Our labour started very early on the Saturday night with more intense Braxton hicks contractions and period pain. I should have taken more advantage of Panadol at the time to ensure I had good sleep but safe to say I didn’t really sleep that night. I woke up Sunday morning feeling on and off Braxton hicks but we continued with our normal routine. We decided to go out for breakfast as I felt like this might be ‘our final meal’ . While at breakfast I experienced my first contraction my goodness was that different to Braxton hicks! They were still 1:20 but already lasting a minute. My water ended up breaking about an hour and a half later!
We spent the whole day sleeping, cuddling (yay oxytocin), using a heat pack and my sweet husband rubbing my back during the contractions. We tried our best to rest as much as possible as I knew the night would most likely bring more intense contractions. We ended up at the hospital earlier than planned due to a pos GBS urine test and we wanted to be covered by antibiotics and await labour. My labour continued to progress well from a closed cervix to 5cm dilated in the early hours of the morning. Throughout this time, we used the skills from Calmbirth.
My husband was my constant encouragement. Encouraging me to breath, to focus on our baby, using heat packs, movement, massage, worship music, and the bath to get through every contraction. At those early hours of the morning though, everything began to change – my husband got food poisoning and was physically unable to be my physical support for a few hours. This became a massive emotional barrier for both of us and a distraction from our birth. Ultimately this delayed my labour as I started to use my brain and began to become disconnected to my labouring body.
As a midwife I watched my body slow, and my contractions stilled to 1:10. I knew what was happening and I knew my body wasn’t doing what it needed too anymore – it is incredible the power of the mind. Long story short we ended up deciding to augment the labour and then get further pain relief (epidural) to assist with same. This was an educated informed decision but one that changed our experience. From intermittent listening to the baby and labouring basically just me and my husband to a drip, a monitor and then my decision to be in the bed. At this point I had been labouring for 2 nights, had no sleep and was physically and emotional exhausted and my husband was still so unwell. The epidural seemed like the only option when my support was unable to support.
My mum ended up coming in and helping and my husband started to improve with some medications and the epidural went in. I hated it and as a midwife again my brain became my worst enemy toying with the ideas of c sections and forceps because of the decisions I had made. I ended up getting a visit from one of my colleagues who changed the space for us, she prayed over us, and the atmosphere changed. Our minds settled and we allowed my body to relax and my cervix to dilate. A few hours later, as I started to feel contractions again and increased pressure, along with a vomit I knew my body was close and I hoped and prayed that all these signs of fully dilated that were happening to me were true. When my beautiful midwife checked our sweet daughter was just inside and ready to arrive. After an hour of pushing, she was born with 2 small grazes and no postnatal concerns.
It’s true what they say, the mind is the most powerful place. If my mind had stayed in its labouring animalistic mode, I am fairly convinced my body would have progressed as fast as it had before, and my daughter would have been born earlier and hopefully with minimal pain relief. However, this isn’t our story and there’s no shame in pain relief or birth stories. Safe mumma, safe baby and safe husband. Give credit to the power of your birth space, your atmosphere, your mind, and your people.
The knowledge we gained from Calm birth (even as a midwife) enabled my husband and I to be prepared, to have skills to use in labour that on the day we just naturally conducted without having to think. I couldn’t highly recommend it more.
The power of your mindset, hormones and environment in birth by The Calm Blogger The power of your mindset, hormones and environment can play such a vital role in making you feel safe, calm and private for the kind of birth that can unfold for you, as Calmbirth mum, Tara discovered when she birthed her beautiful baby Cohen James.
Getting To Know Calmbirth Educator Queenie Kelly by Queenie Kelly I am deeply passionate about antenatal education and believe that birth is a transformative experience—one that should be approached with calm, confidence, and connection. My goal is to empower you with knowledge, practical tools, and mindset shifts that will help you feel prepared and positive about your birth, no matter…
