A positive induction: Arlo’s birth story
Trigger Warning: Miscarriage
Nick and I had lost a baby previously due to unforeseen complications, at a reasonably late stage in the pregnancy, so we nervously entered this pregnancy not telling anyone until we had had the all clear at the 20 week scan. Joining the HPHB course in Clapham really helped us get excited about our new arrival and helped us feel reassured we were going to get a lovely baby at the end of the process. Learning about the labour really helped put our minds at rest, as we were both so worried about Arlo arriving safely and knowledge really is power when you’re feeling nervous. We had no set plan for the birth, just wanted to be able to go with the flow and ensure his safe arrival.
I got admitted to hospital at 41 weeks due to low fetal heart rate, luckily our bags were packed and ready to go, everything ticked off our list from HPHB - all Nick had to do was go home and pick them up. The next day I was given a sweep and a pessary to get things going. I had the pessary put in at 12.45/1pm and after a few laps of the hospital things got going very quickly. After an examination we discovered I was already 4cm and able to move into our room. As we were taught on the HPHB hypnobirthing masterclass, we had packed everything to make the room a peaceful and calm space however I actually needed to push almost as soon as we had settled in!!! The epidural that I had asked for had gone out the window and it was gas and air for me! At 5.45pm Arlo made his grand entrance. HPHB really helped give us the knowledge/ tools of how to deal with a fast pasted situation like this and most importantly that we had a voice and any worry or concern we didn’t feel silly asking.
The first moment I saw Arlo I felt so lucky - when the baby was handed to me, I can’t explain the rush of love I felt. It was literally the most immense, amazing experience of my life. I didn’t have any expectation of how this moment would feel and I was just blown away by it - it was absolutely amazing.
We were very lucky in that Arlo fed well from the start. He had a good latch and generally seemed a pretty calm baby. Recovery from birth took me a little bit by surprise. I wasn’t really sure how I thought it would feel, however didn’t expect it I would feel like I had just run two marathons! Haha! I think HPHB really helped Nick prepare for this time, which was basically him doing everything! We had batch cooked food and I would definitely recommend doing this. Those first few days are so amazing and exhausting it’s hard to put into words but just amazing it felt to finally becoming parents.
I feel like HPHB really covers every aspect of pregnancy, childbirth and the 4th trimester. All the experts in each area were super knowledgeable and practicing in that field, which I think really helped.
Top Tips:
Take your own pillows to hospital.
Take a fan.
Make a plan but be flexible and open minded, everything can change very quickly.
