as I didn't think it would come naturally to me for various reasons but I definitely feel like it does. I of course have my days where I feel stressed and like I'm not good enough but ultimately I know that I am and I feel overwhelmingly positive about the whole experience.
Doing the hypnobirthing course changed my thoughts about birth completely. It made me feel informed, in control and I even started to get excited about the birth and see it as the way of meeting my baby instead of concentrating on all the negatives and scary parts. And even if plans do change you can still come out of the experience with nothing but positive feelings about it!”
