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The power of surrending in birth…Britt and Mitch’s birth journey

Birth Stories

Story by Britt and Mitch

Britt: My pregnancy was our first after years of trying naturally, 4 rounds of IVF, and 7 embryo transfers. Throughout that journey, I lost a lot of confidence in myself and my body. Attending Calmbirth and working towards a physiological birth was a very conscious attempt to regain that confidence.

 

As my pregnancy was the result of IVF, I knew I would face induction conversations from 38/39 weeks, and I knew that was something I’d like to avoid if possible. Learning about physiological birth gave me the confidence to advocate for myself to ensure any induction conversations were based on medical requirements specific to my baby and I.

I spent my pregnancy doing everything possible to prepare for a calm and positive birth experience. I read all the books, listened to hours of podcasts and had a full labour toolkit ready for showtime. I learnt a lot about the benefits of breath work and practiced regularly throughout my pregnancy.

While hoping for a physiological birth, I made a point to understand all possible interventions and pain relief methods I may encounter. This allowed me to balance my hopes for my birth, while still preparing for the uncertainties that come with every birth. I feel strongly that this approach to labour is what kept me so calm throughout and in the lead up.
  
In the end, my labour started spontaneously at 39+5. My water broke with a ‘pop’ at 4.40pm and my first contraction was at 11pm. I laboured at home until 1.30am, and my baby joined us at 3.06am shortly after arriving to hospital. The speed of my labour meant I had no time to even think about using the toolkit I’d prepared for myself, and instead I relied on the breath work that had become second nature. I absolutely could not have done it without breath work and the power and focus of my birth song.

While I didn’t use anything I prepared for myself, I feel that the process of preparing a plan, a toolkit and understanding physiological birth had a huge impact on my state of mind throughout my labour. I felt at ease about whichever direction my birth would take, and I’m certain that sense of calm aided my body in relaxing into the speedy birth, and getting my baby safely by my side.

 
Surrendering to my birth experience and letting my body take over was incredibly empowering and reignited all the confidence I had previously lost. I am so incredibly grateful for the support of my birth team and all of the resources I used to prepare throughout my pregnancy.

Mitch: I had spent a lot of time preparing for how I could support my wife through her labour with different methods and techniques, but our baby came so quickly that all I could do was be by her side.

I relied on the visualisation and breath work we’d learned about at Calmbirth to help my wife stay focused, and was able to draw on everything I’d learnt about the physiology of birth to remind her where to focus her energy, where to avoid tensing up, and encourage her to surrender.

All of the preparation I had done could never have prepared me for how I would feel seeing my wife completely surrender to our baby’s birth with so much strength and resilience. It was the most incredible moment of my life.

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