Initially, I had a healthy first pregnancy 10 years ago, however an awful experience at hospital. My contractions started around 10pm but I stayed in bed at home. The next day, around 4pm, when contractions were getting stronger and were either 5 minutes apart or 1 minute long and I made my way to hospital….
Tag: midwife
I roared this baby out
I was up at 11pm reading birth stories hoping this would trigger an oxytocin rush that might kick start labour. I read my own birth story from my first birth, and I immersed myself in the stories of Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth. I was ready to give birth to this baby. At 39 weeks and…
I felt overwhelmingly happy. IVF homebirth.
Via Luna’s birth story… I woke on the morning of the 23rd November after a really awful night’s sleep. At 39 weeks and four days pregnant I was starting to get used to not sleeping very well, but this night I had been sweating loads and tossing and turning all night. My husband, Alex, usually leaves for…
My homebirth made me feel proud of my first hospital birth
A few weeks before my second baby was due, I realised how anxious I felt about giving birth to her in a hospital. While the experience of giving birth to my firstborn had been magical, the environment was toxic. The few interactions I had with the midwives impinged a wave of negativity around the birth,…
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…
Snuggle next to your baby after the birth in your own bed is the best
On the morning of my due date I started having irregular surges. I didn’t want to get my hopes up and carried on with my daily chores. This could take a few more days yet, I said to myself. By two o’clock the surges were getting more regular so I knew I was probably going…
From emergency C-section to unplanned freebirth
My first pregnancy just kind of ticked by. I went to appointments but never really felt attached to baby or excited about things. I did what the midwives said and took on board their advice. I attended antenatal classes where I learnt about birth and available interventions. I went over my due date by 13…
Midwife respected my wish to have a ‘post term’ homebirth
I was 41 weeks pregnant but there were no signs of labour starting on its own. I had two membrane sweeps, but I declined recommendations for medical induction as I wanted a natural birth. I was becoming increasingly aware and anxious that this might not happen. I was booked in at a low-risk standalone birth…
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…
My sixth homebirth was a freebirth
When I was 36 weeks pregnant I started getting strong Braxton Hicks, so called “training contractions”. Sometimes I would get a few together over a period of time and then they would fizzle out so when I started feeling tightenings on Thursday of my 39th week, I chose to ignore them and get on with…
When birth takes unexpected turn, support is vital
On 6th of January, I woke up feeling slightly cheesed off that I still wasn’t in labour. I sat playing with my phone and felt a few period type cramps… Around 5:30am I started to wonder if there had been a few of those, but felt sure they weren’t strong enough to be anything real….
Prepare well for homebirth, the rest is all happiness! Dad’s story.
Parenthood for us was a very bumpy road and at some point we really thought that we would never reach the destination…Two years after starting to try for a baby in 2013 we still hadn’t had any luck, so me and my wife Caroline decided to have some tests done. We got told that there…
Labour in a Toddler Group
On the morning of the birth I knew I was in very early labour but on the spare of the moment decided to keep it to myself and just get on with the day. I was pregnant with our third child and had fairly long labours in the past. I was already nearly two weeks…
