I Went for a Long Walk & My Waters Broke…
Just popping an email in to tell you more about my birth story…
Overall, it was positive and I’m pleased with how it went. There were some bumps along the way but I kept a really positive where I could and feel blessed with my experience. I am so grateful for attending your sessions and the research I did around hypnobirthing etc. it kept me calm and in control.
So I went for a long walk on the Saturday and my waters broke in the afternoon. Only slightly, however I unfortunately didn’t get any contractions. So I called the triage line after 24 hours. I went to the birth centre on the Sunday, and they confirmed that my waters had gone. This meant I would have to be induced due to risk of infection and that I would have to be monitored during labour (not in the birth centre which was my only birth preference).
I was initially upset about being induced and thought about going home, but in the end I know I’d be less anxious if I stayed in hospital where I had support. I asked them about making sure I could be mobile during labour even though I was being monitored which they said I could. They used the 'BRAIN' throughout everything so I was well informed.
I was Induced with the pessary and contractions started 2 hours after.
By the morning my contractions were very intense but I was over contracting, so had to remove the pessary with the risk that contractions wouldn’t continue. I was 1cm dilated at this point. Luckily my contractions continued naturally and my Waters broke fully.
I was Moved to delivery suite (in the end quite glad about this as I was able to ask the midwife questions and it eased my anxiety).
The Doctor spoke to me about next steps if I hadn't progressed in labour. They anticipated me to be 2-3cm but I was 5cm when they next checked and in active labour which completely boosted my oxytocin and confidence in myself.
With labour continuing, I had some gas and air when they did the internal checks but only for an hour or so. I stopped as it was distracting me from breathing effectively. I didn't consider other pain relief as I was able to keep in my zone!
The baby’s heart rate was dropping with some contractions depending on my position, but I was able to keep mobile. When they checked again, I was 9.5cm and they were able to push this to 10cm. I was so proud of my body for doing this…
My baby was born at 20:20 on 28/8/2023
I did need stitches, but I think they have healed well. I have been referred to pelvic health specialist (apparently this is something the hospital do for anyone who has tears or forceps etc during labour). So I'm hoping all is healing well as I'm looking forward to get back into fitness and dance. I've just been doing low level breathing and pelvic floor exercises each day.
Thank you for everything…