I had two completely different births. The first was a “failed” induction which ended in an emergency c-section. It was a wonderful birth, I felt heard and followed my instincts, but it wasn’t the birth I wish I had. The second one was.
When I found out I was pregnant again, I knew I wanted to give me and my baby the best chances of having a vaginal birth with minimum interventions. I also knew I had a high risk pregnancy given my previous c-section. I read books and listened to podcasts about VBAC (Vaginal Birth after C-section). I took Anna’s course on hypnobirthing, spoke to other women who had similar experiences, and learned all I could about the risks of both vaginal and caesarean births.
After much consideration, we came to the conclusion that the most likely plan to avoid another c-section was for a home birth. I never imagined myself having one but after speaking to the Tower Hamlets home birth team midwife I felt heard and positively excited about this birth.
Labour started in the evening like mild cramps, a couple of days after the due date. For the next few hours I tried to rest and not think too much about it. Our eldest was asleep in the room next door, the contractions steadily got stronger. By 1am, the TENS machine was not helping anymore so my husband called our doula and the wonderful Tower Hamlets home birth team. Irene was on-call. She was a strong and confident presence, and together with my doula and my husband, I trusted them completely. I could focus on the labour and they’d let me know if something was off. I wouldn’t mind going to hospital knowing we did all we could to get the birth I wanted.
Contractions were painful and intense, but I was never worried or scared. I knew my body and my baby were doing what they were supposed to do. It felt so different from the induction and the contractions produced by the artificial hormone. It was painful but I could rest in between and my doula’s massage and Anna’s comb (!) were a great relief.
When it came time to push, I used gas and air to help me relax and not push too early. I wanted to get into the pool so badly! By now it was 7am, the pool was set up and my toddler was already awake, happily watching cartoons in his room. I went into the pool and it was an amazing feeling! I tried to relax during each contraction. I could feel my whole body having this irresistible urge to push and half an hour later my son was born.
It was the most surreal and amazing experience of my life. He was here, healthy and big! After some cuddles, we got out of the pool to feed and be checked. I had a couple of stitches and everything else was fine. My husband dropped off our eldest at nursery and came back with pastries. We all had fresh croissants and coffee, yum!
My second birth’s journey required deliberation and hard work, finding amazing and trusting folks along the way, and a bit of faith that it could turn out the way I wanted. I feel very privileged that it did and happy to have set the path for it to happen. I’m so grateful to have experienced the birth I hoped for, I’ll cherish that moment forever.