Jane's story, Warwickshire - straight forward labour and birth, 1st baby

"Sunday 23rd September 2007

At 3:30am I woke up really needing the toilet, so I got out of bed and went. Once I had sat on the toilet I noticed I had blood in my underwear. I went back to bed to tell Nick, who was asleep at the time and wasn’t really conscious of what I was saying. I decided to try going back to sleep as I wasn’t in any pain.

At 4:20am I heard and felt a pop, which I had read other mothers had felt as their waters broke, so I quickly made my way to the toilet again - I made it just in time. This time Nick knew something was wrong as he had never seen me move so fast. Nick went to have a cigarette whilst I had my first contraction. As he entered the kitchen and switched on the lights a bulb blew the fuse which put the house into darkness. He eventually found the fuse and turned on the lights again.

As I was still able to talk through the contractions Nick advised me to call the hospital and find out what they would recommend. The nurse I spoke to suggested that we make our way in to be examined as my waters had broken. I also phoned Mum as she was my other birthing partner. She said she would get herself dressed and would wait for a phone call from Nick once we had got to the hospital.

At about 05:15am we started the journey to the hospital. Nick made the decision that we should get Mum to come to the hospital as he felt things were progressing quickly; so I gave her a call.

We arrived at the hospital at about 05:45am. Luckily the nurses on the main reception desk let us go through the short cut to the labour ward. On arrival we were taken into the labour room and introduced to the midwife. She examined me and informed us that I was 3cm dilated. She then attached me to the machine that would monitor the baby’s heartbeat. My Mum had now arrived and was able to support me through the contractions. The contractions became very close together so the midwife attached the TENS machine to my back. I pressed the button like I was meant to on all my contractions, yet never felt anything from it. I was then put on the gas and air, which I ended up overdosing on and so they took it off me again. I then had to rely on the TENS machine. Through all the contractions I only felt the electrodes in my back on one of them. At this point I informed everyone in the room that it was working.

At some point there was a shift change and I had two more midwifes to get to know. After a couple more contractions they wanted to examine me again. So I lay on the bed and was informed that I was 10cm dilated and ready to push. My dad arrived at this point and was there to hold my hand and Nick hold my other hand.

After much pushing I was asked if I wanted to feel the head, which I did. I needed an episiotomy in order for the head to come out.

At 8:53am Aimee was born and was placed on me whilst the placenta was delivered. At this point my brother, Andrew, was called in so he could meet his new niece and also take photos. Aimee was then cleaned up and given to Nick whilst I received my stitches. At this point Mum, Dad and Andrew went to the café for refreshments. I was placed on a drip as I lost 500ml of blood during the labour which was close to a haemorrhage. Once the stitches were done I was able to give Aimee her first feed on the breast. She took to it very well.

After I ate some breakfast I was then cleaned up and moved to the ward. I was originally informed that I would be on a 6 hour discharge as I had had no problems. However due to staff levels we were not discharged until 16:30pm on Monday 24th September 2007."

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Anna's story, UK - pool labour with prolonged 2nd stage and forceps

"A delayed second stage forceps birth.

Sunday 2nd January 2011 about 8pm, just had dinner, sitting at home watching rubbish on TV and contractions started. Like bad period pains which came on, got more intense, and then disappeared. That happened every 3 mins or so, and lasted about 30 seconds.

I left it for about 2 hours to check the patterns weren't a figment of my imagination - and then phoned the midwife unit at the hospital. They said they were understaffed, so I'd have to go to labour ward instead.

We got there, buzzed and was let in, and eventually shown to an assessment room. A midwife called Anna with a very strong Polish accent came and met us, examined me, and put me on a trace for the best part of an hour. I was 3cm dilated, but not totally effaced. She said my "contractions" weren't contractions, but were tightenings. I could have slapped her!

So we came home, and sat it out. My TENS machine helped a bit, so I lay in bed with that on all night, didn't really sleep at all.

Monday 3rd January 2011 - by morning I was feeling quite sick, I think I decided it was the TENS machine, so took that off, and instead went for hanging over my yoga ball and trying to chill out. Contractions were still coming every 3 minutes up to 5 minutes, and lasting about 60 seconds. The intensity was increasing.

By that evening, I was so much less comfortable, they were more intense, and I wasn't coping brilliantly. TENS and paracetamol just weren't cutting it. I phoned the labour ward again, and they said to come in. So off we went again!

This time we met a midwife called Lisa, who took me straight to labour ward, rather than an assessment room. She examined me, and I was 3cm... but this time totally effaced, and the contractions were contractions. She said there wasn't a lot to do there and then, and suggested I could go home, or have a shot of Pethidine to help with the pain, and stay on a ward. Because Tom would have to go home, and we'd both be on our own, I decided not to have the Pethidine, but to go home instead. Got back home (after getting petrol and having several unpleasant contractions and therefore funny looks in the petrol station!) at about 10pm.

Tuesday 4th January 2011 - at about 3am, having not slept for the second night running because of the "discomfort", I decided to try having a bath, to see if that would ease things at all. Well... it didn't! I was still timing things, and it slowed the contractions down a little, but made them longer. Tom got up when I was in the bath, and sat with me with a worried look on his face! I decided to get out of the bath and phone the hospital again, they told me to come in.

I got in to an assessment room, met Claire the midwife, and she examined me (4cm and totally effaced), and put me on a trace, contractions were much stronger now, and I definitely needed some help with the pain. She gave me a shot of Pethidine, and told us we weren't going home without our baby... that's what I needed to hear. The Pethidine made me feel very warm and fuzzy, that's the only way I can describe it really. It did take the edge off the pain, and I got about half an hours sleep listening to the trace. Claire suggested we went for a walk around the park opposite the hospital, so we got outside just in time to see a crowd of people with big cameras standing in the middle of the park staring at the sky. Apparently there was a solar eclipse, but it was cloudy, so I think some very expensive cameras went unused! We did two laps of the park, with Tom predicting which lamp post we'd get to before the next contraction hit... and when it did I'd hang off his neck. Thank god for a tall husband!

When we got back from the walk, I got back on the bed in the assessment room and Claire brought us some tea and toast - having been aware we hadn't really eaten all night. The tea and toast was great, but the effects of the Pethidine hadn't left me and as soon as it went down, it bounced. I was very proud of not throwing up on myself... I was passed a bowl just in time!

After that joyful experience, we were told there was a room with a view down on labour ward for us. So we were moved to a room which overlooked the car park - and told that having a window was a massive benefit... well it was, but strangely enough I wanted the curtains closed so that no-one could gawp.

We were fairly soon introduced to Hilary the midwife and Beth the trainee. They were the day shift. They told us the room with the pool was free, and so we moved across the hall into there. I got into the pool at about 9.30am. It was lovely and I was quite comfortable in there.

Contractions were getting stronger and so I started on the gas and air. I can't say it took the pain away, but each contraction was a distant memory as soon as it was over. So much so that when Hilary was asking me how the contractions were, I had to say "ask me on the next one"!

After a little while in the pool I felt a pop and a gush, the strangest feeling, but it was obvious to me my waters had gone. It was like my ears had popped... but of course it wasn't my ears!

We had local radio playing, which matched my taste in music pretty well. Although I have no idea how many times we heard Take That, Ellie Goulding and Adele. No bad thing really!

I think the midwives decided I was transitional when Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing came on the radio and I just lost it. Absolutely sobbing. I can't really say now if it was transition or second stage, or if it was the sentimental side of me thinking of my amazing friends from the miscarriage groups one of whom has made that song very poignant - you know who you are!

At this point (about 12 noon I think) Hilary said, "I think we'll have a baby by 2pm". Well if that's not tempting fate, I don't know what is!

Hilary asked me to get out of the pool so she could examine me at about 1pm, I was 9cm dilated, but a tiny bit of my cervix was thicker again. They decided that my baby had turned back to back and possibly had changed head position so her chin was pointing upwards - not great news for a nice easy pool delivery.

They suggested I leant over to the left hand side to try and help the baby turn back, so I got in the pool and kept going, trying to lean over as much as possible.

I think it was at this point that I remembered I wanted to donate placenta/cord... anything that would be useful for stem cell research. So Hilary called in the lady who works for the donation team and I filled out some paperwork. They were very amused that I was in a fit state to do so!

At about 3pm, Hilary asked me to get out of the pool again so I could be examined to see if anything had changed. I was still 9cm, and still have this lip on my cervix. At this point, the contractions were making me pretty tired, and were quite intense, but I had no urge to push, so it was declared I had a delayed second stage and that a Syntocinon drip was a good idea.

I then asked for an epidural, because I was scared of not being able to cope when it got more intense than it was.

The anaesthetist was called, and the obstetrician came in to set up the drip. I felt a bit of a failure, but had a weird feeling that I'd always need help... so went with it.

There was a change in shift of midwives at this point, so in came Fanny the French midwife (yes really). We had a good chat, and it turns out she knows my obstetrician friend in Poole... small world!

The epidural was absolutely fine while being placed, the anaesthetist was very complementary about my ability to stay still while having it administered. He said he hadn't had a lady at 9cm who could stay as still before.

Unfortunately the epidural didn't quite do it's job. It was perfect down my left hand side, totally numb, and couldn't move my left leg at all. But on the right hand side, it didn't completely work. I had a pocket of pain on my right hand side, in fact it felt like I had a big bubble of trapped wind (who knows, maybe I did!). Because the baby had turned back to back, they wanted me to lie on my left, and this was just impossibly agonising, so no matter how many times they suggested it, I couldn't do it.

I think at some point here, there was another change of midwife, and we met Lottie - who I think was a trainee, or recently qualified - she was being supervised by Lisa who we had met the night before. I didn't warm to Lottie... but by this stage I wasn't warming to anyone!

The drip kept getting upped... which I hated. I really do think it's quite an evil invention. The obstetrician came in, examined me and finally the lip in my cervix had gone and I was fully dilated. Time for pushing.

But there was still no urge to push, of course the epidural had taken that away. So I was told to push anyway. I started pushing, and kept being told to push into my bottom. Well, I couldn't feel my bottom, all I could feel was this pocket of pain on my right hand side. So every time I pushed, it hurt. I wanted the gas and air still... but they kept taking it off me so that I would use my breath to push, not use it for gas and air.

So pushing wasn't going well, and the obstetrician came in (a different one now!). She was very unhappy with me, as I had pretty much given up pushing as I couldn't feel any urge, any progress and it just hurt more and more. She said I had 30 minutes to push the baby down or they were taking me to theatre. She also doubled the dose of the Syntocinon drip at this point - so I told her she was inhumane!

I knew I had to keep going and didn't really want a section (although if anyone had said it was a possibility I'd have said 'just do it). So I pushed and pushed and pushed with all my might. In a little under half an hour, I had pushed pretty well and they could see the baby's head. Thankfully the baby's obs were absolutely fine the whole time, no distress at all. I was so tired, that they took pity on me (I think you could call it that) and wheeled in a forceps kit, and the ventouse machine. They were telling me all about the ventouse machine - but then suddenly I was having the forceps positioned.

The obstetrician told me it would be at least 3 or 4 pushes for the head, and then the same for the body. Well... one push later the head was out, and then a half push later, the body was out. We were told we had a little girl... it was such a shock. I don't know why as for the first half of my pregnancy I was convinced she was a she! It was also a shock that she had so much hair!

Tom was handed a pair of scissors and told to cut the cord - he hadn't been sure he wanted to, but the scary obstetrician didn't leave him with much choice! Our daughter was handed to me and she lay on my chest for a minute or so. The paediatrician then had to check her over because it was an instrumental birth.

I had had a cut, and then started losing blood (750mls in total). Our daughter was declared fine (10 and 10 on her APGAR) so handed to Daddy while I was stitched and sorted. Once that was complete, she was weighed, and then handed back to me.

She weighed 4535g at birth, and was born at 22.12pm on Tuesday 4th January 2011. She was 13 days overdue, and just beat the appointment we had for induction on 5th Jan. Her due date was 22/12 - so numerically she arrived on time, it was the time, not the date though!

The name Sadie Beatrice was at the top of our list for a girl for the whole of our pregnancy, and so at some point I said to Tom, "is she our Sadie then?" and he said yes with a big grin.

We finally brought her home on Friday 7th January and I can honestly say I have never been as happy to get her home. She's changed our lives in so many ways."

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Beth's story, Manchester - gas and air and the luxury of a birthing suite

"Well with Callum being on time, I expected Charley to be as well! However at 11 days late I felt ready to pop! Due to be induced at 9am on the 17th Nov and I woke about 5am with my first contraction! I decided to sleep and see when the next ones came and they were coming at every 9 minutes so I had a shower and got up and ready and woke DP and said we were going ealier to the hospital as in the shower they were becoming more frequent! Arrived at the hospital at 8am and was put on a monitor and when I was assessed about 10am I was shocked to be told I was already 3cm! It took 24 hours with Callum and a drip to get to 3cm! I had a TENS machine which really took the edge off all the way! I was all set for an epidural as I had one with Callum but he was a 34 hour labour but as I knew one of the midwives she mentioned I could go to the birthing suite and 2 other midwives recommended it! Not wanting to seem like a wimp I said I would consider it! They did my bloods to check my iron and I was secretly hoping I was high risk (i.e. low iron) so that I could head down for an epidural however I came back low risk and I knew I wanted it to be as pleasant as possible for DP as he wanted to go home for a sleep half way through labour with Callum! Went to the birthing suite, it was lovely as it was your own room with a bath and bed and you could use the kitchen for tea and coffee....I was nervous as hell!

Had a bath about 3pm as I wasn't progressing much then the lovely midwife came in and said if I wasn't progressing much in the next hour I could go down for an epidural!

"Yes" I thought, however I said " Could I not stay here?" (for the sake of DP as it was more comfortable! Hoping she said " no"). She then said yes... ooopssss! She said she would break my waters about 5pm and see what happened as the bath had stopped my contractions! 5pm came and I lay on the bed after another big show and she broke my waters, they gushed out like there was no tomorrow and I became scared again (you wouldn't have thought I have given birth before!).

Contractions started thick and fast, every 2 mins so I paced the room for an hour with my TENS machine on before the midwife came in and said I could then get in the birthing pool! (I was then 5cm!) God why didn't I have an epidural, wimp woman I was thinking!

Got in the pool at 6pm and I thought you could have Pethedine (but not in the pool) so in the pool I just had gas and air and the contractions were so bad I thought I was dying and towards the end I was crying (wimp woman again). The midwife said "I want you to have this baby by 9.30pm as I finish the shift". At 7pm I was like, "I want this baby now, not in another hour and a half!". She checked me, I was only 8cm! God I thought I was dying again! (Girls you will be so proud of yourselves for anyone just doing gas and air!) Midwife told me when I feel like I need a poo that's when I'm ready and to push, and to be honest I never got that feeling, the contractions got unbearable about 8pm so I pushed TWICE and he popped out! I stood up and unfortunately there was blood gushing out of me and the birth pool was red (I had ripped) so went to be stitched up after (that was actually worse than childbirth) but god, me!!!! I did it without an epidural I felt amazing afterwards!!!!"

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Nat's story, East Sussex - use the pain!

"I had made a bet that I would have my baby on the 16th November as I thought I was going to a comedy show on the 15th and it would kick things off (it was actually on the 10th! My head was so not in the game in those last few months!) My due date was 25th which was bang on with my dates.

Anyway DS woke me up at 7.20am on the 16th (9 days early) and I realised that I was having very mild contractions, bit like period pains every 10 minutes or so. DH had already gone to work and Mum and Dad were coming over to help me get the house sorted out so got up and took DS to nursery, contractions getting a bit stronger but nothing worth worrying about. M&D arrive and we start moving boxes and sorting, about 10.30 I had a semi painful contraction which made me stop and Mum gives me a look so I confess that I have been contracting. Hadn’t said anything as didn’t want to worry anyone or have anyone fussing. I told Mum that it would probably take a while so we carry on sorting and then go get DS at 12 from Nursery. I had to keep stopping to breath through the contractions but nothing I couldn’t handle on my own, although I did get a few funny looks from some of the other mums at the Nursery. At about 1pm I call DH to tell him I think its happening but not to worry about coming home early as it could take ages (took two days with DS!). His first reaction was 'you are joking right?' the reason for this is he had just had three weeks off for a bad back and it was his first day back at work ops.... Got a call about 10 mins later saying he was on his way home as he works and hour and a half away and didn’t want to risk missing anything. Was quite relieved to be honest. Also called the birthing centre so they knew I could be coming in that day.

So we carried on packing boxes until about 2pm when I had to stop as the contractions were getting too strong to concentrate, DH got home about 3pm and M&D went home taking DS with them. Things ticked along and about 5pm we went to the birthing centre to be checked over just so I could get an idea of what was happening if anything! Got there and the contractions pretty much stopped! Typical. They checked me over and said nothing was really happening; it could be false labour or go on for a few days or kick of anytime, that helped! So went back home (only live 3mins by car from the birthing centre). Well contractions kicked off again and slowly got stronger and stronger but was managing OK with the tens machine. To be honest I was totally gutted as had hoped to have a quicker time than with DS but after being told not much was happening I could just see me heading for another two day labour. Sat on the sofa when I got home in a total grump. Even when the contractions got stronger I still didn’t think it was going to happen any time soon.

At 10.30pm DH was outside having a cigarette and I had an almighty painful contraction and felt something pop, luckily DH saw this through the window so came rushing in, he managed to get me to the loo and I had another contraction with a massive show and some waters. For some reason, and I still have no idea why or how, even now, I was in just my pants and a vest top. What had possessed me to strip off when I was in labour I have no idea, so DH had to get me dressed (that would have been very funny to watch I am sure!), called the birthing centre and we headed straight there. Getting to the car was fun, two steps, stop breath, stifle a scream so I didn’t disturb the neighbours and repeat. Same when we got to the birthing centre took me five minutes to get from the car in the door!

When we arrived they already had a birth going on so we went into the second birthing room (good job we called ahead as they only have two rooms so they had kept it for me!) went straight into the birthing pool which helped. Its funny but I really had no preference when it came to being in the water but when I arrived the MW said it would help with the pain and it really did. Very quickly the pain became truly awful and I was sucking on the gas and air like my life depended on it! The MW was brilliant, really supportive and friendly. The contractions were coming on top of each other almost as soon as I was in the pool and I was so encased in the pain that I really wasn’t listening to anyone but at one point the MW said “use the pain to push with”. It was like a revelation and suddenly the pain became useful. Still hurt like hell but I felt back in control again. I started with the pushing whilst still in the pool but was on my back so not the best position, managed to change positions and kept pushing but not much was happening. The MW said I needed to move as the baby was not coming out so could be stuck due to position, managed to get from the pool to the bed (how I still have no idea!) and onto my knees gripping the back of the bed and two pushed later baby River arrived weighing 5lbs 12oz. DH told me we had a girl and after I had managed to get the right way round I had my first cuddle. Wonderful!!

Had a 2nd degree tear but didn’t care was just so glad it was over and my little lady was here safe and sound! When the MW did the time of birth I had missed the 16th by 2 mins! Still can’t believe I managed just on the gas and air, or that it was only just over an hour and a half from that pop to giving birth! Seemed much, MUCH longer! I can honestly say it wasn’t a pleasant experience but was so much better than DS birth. That said never doing it again! (But pretty sure I said that after DS...)."

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