My husband and I are pretty private people, but I wanted to share my story so that it will help other mamas as they prepare.
My positive birth story
Resources:
· Course: Better Birth course with Marie Berwald
· Facebook group: Holistic Bump –utilized for positive birth stories.
· Support people: My husband and mother
My story:
This was my second birth. My first birth was natural and occurred at 40 + 4. Although I managed that birth naturally it did not go as I desired. That was the main reason I decided on a different approach this time.
In my birthing class with Marie, we were told we could meditate on choices such as how long we wanted our birth to be. Well, one thing I kept telling my little one is that I wanted her to come on a Sunday as both myself and my first daughter were born on Sunday. And sure enough she complied! Born on a Sunday at 41 +2 (a whooping 9 days past the due date, which we knew was accurate because I was tracking my ovulation.)
I was so excited when my labor started that Sunday morning. I was scheduled the next day for a NST and ultrasound. An induction was to follow pending those results and a discussion with my midwife.
As for my labor, the surges started early Sunday morning. I’m not sure of the exact time as I was happily breathing through each one comfortably in bed. I got out of bed around 5am when the surges were no longer comfortable laying down. I moved to the living room to avoid waking my husband or toddler. At this time I did the balloon fear release exercise.
I then laboured in the dark living room breathing through each surge. I was listening to my affirmations on my phone on repeat. I breathed through most of my surges kneeling/squatting with my birth ball in front of me, sometimes leaning forward, but mostly sitting upright as it seemed to be more comfortable. In between the surges I practiced relaxing breaths and also did some yoga moves –cat/cow, happy puppy, hip circles, etc.
I treated the surges as waves, just breathing/counting up to the peak and then doing the same back down. Around 7 am my husband got my daughter up which allowed me to jump in the shower and get ready. Around 10 am the surges became stronger. My mom was doing some acupressure holds at my shoulders. Even if it was more about re-routing the sensations in my body, it proved to be a great technique for my pain control.
My midwife instructed me to phone when I was 4 minutes apart for an hour with surges lasting 1 minute (4-1-1). By 11:30 am my surges had reached the 4 to 3-1-1 mark so I phoned. My midwife listened to me on the phone and although I could tell she was hesitant given my calmness, she said she would meet me at the hospital in 20 minutes.
My mom, husband, and I reached the hospital and were checked in at 12:00. The midwife asked if I wanted to be checked to give us an idea of where we were. I opted for the check, but decided to use the bathroom first. I sat down and immediately felt like the baby was coming. I did the best I could to ‘use the restroom’ and then came out for my check. The midwife was checking me and had a confused look on her face. Then she said, I can’t believe it, you are at a 9.
I was so happy to hear this as the surges were quite strong and I was seriously starting to doubt my decision for a second natural birth!
From that point it was a little chaotic as they prepared the room and rushed to get labs done prior (they wanted a CBC to check for a baseline in case blood was needed later). I was on the bed on all fours as this was the way I envisioned giving birth and ended up being the most comfortable.
Quickly my body began to push. I used the birth breathing and with 3-4 surges my baby’s head was out.
She began to cry before her body came out. So from the time I go to the hospital to the time of birth it was just under and hour and 15 minutes. We did delayed cord clamping and my husband cut the cord. We had immediate skin to skin time and she latched on right away.
As a side note, I was GBS positive this birth but had decided against the IV antibiotics. I also opted against the antibiotic eye drops. I did not want the Pitocin shot after the birth unless it was medically necessary. This shot was given as the midwife felt it was needed secondary to the speed of the delivery and amount of blood present. I delivered the placenta within 20 minutes. We stayed in the hospital the recommended 48 hours secondary to the GBS status without antibiotics. My daughter had vitals every 4-6 hours during that time and has remained healthy (she is now 4 months old and healthy without any complications). I also did have my placenta encapsulated. And it may be placebo, but I do feel it made a difference.
My baby’s name is Clara. Her name means clear, bright and shining and I swear that is exactly what type of little person she really is! I think Marie’s course and the way it helped me prepare had a LOT to do with it!
Sincerely, Samantha S.
You might enjoy reading more stories from my students and get inspired by their calm & gentle births. Find them here – – – >> https://birthbliss.ca/category/birth-stories/
