Anon's story, UK - overdue, fairly short first labour

"It was my first pregnancy and overall things had gone quite smoothly, I had watched all the birth programmes I could and awaited my fate. Four days overdue I woke up and waddled my way to the kitchen for breakfast. Whilst sitting down eating I started to feel an aching feeling in my back, nothing too bad and I thought I must've slept awkward. A friend phoned to see if there was any movement, I informed her that no, I was still waiting. Thirty mins after that call the aching feeling had moved round to my tummy but didn't feel painful enough for my brain to register what it was. It was a sunny day so I cleaned the house and did some washing. By 11am I noticed that there was a pattern to my achiness, after checking I could see it was happening every 10 minutes. I called DH to say I thought it may be starting. DH told me to call back when they got painful. I carried on cleaning and watering the garden just stopping for contractions. Thankfully one of the women DH worked with told him to go home so at 1pm he came home. He ordered me in the bath while he cooked me beans on toast. I ate my dinner in the bath and him on the toilet :) I called the hospital not long after who said to take some painkillers and head in.

It was about 2pm when we left the house, we waved off the neighbours thinking that we would be back home soon. My contractions had now ramped up a gear and I was struggling not to push in the car. DH was telling me to breath while I moaned that if I was 4cm dilated I would scream. We got to the hospital at 2.40pm. We went straight to delivery unit only for the midwife to say we had to go to labour instead as I wasn't at delivery stage yet. We struggled in the lift to labour where within a minute I was examined and found to be 10cm dilated and swiftly taken straight back to delivery. I laid on the bed and with my trousers still round my ankles told to push whereby my water broke. There was meconium in my waters so I was quickly told not to push until a senior doctor came. After a few pushes DD arrived weighing 7lb 7 oz at 3.23pm, barely 40 mins after getting to the hospital. I tore quite badly so a student midwife stitched me up while I was high on gas and air and laughing hysterically at the fact I could see the reflection of her handy work in her glasses. The whole birth was fantastic and I am grateful that it was quick and stress free."

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