Our precious Amos was born on the 8th of August, and we are completely smitten with him. The knowledge and skills my husband, Dan, and I gained during our Calmbirth course with Cherie (during my pregnancy with our daughter, Nina, who is now three!) have been pivotal in both of my births. I am a passionate believer that Calmbirth is not only incredibly beneficial for a pending birth; it’s an investment in all future pregnancies and births as well!
I was due to give birth to Amos on the 30th of July. As I continued past my due date, our knowledge from the Calmbirth course gave me confidence to trust my body to go into labour in my own time, when my baby was ready, despite the temptation of an induction!
During this time, I used strategies from Calmbirth (including Spinning Babies exercises, curb walking, dietary and herbal remedies, and relaxation techniques) to prepare my body for labour. On the 7th of August, I had a cervical check and a ‘stretch and sweep’ from one of my amazing MGP midwives, who was pleasantly surprised to discover that my cervix was already 2-3 centimetres dilated and around 80% effaced. On another positive note, baby was in the optimal birth position. I continued about my day, noticing some very mild period-like cramping but no sign of labour. On the 8th, I was disappointed to wake up feeling completely normal. I distracted myself by taking Nina to the park and savouring precious time with just the two of us. That afternoon, I called in to my parent’s house for a visit, noticing that I could feel some very mild – but sporadic – cramping again. We headed home just before 3:30pm. I went to the bathroom and, out of the blue, experienced a contraction so intense that it took my breath away and had me on all fours. I waddled out to the living room, draped myself over my fit ball and called my Mum to come and collect Nina ASAP!
With Nina out of the house, things really ramped up. I called Dan and told him to come home from work as soon as he could. Whilst waiting for him to get home, I laboured over my fit ball and used birth combs to try and manage the pain. Admittedly, I was in a state of total panic as I couldn’t believe how intense ‘early labour’ was already, and I worried how I would cope during active labour and transition! By the time Dan arrived home, I was extremely vocal and instead of breathing through my contractions, I was losing control and screaming. Dan put me in the car and we high-tailed it to the hospital. I was curled up in a ball in the footwell of the car as I simply couldn’t get onto the seat. I was experiencing a huge crisis in confidence, and I called our midwife and asked her to prepare the epidural (by this point, I was speaking total gibberish and screaming into the phone!). I simply couldn’t imagine enduring labour for any longer in this level of discomfort. In a true testament to my amazing midwife’s intuition, she sensed that I was in transition by the sound of my voice and my panicked demeanour on the phone. She provided me with comfort and reassurance and said we would reassess once I arrived at the hospital, knowing full well that I would not, in fact, be needing the epidural!
My midwife met my husband and I in the carpark at the LGH with a wheelchair, as I was unable to walk at this point due to the intensity and consistency of the contractions. I feel deeply sorry for anyone who witnessed my animalistic behaviour during the wheelchair ride from the carpark to the birth suite!
Upon arrival in the birth suite just after 4:15pm, my midwife checked me and announced that I was 9cm dilated and almost ready to push. I climbed up onto the bed and tried using the gas, which was a helpful distraction, however, it inhibited my concentration when I was pushing so I only used it between contractions. I was roaring during each push and found that vocalising really helped me to manage the pain (whilst simultaneously terrifying everyone in earshot of the birth suite, no doubt!). I found the pushing stage much easier to deal with as the pain felt productive and I had a task to focus on. At this point, my midwife let us know that there were about to be a lot of people in the room, as a code blue had been called for our baby. Due to the speed and intensity of the labour, his heart rate had slowed dramatically, and they were concerned about how he was faring. My midwife helped me to manoeuvre myself into some different positions on my side, to try and improve baby’s heartrate. He began to stabilise, and a wonderful Obstetrician asked me for my permission to use a ventouse on baby’s head, to help guide him out and ensure he was healthy and well. I consented and felt so fortunate that the Obstetrician who assisted with my birth was one of the only doctors in the hospital who did not routinely cut an episiotomy for an instrumental delivery. She allowed my perineum to gradually stretch and soften to help me birth my baby with minimal tearing. I didn’t need a single stitch – a miracle!
At 4:52pm – around 37 minutes after arriving at the hospital, our beautiful Amos was born. He let out a wonderful big cry, and was placed on my chest. My heart could have exploded – he was (and is) absolutely perfect. I was in a bit of shock (just a few hours earlier, I was chasing my daughter around City Park, totally unaware of what the day would bring!) and it took me some time to process what had happened. I felt total elation and have never been prouder of myself than I was in that moment. It’s a hard feeling to describe. Dan, Amos and I enjoyed a few hours in our little bubble, in the beautiful, dimly lit birth suite, underneath the fairy lights. Our beautiful midwife popped in and out, doing some paperwork and checking in on us routinely. We were given the option of spending the night in the maternity ward, or heading home, and we opted to check out of hospital to spend the night in our own bed. By 10pm, we were home, soaking up precious newborn cuddles and marvelling at the events that had unfolded that afternoon!
I cannot overstate how beneficial the Calmbirth course was for both Dan and myself, and how empowered we felt throughout this experience. Calmbirth taught us how to advocate for ourselves, how to have confidence in my body’s ability to birth my baby, and how to make informed choices at every stage of labour. I felt equipped to prepare by body for birth, to do all I could to ensure my baby was in the optimal position, and to employ a range of natural tools and strategies to support the process. Birth is unpredictable, and things rarely go exactly to ‘plan’. However, knowledge is power, especially for the partner of a birthing woman, who can otherwise feel a bit helpless.
Thanks again, Cherie, for this invaluable resource you provide to our local community.