Real life stories: birth options
"With my first baby I didn't go to any antenatal classes. I spent most of my first labour lying on a bed, which felt very passive - and painful - and afterwards I thought 'there's got to be a better way to do this,'
"If I didn't like being in water, I could always get
out."
"During my second pregnancy I read a couple of books about water birth,
and when I went to visit my local hospital I discovered they had a new water
birth suite and held regular water birth workshops. One of the birthing rooms
there is like a five-star hotel - there's this huge bath and you can dim
the lights or change them to different colours It's really fantastic - and
all on the NHS. I thought I'd definitely give it a try. If I didn't
like being in water, I could always get out.
"It was a day past my due date when I went into labour. I was at home with
Joel when my contractions started. I phoned the hospital and told them I wanted
a water birth, and they said to call back in a couple of hours and let them
know how it was going. I'd hired a TENS machine, which I found really
helpful during the early stages. I was playing with Joel and then, when a
contraction came along, I would get down on all fours until it passed.
"I called back at about 5.30 and told them I was ready to come in, and by
6.30 they had the pool ready for me. For the first hour I didn't get in the
water, because by this point I was rather attached to my TENS machine and
nervous about taking it off, but eventually I decided to give the water a
try.
"They keep the water at a constant 37 degrees - at this temperature,
it's safe to give birth in the water as the baby won't breathe if the
temperature outside is the same as your body temperature. As soon as I got in,
I had this enormous feeling of relaxation - I can honestly say the water
somehow seemed to take away nearly all the pain. Philip was at the side of the
pool pouring water over my shoulders, and from time to time the midwife would
check the baby's heartbeat with a monitor - I would just float up so my
tummy was above the surface of the water so she could check it.
"It was a really positive experience from start to finish."
"After about four hours, I told the midwife I felt ready to push and asked her whether that was OK. She said, 'If you feel like pushing, do it.' I pushed twice and the head was out, then I pushed again and the rest of the body followed. Philip cut the cord, and I stayed in the pool holding Elias for about 45 minutes - it was a really positive experience from start to finish."
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