Story by Wilhelmina

My husband and I are happy to share our birth journey in the hopes it might help other couples.

It wasn’t the journey we would have preferred but it gave us a beautiful baby and a healthy mum!

After our waters broke with absolutely no contractions, we called the midwives and were told to come to the birthing suite.

They were hoping to keep Bub in a couple days longer as I was only 36 weeks and 5 days but Bub had other ideas and by 8 am I was in early labour and by 11am we had transitioned to established labour.

Labour gradually ramped up but was manageable first with breathing and back rubs from Geordie (my husband), then with hot water (the bath and shower really are your best friends) and then with gas & music (both helping me to control my breathing)

Despite not wanting an epi initially (as I was concerned about the loss of control) I changed my mind and requested one with support from Geordie who I talked it through with.

Throughout all this they were having trouble getting a good read on bubs heart rate. Long story short we were classed as a Category 1 emergency caesarean.

At this stage I was so grateful for the epi as it gave me a chance to breathe and regroup and be ready for the big change in plans.

By the time we needed a caesarean it was the right decision and honestly, it was incredible. From the press of the button, we had a baby in our arms in under 15 minutes.

The epi also meant that I could be awake for the procedure (otherwise it’s a general anaesthetic which would have meant my husband and I would not be able to see our Bub arrive).

Like I said, it wasn’t our preferred birth journey, but it was the one we needed to go on to have our beautiful baby. I am proud of our little family’s ability to work together despite the challenges.

The whole time we felt empowered and in control. We were able to take on the information and play an active role in deciding how we were going to navigate what came next.

Thank you to Calm Birth for teaching us we had the resources in us all along to manage our birth, we just needed to be empowered to use our voices and trust ourselves.