A POSITIVE BIRTH STORY: Sam's Lovely Home Birth
I was 41 weeks when I went into labour and due to see my midwife that afternoon but my body and baby decided they had other plans…
I woke up in the morning around 6am to what I thought was a contraction, I had been having Braxton Hicks for many weeks of my pregnancy and so was aware this felt different. I tried to roll over but they were getting more uncomfortable as the minutes passed so got up and decided to have a walk around the house.
As time went by they got more intense and could tell they were becoming quite regular. I decided to keep track of how many contractions I was getting in a 10 minute period and let my partner know that I thought things were progressing.
I found that I didn’t want to lie down so was leaning over the bed and swaying throughout them, it was most intense in my lower back so used a hot water bottle at this point.
A few hours went by and I was managing to breathe and move through the contractions, I also had a shower which felt lovely on my back. We then let the midwives know and they decided to come out and see what was happening.
When they arrived I was still in our bedroom. We had a pool which we had downstairs but wasn’t quite set up yet.
I was found to be in established labour so decided to fill the pool and I got in. We kept downstairs fairly dark and we put on some music. I continued to breath through the contractions in the pool but my back was really taking over with the intensity so my partner massaged and put pressure on this area which really helped.
During my labour the midwives also helped me with some optimal positioning to aid the baby move through my pelvis. This included some lunges up the stairs, some side-lying releases and forward-leaning inversions. I was also just very conscious of moving throughout and so tried to change positions fairly regularly. It was also important to rest when I could and in the pool would often be my time where I was still and would drink and snack.
As time went by the feeling during a contraction changed and I felt a strong urge to bear down. I followed my body and could tell that the baby was getting slightly lower. My waters went in the pool a couple of hours before birth which was a very intense pressure as it happened.
In the end I got out of the pool and used gravity to help the baby descend even lower, it felt like a very long time at points and also it kept creeping into my head how tired I was but kept telling myself I would soon meet my baby and that I could do this. My midwives and partner were also wonderful at encouraging me throughout. They suggested I felt down to touch the baby’s head which was very empowering to know what my body was capable of.
As she was born I reached down to pick her up, we didn’t know we were having a girl and so it was a very special moment.
Words by Sam, Brighton UK
Sam also says,
“Doing the LushTums yoga classes throughout my pregnancy was 100% worth it and the best thing I did.
It not only kept me moving and supple but even when I felt like I didn’t want to go because I was tired, once I was there, I was so pleased I did and always felt refreshed afterwards.
Seeing regular faces each week was really lovely and Clare, our teacher was amazing. She tailored the classes to what was needed each week so felt very personal. I would highly recommend going to a LushTums pregnancy yoga class.”