I have had 3 very happy healthy pregnancies and 3 very happy healthy children so consider myself very lucky indeed. Expectant mothers hear so many horror stories about births and complications that I think it’s only fair to share the good stories too!
My first, a boy, was born on the morning of his due date. I’d had some cramps from about 3am that morning but put it down to having had a massive dinner late the night before! By about 8am it dawned on me that it might be the big event starting! We got organised, hooked up the Tens machine (which was a great help) and got to the hospital about 9.30am when of course all pains stopped as soon as I got into the examination room. I gave a urine sample, which was a bit of a struggle, and hopped up for an examination. The monitor was showing no signs of contractions, but the midwife, rather shocked looking, announced I was 7cm dilated and ready for the delivery room! I think she thought I looked too at ease to be in labour but to be honest, once I knew it was happening for real I was more than a bit scared – of the unknown more than anything! Anyway, it was too late fordrugs so I had a natural birth with gas and air and baby boy arrived at 10.58am. It’s amazing how your body just does what it has to do if you don’t fight it. Breathing really does help you relax and not tense up against the pain – which is the natural reaction!
Number 2 arrived 18 months later – again on her due date – very compliant babies!! However, she was in a bit too much for a rush for comfort. Again labour started very gently with a few pains about 7pm but I ate through them and waited for the real action to start. However, I under-estimated how fast second labours can be and ended up having a panic finding someone to mind DS so we could get to the hospital. My mother-in-law was on standby and when we initially called said she would be up straight away, but when we called back half an hour later to say it was really urgent – was she nearly there – she hadn’t left home yet as “I had some buns in the oven to finish off”!!! When we finally got a sitter, the drive to the hospital was the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever experienced. I could feel the head was well down and could hardly sit plus the pains were very frequent. We got to the Lourdes and I tried to drag DH into the toilets to have the baby in privacy but a passing man (thought he was a porter – turned out to be an obstetrician who knows a woman in labour when he sees one) pushed me into a wheelchair and headed for the lift. I only just made it up to the MLU, stripped off, jumped on the bed and 3 pushes later DD1 arrived – at 9.26pm. I didn’t stop shaking for hours afterwards. Fast labours sound great but it is a real shock to the body!
No 3 was the dream scenario – apart from being 1 day overdue – ruining my perfect record! This time I knew what I was doing – recognised the pains when they came and went to the hospital when they were still 4/5 mins apart. We checked in about 6.00pm and she was born at 7.50pm in a darkened room with minimal assistance beyond the tens machine. I felt in control and the midwife just left us to it until the final few minutes. It felt like a real achievement and so calm!
So to sum up, my advice to new Mums is trust yourself – you know what you are capable of and all the help is there if you need it. Giving birth is something really special even though it happens hundreds of times a day. It’s something you will never forget so hopefully you will have as positive an experience as I did!