Six months after the event I finally penned my home birth story.
My first childbirth took place in a hospital. Katie came out the “natural” way, though to me there was nothing natural about it. This experience left much to be desired. Transfer from birth centre (not enough staff), labour augmentation, continuous foetal monitoring, a drip, catherisation, episiotomy, culminating in vacuum extraction. The classical cascade of intervention so commonly found today. Thankfully it did not lead to a Caesarean. If I had chosen an epidural earlier on I’m sure things would have been different. To mask the pain would have been so easy, but the part of the birth plan which I had any control over I stuck to.
I started looking more into the option of a home birth second time around. I discovered it was most definitely a viable and safe option in a normal low-risk pregnancy. The respected Cochrane Group who are a source of evidence-based research worldwide attests to this. I felt empowered and excited.
My main midwife was Clare from Midwives Naturally. She came to my home several times before the birth and we had nice long informative sessions and I felt very comfortable with her experience and knowledge. I also had a second midwife, Helen. They are a fantastic team.
I remember waking up at around 3.30 am on Saturday morning, one week before I was due. For the last week I had been experiencing what seemed to be minor contractions, but these ones were enough to jolt me awake. I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. At 6 am I was up and in the shower. The contractions were now 5 minutes apart. I woke my husband up and told him it was happening today!
It was the day of the AFL (Australian Rules Football) Grand Final and I switched on the television while I prepared for labour. I turned the volume up loud to hide my loud groanings as I couldn’t contain them. Unlike being in the hospital I could make as much sound as I wanted here and not feel self-conscious. I got out the beanbag and tried to keep myself upright throughout. No one was going to make me lie on my back if I could help it! I was not hungry at all but forced myself to eat bite-sized portions as I really needed as much energy as possible for labour. My husband rang Clare and told her the situation. By this stage contractions were every 3 to 4 minutes. They would be on their way.
My husband started preparing the bath upstairs. It had to be filled twice as it had not been cleaned out. We were going to do this in a few days’ time but baby obviously wanted to get out sooner. It’s a big spa bath and hadn’t been used in years. Clare and Helen arrived with all their gear. I was so glad to see them because I wanted some reassurance that everything was fine, and it was. They routinely checked my pulse and blood pressure, they massaged me and advised me on other various positions. It made such a difference to have them there encouraging me along and being so positive the whole time. I kept asking if the bath was ready. It seemed like forever.
I wanted to know how far dilated I was. I can’t remember what it was at that point but Clare and Helen thought I was ready to go in the bath. After one more contraction I made my way up the stairs. As soon as I reached the top I had another one. But that bath felt so good! It was warm and the buoyancy felt great. Being in a hard bath was no problem. I squatted and gripped the sides for a while and the bath was fortunately large enough for me to move around in. Helen gave me sips of orange juice between contractions and wiped my forehead. I took some Rescue Remedy and some honey. At this point Alan was busy taking pictures, which was what I wanted and Clare and Helen were giving me tremendous support. Clare monitored the baby’s heartbeat with a handheld Doppler which meant I could move around freely without being tied to a machine.
Throughout all this Katie was looking on with interest. She had gotten to know Clare and Helen pretty well before the birth and sensed something exciting was going to happen. I wasn’t sure how she was going to react to me being in labour screaming. Truth is, there was no screaming but there was definitely pain. Like waves of severely extreme period pain. Once they pass there is relief, but only for a minute or so.
Only an hour or so had passed in the bath but I was feeling fatigued and felt really discouraged. My previous labour was 13 hours. Clare and Helen egged me on and suggested I now move on to my back in between contractions as a more comfortable position. I was in that classical transition stage. I just wanted to give up and wasn’t sure if I could go on. The midwives told me I was ready to push. They could see the head and after a few more minutes I felt a huge warmth release out of my body and my baby immediately placed on my chest. Words cannot describe that moment. The softness. The perfectly formed features. His cry. Just sheer relief. I was delirious with pride and love as I gazed down at his little head stroking it. I held him and held him.
He was wrapped in a towel to keep him warm and Apgars were checked. My husband cut the cord, and later I pushed the placenta out, large and meaty. I only had a very minor vaginal wall tear but it didn’t need any stitches. I was helped out of the bath and I changed into comfortable clothes and got into my own familiar bed. Sam was put back into my arms, snuffling and snuggling. Clare and Helen cleaned up while the four of us cuddled together. He was weighed a little later – 4 kg! Helen told me later how Katie’s jaw dropped as she saw Sam pop out of my body. We have video footage but I’ve yet to watch it back. I gulped down eggs, toast, tea and orange juice and my husband did the ring around. All up it was a four hour birth. A couple of hours later, after a family visit, I slowly ventured downstairs. Sam slept in a bassinet beside me and I watched the last half of a very exciting grand final.
I had also experienced a grand achievement of my own that day, one I have absolutely no hesitation in repeating, if and when I am blessed with another child.
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