Chloe tells her birth story in her own words, a beautiful first baby born quickly in hospital:

My waters broke on Tuesday the 14th roughly about 5pm, I was bang on 38 weeks. I got myself so panicked as I had convinced myself I was going to be late and that I still had plenty of time! I wasn’t having any contractions or anything so I managed to just take it easy and calm myself down by just breathing and reminding myself that this is what my body was designed for and that it would all be fine. We took our time but eventually went up to the hospital to be checked out at around 7:30pm, they were so understaffed though and they wanted to confirm with a doctor that I was ok to go home since I wasn’t having any contractions so we ended up being sent back to the waiting room until one was available, it was maybe 15 mins after that that I started getting really uncomfortable to the point I couldn’t sit down and was even on all fours at one point 😂

Poor Patrick kept getting sent to the reception desk to see if they knew how much longer they would be. Eventually they gave us a private room in hopes that I could get some sleep while I waited, I was a bit shocked at this point as I though someone might have had a wee look just to see if anything was happening. By this point my legs felt like they were on fire and the only thing I wanted to do was move around, I found that pacing back and forth and then stopping to breathe was the only thing that would give me any form of relief.

Again poor Patrick kept getting sent out to ask how long they would be as I was sure things were starting to progress, eventually a doctor did come in but before they were finished saying hi they had been called to theatre, I was so over it at this point and I think they could tell as the midwife then offered to do an examination only to discover that I was already 5cm dilated. They were now keen to find out where I wanted to be for my delivery which was in the water but I was told no as I was needed to be monitored so I was taken up to labour ward around 12am, It was suggested that I got on the bed so they could monitor the baby as his heart rate was quite high at this point but I just wanted to stand, sway and breathe.

I had been considering an epidural at this point as I just felt so worried that i would be left alone not knowing again like I had been since I had arrived at the hospital but after another look the midwife informed me that there would be no time for any of that as I was fully dilated and ready to push. Our little Cian was born at 12:52am with just a couple puffs of gas and air!

When I look back now I can’t believe how lucky I was to have such a positive birth experience and I do believe that’s truly down to the breathing techniques we learned with your hypnobirthing course, I think as well being able to advocate for myself and have Patrick support me in that, I do think I maybe could have argued the water birth a bit more but at that point I was finding movement to be really helpful so wasn’t overly fussed.

I do think if there’s a next time I would really consider a home birth, the midwife and the student midwife who delivered Cian were absolutely amazing but I think the ones in triage maybe didn’t take me as seriously because it was my first baby it felt like they didn’t think I was progressing as quickly as I was!

Sarah shares her amazing and empowering HBAC story and shows how important the prep work is:

My first birth was a planned Caeseran and although it was a positive experience for me I knew I wanted a physiological birth with little to no intervention this time around.

When i booked in with Mandy for her 121 course she asked me where I thought I would like to give birth and if I had considered a home birth. I answered, no, not for me as there is an increased risk of uterine rupture so I would be in the hospital. She recommended a book for me to read for more information on this and I wasn't even half way through the book when I had decided I wanted a home birth. Knowing the real statistics and information relating to my situation made me realise that home was in fact the safest place for me to birth my baby and so began the plans for my HBAC.

My husband did take some convincing but after we attended the course with Mandy he felt much more informed and although he was never 100% on board I had his support which allowed us to continue making our plans together.

Contractions started for me on the Friday evening. I wasn't fully convinced that they were contractions as while they felt different to the regular braxton hicks l'd been having, they weren't painful. They woke me a few times during the night but didn't really increase.

On Saturday morning, I wanted to go to Edinburgh to walk around the festival but thought something might happen so we agreed to go to Livingston Centre instead. While we were there the contractions were very regular but again not painful. I was struggling going round the shops though and felt really tired so we went for some lunch. By this time I knew the contractions were definitely regular but they still were not painful. I decided not to time them as I felt this would add too much focus on them but knew they must have been the 3 in 10 minutes you are told to look for.

We went home and I had a nap while our 3 year old, George, was napping. Then we decided to call my husbands parents for them to look after George for the night as we thought something was definitely happening and was definitely getting more intense. They were on their way back from the shops when we arrived which I was glad of as my waters broke as soon as i sat down on their couch!

When we got home the contractions were starting to become more intense so l decided to have a bath to relax and do some breathing exercises while my husband set up and filled the pool. Pretty soon after I got out of the bath the contractions were non stop with little to no break in between so we decided to call the Midwives. We were told to see how things went and call back in half an hour. By this time involuntary pushing began and I had to really focus on my breathing and used my comb to help me do this.

The Midwives arrived and while I had stated on my birth plan that I did not want any VE's they offered which I knew they would and I declined. They were totally respectful of this and my plan and they just left me to it. I did think at one point that it was really hard work keeping my focus and thought if this part is so intense how would I manage the actual birth! I asked the midwife if she thought I should have some gas and air and she said that didn't think I needed it as I was doing fine which I'm really grateful for.

After 2 and half of involuntary pushing the midwife advised me how long it had been and that she thought I should try sitting on the toilet as I still couldn't feel the baby moving down. She also asked if I would like a vaginal exam to see where baby was. I agreed and straight away she told me I was fully dilated and they helped me make my way to the bathroom. The baby was so low and the constant contractions made it really hard to walk. I had some gas and air on the toilet to help for the walk back which really helped and by the time I was back in the pool the contractions slowed a little so I was able to get a little break in between and could even have a chat.

The walk must have helped as I could now feel the baby moving down and with some guided pushing from the Midwives we worked on getting him out together. My poor husbands hands became my focus and by this time I was doing a lot of very loud groaning! Finally the head was born with the body following soon after and at 1.51 am on the Sunday morning, Wilson Taylor Firth was born weighing 8lb 12oz. I caught him myself and brought him up in to my arms. I rubbed his back until he cried and at least a minute passed before we even remembered to check if he was a boy or a girl!

He started feeding really quickly and we stayed in the pool until it was time for my husband to cut the cord. We got out and sat on the couch where I delivered the placenta with no issues. The Midwives helped to clean up and after some toast and a quick shower we were cuddled up in bed where our family came to visit later that morning. It really was everything I could have hoped for. At no point was I scared or thought that I couldn't do it. There was no fear and while I wouldn't describe it as painful it was very intense and very hard work!

I believe this was down to the preparation I done during my pregnancy. Doing the course with Mandy and educating myself as much as I could

led to me making informed choices throughout, knowing my rights and having a strong birth plan in place.

Sarah and Baby Wilson

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