At the beginning of my pregnancy I never really thought about a natural drug free birth.. What I did know was I was a complete sook when it came to pain, and I couldn’t even handle a needle or blood test.. However this pregnancy and birth definitely changed my confidence in my willpower.
My cousin first introduced me to hypnobirthing and natural birthing techniques. After listening to her birth story and doing some research into these birthing techniques it didn’t take me long to decide that this was the way I wanted to give birth to my son. I wanted to remember it, I wanted to be fully aware of those first moments when my baby entered the world and I wanted to be able to move around and attend to my baby without any help on that first night. I also decided I wanted a water birth. I loved the idea of my baby having a smooth, peaceful transition into the world from the womb.
With my birth plan decided and a hospital found that allowed for water birth the next hurdle I had to overcome was my mentality and having the confidence to do exactly what my birth plan said. After attending some hypnobirthing information sessions and also reading “A Modern Woman’s Guide to a Natural Empowering Birth“ I started to feel a lot more confident that I could achieve the birth I had planned. I began to develop the mentality in my mind that women are made to do give birth, it’s what our bodies were designed to do and began to overcome the fear that had been implanted in my mind from most of the birth stories I had heard.
After attending the Pregnancy Pamper Retreat and enjoying a day of natural relaxation remedies and also learning how to meditate- I felt even more empowered that I could achieve the impossible. I began to meditate every day and develop my ability to get in the state of mind and ability to just relax.
On June 18th 2015 (2.5 weeks before my due date) at 3 am I discovered a very light pink discharge when I went to the toilet. I also felt as if I had no control over my urine (was actually my waters breaking) and I advised my partner that I didn’t think he should go to work today and that I had a feeling that our son was going to come. I went back to sleep trying to ignore the slight persistent pain that I was feeling on and off and managed to sleep for another 2 hours. I also found that I began to vomit during this time. At 530 am I woke again with those pains getting a little stronger and the pink “water” still appearing. I told my partner that he should call his boss and let him know he wasn’t coming in as I was almost certain I was in early labour, and although he didn’t believe me because I was so calm and did not appear in any pain.
However during this time the pain was getting a lot stronger but I was using my relaxation techniques learnt through meditation to control the pain. After contacting the hospital we went in for assessment and they confirmed that I was indeed in early labour and my waters had defiantly broken. They sent me back to the comfort of my house where I was told to stay until my labour was further along. Throughout the day the pain grew stronger and stronger and a lot more often.
When I felt the pain was too much I attached a TENS machine to myself and used this to help control the pain. I also found having a warm shower helped me to cope with the pain. At 6pm I decided that it was time to go to the hospital again and when we arrived went straight into the shower, until my birthing pool was ready. It had been 15 hours since my water had broke and the midwife did try to convince me to put a drip in to ensure myself and baby did not get an infection, however I stuck to my gut instinct and that we did not need it. Once I was in the birthing pool I found my contractions getting even stronger and more frequent.
As I had denied being checked by the midwife to how far along into my labour I was, we just played the waiting game. I will be honest at times I felt that I could not do it, I felt that I wanted to give up, and I think it is important to have a great birthing partner to remind you that you can do it, and remind me of my breathing techniques. I think it’s important to have a good birth partner in times when you forget these things. I did try the gas once but it made my vomit straight away, so I quickly decided against that.
When it was finally time to “push” I became every more determined. Even though it had been 18 hours of pain and being awake I suddenly had energy and the excitement of meeting my son set in. When I saw the head appear that determination grew stronger and the next thing I knew my son was in my arms. At 10.10 pm I had given birth to my amazing son. I was in love at first sight. He was put directly onto my chest and we waited until that placenta stopped pulsating before cutting it. When it was time to give birth to the placenta my son went and had his first cuddles with his daddy (which I believe is also important). I had a slight tear that needed to be stitched but I was so proud, happy and felt a sense of achievement that I was able to achieve the birth naturally and drug free.
