When you are giving birth for the first time it can be hard to figure out what is happening and when. Steph had an early visit to the hospital and then returned home to labour. When she arrived back again, after an initial slowing down, things definitely started to move! This is a great birth story to read so I do hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

I want to scream my birth story from the rooftops. Women are so badass!

First Time Mum, hospital birth, vaginal delivery, no medication, no intervention, no tearing, no vaginal exams. In and out of hospital in 12 hours.

Born at 39w +6

I woke at 7am on the 31st May to surges, but I'd been getting braxton hicks for over 4 weeks so just put it down to this, even though deep down I knew this was different. They were more intense, regular and progressing in intensity. I then had my bloody show at 9am. I decided to go out and walk the dog, in case I was in labour and couldn't do it later. I downloaded a contraction timer while I was out and my surges were averaging 45 seconds and coming every 3-6 minutes but they were still very tolerable, so I went and ran some errands while I still could.

I got home around lunchtime and thought I'd call the hospital just to let them know that I had had my bloody show and that I was getting regular surges. I knew we weren’t ready to go in, but we planned for a water birth, so I wanted to make sure we would get a suite with a bath. They told me to come down to get checked out. My bloody show had been quite watery, so they wanted to make sure my waters hadn't broken. It was while I was at the hospital things really started to ramp up. I was having to move and breathe through my surges. Towards the end I was having to vocalise through them. They did a speculum exam between surges and tested for amniotic fluid, which was negative. They offered for me to stay, but that meant they wanted to do a vaginal exam, which I declined, so my husband and I decided to go home and last it out for as long as possible.

I lasted 5 hours at home, labouring in the shower, in bed with my dog and on the floor on all fours while listening to my hypnobirthing tracks and repeating affirmations. It was hard for me to find a hypnotic state, I think if I had been able to start earlier as the surges started to intensity it would have been easier. Having a speculum exam and then having to drive home from the hospital with intense surges set me back a bit. By 11.00pm, my surges were back-to-back and I wasn't getting any down time. As much as I had my heart set on a non-medicated birth, I thought it might be best to go into the hospital and get something to help me to rest. I was managing through the surges, but I thought this stage of labour could go on for much longer and I was worried I wouldn't have any energy left for the final stage of labour.

After being back at the hospital for 1 hour we still weren't admitted and were still waiting in an examination room. We'd been told to leave all our bags in the car so we didn't have access to any of our hypnobirthing tools. By 1am my surges had slowed right down averaging one every 5-10mins. It was so nice to have time to rest, so I decided I didn't need any medication because I was getting enough rest between surges now. The midwife came in and explained I was still only in the early stages of labour, I think this was because my surges had spread out so much. This was pretty disheartening to hear. I'd been having surges for 17hours, although with such a gap between them now I knew I could manage all night now if I had to.

Within 30 minutes of being told I was only in early stages of labour my surges were back with full force, back to back, with the strong urge to push. Then my pants were off, my leg was up and I was being told to push while on my side. Still not admitted, still in the exam room with all of our bags in the car, but none of this bothered me. Pushing felt so good and I knew I was close to the end, I knew I was so close to meeting my little girl. I got up onto my knees with my arms and head resting on the elevated bed head and I pushed out my little girl’s head, and then breathed down her body. The satisfaction, the empowerment, the rush! It was the most incredible experience of my life.

My birth didn't go to plan. No water birth, no time or room to set up our diffuser, LED candles, affirmation cards etc. But it was the most amazing experience of my life. I have to be honest and admit the surges were much more intense than I could have ever imagined, but that was only when they were back-to-back and because I couldn’t get into a mediative state until it was perhaps too late.

A note to the petite mummas out there: I have a very small, petite frame. During pregnancy everyone told me that there is no way a baby would fit out of me naturally. This was my biggest fear and I did a lot of fear release visualisations and positive affirmations to try and combat my doubt. I don’t remember this, but apparently while pushing I kept saying “she isn’t going to fit”. BUT SHE DID! Not only did she fit through my pelvis, I also didn’t have any tearing. Our bodies and babies know how to birth!

Want to learn hypnobirthing with us?

Don’t forget that we have a full Online Antenatal Hypnobirthing Class that you can follow in your own time anywhere around the world. It is only £39/$49.
The Online Hypnobirthing Course

We also teach antenatal hypnobirthing classes in London in person with our One Day Group Hypnobirthing Class.
In-person Antental Hypnobirthing Group Class

If you’d rather prepare for your labour and birth solo with Melanie you can do so in the privacy of your own home in person if you live in London or via the Zoom platform wherever you are around the globe.
Private Antenatal Hypnobirthing Classes