Polly's Birth Story
When I found out I was pregnant again I decided to look into finding an independent midwife, because of my experience with the birth of my daughter.
I went through the NHS system the first time and it never occurred to me to do anything else. The antenatal care seemed minimal and rushed and this didn’t bother me too much at the time as I was lucky to have a straightforward pregnancy. But instead of the home birth i wanted, I ended up in hospital having an induced labour in a large hospital. I found the staff polite but it was very impersonal and clinical and the only support that was available was pain relief, and even that wasn’t very forthcoming! I had a lot of medical intervention such as continuous monitoring, lots of internal examinations and wasn’t able to eat. I felt tied up with drips and cables! Thankfully my daughter was born safely, but I was desperate to get home. The whole experience left my feeling pretty low for some time afterwards and it put me off another pregnancy for ages.
The first time I met Caroline I noticed how relaxed she was. She didn’t push a lot of strong ideals onto me about how she thought women should give birth. I liked the idea that she would be with me right through, and it was reassuring that if I did end up in hospital she would be my ‘spokesperson’. She also had a good sense of humour and wasn’t too ‘precious’ about the whole business.
I decided to try a waterbirth, mostly for pain relief as I was quite intimidated by the idea of a drug-free labour – I’m no earth-mother type! I got the pool and also hired a TENs machine. Caroline assured me that she would only do internal exams and monitoring if and when they were necessary.
We spent my due date away at a family christening and I didn’t have any twinges at all so I was surprised when we were getting ready for bed that my waters seemed to be breaking. I rang Caroline and she said not to panic, it could be a day or two before anything happened. I had some dinner and rang a friend for a chat. However, within an hour contractions had started, five minutes apart. I tried to relax but was surprised at how strong they were already. Then I had a show, and my husband phoned Caroline again and she said she was on her way. By the time she arrived I was on all fours and she told my husband it might be as well to start filling the pool. She talked me through ‘surfing’ the contractions and encouraged me not to tense my legs and bum as it wouldn’t help things progress! The contractions were pretty intense so I clung onto my birth ball. After what seemed like quite a while the pool was ready and it was a big relief to get in. I felt really supported by the water, it was so easy to change position, and it felt good to have ‘my own space’. Also, I felt fresh and clean instead of all hot and sweaty.
I can’t remember too much about things once I was in the pool, only that baby’s head seemed to start descending soon after and all my concentration was on letting it come down gently, not fighting the sensation but gently letting it happen. I felt very chilled out and in control and knew Caroline and Chrissie were on hand. I found kneeling up was the most comfy position and I could lean on the side of the pool and hold my husbands hands too. I didn’t think of pain relief once – partly as my labour was fast but also everything was so relaxed, I knew I had support and all was well.
Anyway, after not too long I got a stronger urge to push, then another big one, and to everyone’s surprise, including me, out slid my daughter – everything was so relaxed no-one realised quite how far along I was! Once I got over my shock it was over to our cosy warm bed to have a good look at the new baby, who had lots of dark hair and weighed in at 7lbs 1oz. The labour lasted about four hours start to finish.
Naomi has been a really smiley, happy, easy baby and I’m sure her un-traumatic birth has a lot to do with it. As for me, I was up and about the next morning right as rain, no tears or trauma, desperate for a mug of milky coffee and a biscuit!
I would strongly recommend Caroline and Chrissie to anyone who feels the NHS system might not be for them, and particularly anyone who has had a disappointing birth experience previously. It helped me to close the book on my past bad experiences. They were relaxed but extremely professional and I felt safe at all times in their care. I never thought I could manage a drug-free labour after the first time but if I can do it, anyone can. The money spent really was the best investment we ever made for our family.