Born 26th Novembeer 2011
By Rachael
All that I had really heard about child birth was that it was accompanied by the most excruciating pain. My parents had told us about how long my sister’s and my births were (labours that lasted for days!), how my mother almost broke my father’s hand by squeezing it so hard and how she had begged for more pain relief medication. When I found out that I was pregnant with my first child, I decided that the best course of action was to not think about the labour, but to just face it when it happened.
My husband wasn’t sure how he was going to cope watching and supporting me as our baby was born. He is quite emotional and couldn’t handle seeing me sick early in my pregnancy let alone in the midst of labour. We decided that we would go through the hospital and although I thought it would be special to just have the two of us; Aaron wanted someone else to be there as additional support. Two people came to mind: my sister is a nurse and we both thought she would be good, and our good friend Cherie is a doula. After much discussion we decided to hire Cherie to be our doula, mainly because we both felt more comfortable having someone there with so much knowledge and experience in child birth.
Cherie met with us several times during the pregnancy. She gave me some great advice on how best to prepare for labour and she encouraged us to learn as much about the process as possible. Cherie had some really helpful resources that made me realise that the childbirth did not have to be the unbearably painful experience I had thought it would be. The more we spoke with Cherie, the more confident and excited we both became to welcome our baby into the world.
When my labour started, Aaron kept in contact with Cherie on and off throughout the day as she assured him that everything was going well. We ended up going to the hospital at about 1pm and Cherie met us there. As I kneeled over a chair with contractions, Aaron rubbed my back and Cherie made sure our midwife knew what was in our birth plan and created a relaxing atmosphere. Even though Aaron did such an amazing job supporting me through my labour, I loved that Cherie was there to reassure me that everything was proceeding as it should.
Edward’s birth was so amazing and special; it blew my expectations in every way. I felt calm and focused and had a labour that was relatively short (about 8 hours of active labour) and, although painful, it was certainly bearable. I did it all naturally, without pain-relief medication or stitches. While we believe that God was with us through the whole process, I also know that we wouldn’t have been so organised, comfortable and confident without Cherie’s support.
Cherie took photos, video footage and recorded details of Edward’s birth for us which will be looked back on for years to come. Even after birth, Cherie gave me some tips on breastfeeding and was there with advice when I got mastitis when my milk came in.
Although I originally wasn’t sure if we needed to hire a doula, I am so glad we did and would recommend Cherie to anyone expecting a baby.