My family are very nature-minded and not in favour of hospitals or modern medicine, so it was always my dream to have a baby at home. No doctors taking control, no unnecessary medical interventions, just letting nature take its course. When I had my first midwife appointment and she told me that homebirth was an…
Tag: birth pool
Go like jelly
This had been a tough pregnancy. I suffer from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ M.E, and my symptoms had gotten much worse while pregnant (with a few extras thrown in for good measure). I also have a history of recurrent miscarriage, so despite having a daughter already, naturally I was cautious in case anything happened to this…
I went over 42 weeks and was happy with my decision. VBAC story.
I was term plus 15 days and declined induction, including stretch and sweep and had CTG monitoring daily from term plus 12, that is the policy at the hospital. And all was always ok. I have had a previous emergency C-section, (due to positioning of baby and failure to progress) but with discussions it was…
I focused on my breathing and just knew baby was close. A VBAC story.
On the night of my due date I started having irregular surges. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and carried on with my night. This could take few more days yet, I said to myself. By morning the surges were getting more regular so I knew I was probably going to have the…
I imagined baby coming down the birth canal
I woke up and just knew by the end of the day I’d have my baby. I went to the toilet and had a “show”. I was getting slight cramps that seemed like period and I carried on with my mother duties. I have a seven-year old who thinks she is 21 and a 12…
This time I wanted to be in control, so I chose homebirth
I went into this pregnancy as a big ball of anxiety and stress. I had a traumatic hospital birth with my first that left me feeling like a failure, then suffered a miscarriage before finding out I was pregnant again. I was adamant that this time I would remain in control and not let myself…
After helping me in labour my six-year-old daughter wants to become a midwife
I had a midwife’s appointment on my due date on Friday and she predicted the baby would come on Monday. I was more than happy to wait and enjoy those last few ‘two in one’ moments. Next evening I felt some twinges and niggles, but as I’ve had them before and my mind was programmed…
My labour did not follow a chart
I had been having intense Braxton Hicks or training contractions for the past few days. On the day around 7.30am I felt contractions and when they were consistent I knew they weren’t Braxton Hicks, but the real ones. So I made my way to the Barking Birth Centre. My body works really different in each…
Baby was fine so I did not see a reason for induction
I just want to tell you it is possible to have a positive birth. I was pregnant with my second child and so nervous and scared of labour. With the first one I didn’t know what to expect, but with the second I was dreading the inevitable contractions. Positive pregnancy WhatsApp group helped me so…
My birth didn’t hurt, it was a powerful feeling
I was feeling heavy and had all the usual late pregnancy side effects . My body was getting tired. I was having on and off surges since 20 weeks of pregnancy and had a few nights where surges came every ten minutes and this lasted for five hours. I knew, though, that it was my…
I didn’t feel the contractions and was 4cm dilated
At 40 weeks and four days past my due date, I was getting very impatient for my baby to arrive. My first birth was almost a week early so I had expected this baby to arrive even sooner. I had started maternity leave weeks earlier, after experiencing heaviness, Braxton Hicks tightenings and babies head was…
Midwife couldn’t believe how calm I was
Ashley choose homebirth because she wanted to give birth in the safest, most undisturbed place possible, to make it as calm and relaxed as it could be. Here is her story. As someone who had given birth three times before, I had some specific fears related to things that had happened during my previous births….
With no conscious effort, my body was working on its own
It was the morning after my due date so to stay active and prepare for labour I agreed to play a game with my two children where one of the players had to dance… And strangely still most of the times I was the one who was dancing. So each time the music was on…
Baby caught by her grandmother
After my first baby’s suction delivery performed by a busy doctor in Japan, keen to get him out before going to a conference later that day, I wanted a different experience for my second child. As I had been born at home, and my mum also, this option felt like the one I wanted right…
