When elizabeth met annabel
My first birth with my daughter Lucy had been a very positive experience, despite a very long pre-labour and having a postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). After having my waters broken, I dilated quickly and birthed her 3 hours later. I had missed out on the Birth Centre program at what was then Calvary, but the midwives on shift were beautiful and I felt safe and supported.
Coming into my second birth I felt mostly excited, although I was a little nervous that I may have a PPH again. Initially I missed out on the Birth Centre program and started my antenatal care through the antenatal clinic. However, at 34 weeks I got a call from a midwife who had just joined the Birth Centre program and was filling her caseload. She asked me if I was still interested (I had been on the waiting list) and I jumped at the chance. I also had a student midwife who had been with me since around 28 weeks. It was great getting to know my midwife and student midwife and to have continuity of care.
Not being from Canberra and having no family here, I had organised for family to come down around my due date so they could be here to look after Lucy when the time came for the baby to be born. I was due on a Wednesday, so I had organised to have my parents come down the Friday before (at 39 + 2). I had gone 5 days over with my first, so I thought coming just under a week before would give us plenty of buffer. My husband had joked that once my parents arrived my body would relax and I’d go into labour, and this turned out to be true!
I woke up early on the Friday morning and I had what I thought was a Braxton Hicks. I’d been having them since around 30 weeks, but they didn’t hurt. However, this one was mildly painful. The thought crossed my mind that maybe it was the start of something, but I fell back asleep.
During that morning, I continued to have a few more, but they only happened about every hour or so. After lunch I was having a couple each hour, but they were mild and I didn’t have to stop to breathe or concentrate. In hindsight I realised this was probably early labour, but it was so mild compared to my first labour I thought it was nothing.
My parents arrived around 7pm and we had dinner together. I mentioned that I had been having these contractions, but said it was probably nothing. They headed over to the Airbnb they were staying at about 8pm and I got into bed not long after. I thought I would time some of the contractions to see how many I was having. They were still very mild. In the following hour they came about every 10 to 15 minutes. However, by 10pm they had got a little closer together and were starting to become more painful. I was starting to use the breathing techniques I’d learnt and used during my first labour. I was feeling quite anxious because I was worried I would have many sleepless nights ahead of me like my first labour.
I managed to calm myself and doze a little but by midnight it had really picked up. My contractions were about 3 to 4 minutes apart and I was really having to concentrate and breathe through them. I was also rhythmically tapping my hand on my leg as I breathed in for 4 and out for 7 (the technique I’d learnt said 8, but I could never get to 8!). I knew I was in labour, but I still wasn’t convinced it was active labour. About 12.30am my husband suggested that it was probably wise to call my step mum Sal to come over so we could leave whenever we needed to and go into the hospital.
Sal arrived just before 1 and I called my midwife not long after to say I thought I needed to come in. Once we had made the decision to go in, I instantly felt much calmer. Before that I was really uming and ahhing about whether I was in active labour and thought maybe things would just stop. But once I’d made a decision, I felt like there was a plan and I could relax. My waters broke as I was putting my shoes on and this was a good confirmation for me that we’d made the right decision because when my waters had been broken last time, I dilated very quickly.
We made it to the hospital just after 1.30am and by this point my contractions must have been about 2 minutes apart. It didn’t feel like we were cutting it fine, but when I looked back at my contraction timer, I realised how quickly things had moved!
My midwife welcomed us into the birth centre room, where she had already run the bath. I was very keen to labour in the bath as I had found this so helpful during my first labour. She did a quick heart rate check of baby, took my blood pressure and then I hopped in the bath.
I had mentioned to my midwife that I didn’t want a water birth. After about 10 minutes in the bath, I could feel my body starting to bear down and I was starting to vocalise through contractions. My midwife said to me that if I didn’t want to birth in the water, it was probably time to get out! She could tell things were getting very close. My husband helped me out of the bath and helped me dry off. I waddled over to the bed and got on all fours with my head down on the pillow. I think it took me to this point to really realise that I was about to birth my baby! Here I was thinking that I might get to hospital and my contractions would stop.
After about 10 minutes pushing while on the bed, Annabel was born, 30 minutes after arriving at the Birth Centre. She cried straight away, and I got to pull her up between my legs and onto my chest. Unlike my first birth, I didn’t haemorrhage, and Annabel didn’t need any help with breathing (Lucy, my older daughter had quite a lot of mucus and needed some suction to help her breathing). This meant that everything stayed very calm, and I got to have her on my chest the whole time. I had a 1st degree tear which needed a few stitches, but apart from that, everything else was very straightforward. It was a beautiful empowering experience, and the Birth Centre team were phenomenal! I couldn’t sing their praises any more highly!
What do you wish you knew before birth?
How different birth can feel from previous births! Early contractions felt quite different this time around.
If you could, would you do anything differently?
Maybe go into hospital a little earlier so I could take advantage of the bath for longer. But hindsight is a wonderful thing, there’s no way of knowing how quickly or slowly labour will progress.
What did your partner do that really helped during labour/birth?
He helped me stay calm and counted for me as I breathed. I’d learnt a technique where you breathe in for 4 and out for 8. I also just really wanted him next to me holding my hand, for me having that presence was important.
What advice/honest truth would give a mama-to-be about birth?
Get educated and have a toolkit of practical skills to help you cope with labour. Understanding how birth works and what to expect is so important. I loved the Australian Birth Stories course ‘The Birth Class’, and Juju Sundin’s book ‘Birth Skills’. They were invaluable!