My first birth was long and traumatic with lots of unplanned intervention and ended with an epidural and forceps delivery due to shoulder dystocia (where the baby’s head is born but the shoulder gets stuck) and my baby was very big (9lb 8oz).
I was under consultant care second time around as baby was also presenting as big on growth scans and risk of shoulder dystocia is higher with bigger babies. I was advised a home birth was not possible and I was told I would be induced at 40 weeks!
In fact every time I saw a consultant they all said different things and seemed to back-pedal to would you like us to schedule an induction?
Eventually baby was late, really late and I was booked in for an induction at 40+12. I agonised over it as I was fed up of being pregnant but really wanted to avoid an induction.
In the end the ward was full so it was about 36 hours after I went to the hospital that I was finally admitted (thankfully I was able to wait at home).
I had been advised my Bishop score was high and I was already at 2cm dilation when assessed the day before, so the prostaglandin pessary wasn’t necessary and the first step would be to break my waters to kick things off.
I had been previously advised by a consultant that in second-time mums, labour usually starts after having the waters broken and I may not need a drip. I discussed with my midwife and had to fight fairly hard (being nice of course) to have the amniotomy and then to wait for 2 hours before having the pitocin drip.
She got “permission” from the duty consultant to do this as I was quite insistent on it. She then wanted to put a cannula in my arm just in case I needed the pitocin and again I declined stating that if I needed pitocin I would then insert a cannula.
I was really shocked at how these procedures were not offered to me but stated as something going to happen and I was really glad I had researched fully my options and what was really optional.
My water was broken at 4.25pm and I sat on my ball, positioned on the thick pilates mat I had brought into hospital and did rotations, inhaled clary sage oil drops on a tissue, closed my eyes and got into a relaxed state.
My contractions started slowly but surely within about 90 minutes. After 2-4 hours I was told repeatedly that they would start the drip to make things move faster but I stated that as my contractions had started then I clearly didn’t need the drip.
At 8pm I was under a lot of pressure to speed things up as I was assessed as still being 2cm dilated. I was adamant I didn’t want the drip and asked for a few more minutes to discuss with my husband.
In the next 30 mins my contractions really ramped up – my mind and body were clearly very determined – and the midwife returned and said “I am a bit more convinced” and after that finally stopped pushing for the drip.
I was on my ball rotating, doing breathing exercises and practicing active birth techniques to avoid lying down.
Around 8.45pm I decided to use gas & air as the contractions were getting intensive. At 9.30pm I needed to change position as I knew I would suffer a bad back if I didn’t change.
I stood up and had a huge, intensely long contraction like an out of body experience and felt like I needed to poo a canon (I was just feeling my baby’s head drop right to the bottom of my pelvis).
I was in the second stage and my body experienced the foetal ejection reflex – just pushing my baby out with no effort from me! I had gone from 2 to 10cm dilation in 90 minutes!!!
I somehow ended up on all fours with my head resting on the ground and pushed for around 45 minutes.
My baby’s head was born in this position but she got her shoulder stuck as well. Shoulder dystocia was called and I was flipped onto my back, my mum and husband were directed to grab a knee and bend it to my shoulder and out popped baby at 10.30pm – just 6 hours and 5 minutes after my water was broken!
It was an amazing, empowering, raw, primal and frankly awesome experience. I was so grateful to have a clear knowledge in my head of the process it really helped me to be entirely in charge of my experience rather than feel like it was happening to me.
I wish more mothers were able to have their water broken and wait a while before starting a drip as it clearly was just enough to get the labour ball rolling!
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