A natural, active birth - in hospital!

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I would like to share my birthing story because I want other expecting parents to know that it is possible to have a natural, active birth - without medical intervention - in an Australian public hospital.

Two days after the EDB, at around 3.00am, I began to have contractions. They were approximately every fifteen minutes, deep inside and accompanied by some pain across the back of my pelvis. I felt a sense of anticipation and excitement that it was finally beginning. My husband and I had breakfast and
coffee as usual. Being upright brought the contractions approximately 5 or 6 minutes apart and after a relaxing bath together, my husband went to work as usual.

Around 9.00am I had an overwhelming desire to sleep which I indulged, lying on my side. Contractions slowed and resumed
the 5-6 minute intervals when I got up and about again. All through this time, the contractions had not been too intense. I was able to just pause and breathe through them. They were approximately 40 seconds long.

At around 10.30am, we went to our scheduled midwife visit at the hospital (the pregnancy was 40 weeks plus two days). Much to my surprise, even though I was having contractions, I was tentatively booked in for a prostaglandins induction for ten days time. The midwife explained that in first- time mothers, these types of contractions can sometimes go on for weeks so it was best to book an induction. I was not able to defer the booking of the induction because the hospital was currently very busy catching babies and they were concerned that I may not be able to get in if I waited.

The outing and hospital visit, especially the talk of induction, slowed the contractions a little. Once at home, I wrote affirmations and thought about all the positive support and encouragement I had received from people around me, and felt quite sure that our baby was definitely arriving today.

After lunch, contractions began to be slightly more intense so I drew all the curtains, listened to some soft music, crawled around the apartment and breathed through each contraction. They gradually grew more intense and required more of my concentration.

By the time I spoke with my husband at around 3.00pm I knew I needed him with me as I now had to vocalise the contractions rather than just ‘float' in them. They continued to increase in intensity and seemed to come closer together. I felt more and more relaxed about it, just letting them wash over me. I felt increasingly spacey/sleepy in between each one and less aware of time passing.

I was dimly aware of my husband timing the contractions and looking in the Preparing for Birth book to try and work out where I was in the labour. He rubbed my back during contractions. They were approximately three minutes apart and lasting 40-50 seconds. During this time there was a show.

Following my sister's (who is a midwife) previous instructions, my husband did a vaginal examination and thought I was 5cm dilated although he was not confident in this assessment. So, at around 5.30pm my sister came over to help assess whether it was time to go to the hospital, a 10-minute journey. She timed the number of contractions within a ten-minute period (there were four) and checked the palpation (at the midwife appointment that morning, the baby's head was 3/5ths above but now there was no head above the pelvis).

I had been in a hospital programme where a team of eight midwives undertook all my antenatal care, with the hope that I would have met all of them by the time of the birth and would have one of them on duty when I came in. In that first moment of meeting her, I felt comfortable with the midwife assigned to me even though she was one of the team I had not yet met.

At the birth suite she dimmed the lights, and set up a mattress and bean bag on the floor. She performed a VE on the bed and found me to be 8cm dilated. Although only dimly registering all these details I was relieved to hear that - a magical 8cm!

I got off the bed and leaned against it during the contractions, and started to feel an urge to push. My sister said to resist them (it was very challenging!) and breathe them out through my mouth. The membranes broke about half an hour after arriving at the hospital.

I moved to the floor, on my knees, with hands and head over the bean bag. I felt very hot and tore off my shirt.

I felt much supported and I trusted everyone with me. I had cool cloths placed on my face and the back of my neck, and hot packs on the back of my pelvis. I didn't have to ask for anything much at all. My husband's encouragement and emotional support was invaluable and what I needed to get through the pain of the contractions.

I was finding the desire to push almost irresistible, so when the midwife said, "Lots of dark hair!" it was such a relief to know I could push when I felt the urge and to know our baby was coming.

The contractions seemed to have two peaks during the birth, the second less intense than the first. I pushed only with the contractions, as that was when the urge to push was present, and rested in between.

A second midwife was called for the birth; she used the Doppler to check our baby's heartbeat in between contractions. At all times, everyone spoke softly. I was given lots of encouragement always, from my support people and the midwife.

After needing to be inward and calm during the earlier phases of labour, for the birth it was all about being outward, pushing outward, with lots of energy. The need to birth our daughter was very strong. The midwife suggested I touch the head and look in the mirror. That had not been something I had requested in the birth plan but I did find it helpful to know it was all so close. Our daughter was born in one contraction at 8:16pm, weighing 3,702 grams (8lb 3oz).

I rolled onto my back on the floor and our daughter was placed on my lower abdomen, taking her first breaths unassisted (the umbilical cord was too short to reach my chest). My husband announced that we had a girl. Warm towels were at the ready to cover us all, and my husband, our baby and I cuddled together. When the umbilical cord had stopped pulsating, my husband cut it (he hadn't been certain that he would want to do that) and she was brought to my chest. I felt overcome as our new family cuddled some more.

My husband held our daughter while I delivered the placenta, which came with one contraction about fifteen minutes after the birth. The midwife showed us the placenta - again, not something on the birth plan but which was interesting to see. I had no tears and a couple of grazes near my urethra only.

We were given plenty of time together and were not rushed to have the ‘administration' of the birth completed. Only after our daughter had fed at the breast was she weighed and checked by the midwife. Then we had more time together.

I'd lost around 600ml of blood during the birth, and was continuing to lose more blood so I agreed to have an injection of Syntocinon to stop the bleeding (about two hours after our daughter's birth).

I feel grateful that my birth experience was so positive and exactly as I had wanted. I attribute the smooth and relatively swift labour and birth to being thoroughly prepared, well read and informed, and absolutely determined to make it work for us. Throughout the pregnancy I had regular Alexander Technique lessons (something I have practised for over a decade), walked several times a week, and went swimming once a week from about Week 24 (spring/summer). Staying at home for all the early part of the labour and allowing myself to just get into it was also a major factor. I am so happy to be able to share a good story with expecting parents about the imminent birth of their babies!