A positive breech delivery: Frank’s birth story
I can honestly say everything that pregnancy threw at us, we coped with because of HPHB. At 37 weeks our baby decided to turn and was then breech. However due to the course I went from being a nervous wreck about it to deciding to just go with it.
We didn’t have a birth plan and decided we would go with the flow. This was because we actually felt clued up on things and so I never felt out of control and that's all thanks to the team at HPHB.
On our due date I was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and so needed to be induced. I had an epidural as my blood pressure was too high and the team advised that it would help to bring it down. I felt confident knowing Mike had joined me at the classes and so whilst I was distracted by the pain, I knew he could take charge and help make decisions based on what we had both learnt.
The first time I saw our baby I felt relived, emotional, tired, oh and HUNGRY!
What I liked most about HPHB was how realistic the discussions were. It wasn't pretending it is all smiles and happiness, we talked about baby blues, when your milk comes in and how you can cry when the delivery man delivers your pizza (yes that happened)!
Those first weeks at home with our baby was a ‘bubble’ - that's the best way to describe it for me. We had a great class on breastfeeding - I was undecided how I would feed and wanted to let our little one decide for us. He latched on great but when we got home I really struggled with him latching on my right side, we were grateful for that class and Mike was happy that he could actually help by guiding Frank on for me.
Its such an amazing experience becoming parents but it’s definitely a rollercoaster and that's all part of it.
We would definitely recommend the HPHB course – aside from learning loads of great information about things you will use on a daily basis, you also gain a family. Having people going through it at the same time is a massive support. Night feeds don't feel so lonely and you can always guarantee that everyone is in the same boat.
Top Tips:
Mike: Get some sleep before baby arrives :-)
Charlotte: Go with the flow, try not to have too many expectations and let people help.
