A positive vaginal labour: Leo’s birth story
My pregnancy was very easy and I kept active, it was a really nice time. I didn’t have any sickness or discomfort, but putting on my shoes for the last month or so was an issue!
I was offered induction on my due date because our baby was bigger than average. At our hospital, birth partners weren’t allowed in for the induction or early labour, just active labour, so Vladimir dropped me off at the hospital and went back home. It’s kind of like you're going to space - you don't know what’s going to happen, it’s strange. I was a bit scared that I would be there on my own for a while and no-one would be allowed in to see me. I was quite lucky as my labour started late that evening after my induction and Vladamir was allowed to come in the morning, well in time for the pushing stage. From the point of induction to early labour, I only needed paracetamol and gas and air but on the day I gave birth I had strong pains so I had some pethidine which took the edge off.
Hypnobirthing breathing really helped and my husband calmed me down a lot too.
When it came to pushing I found that to be the easy part. I suddenly found this power out of nowhere, changed position and was like, lets do this! I pushed my baby out, Leo was born. I had a 2nd degree tear and had to go to theatre so leaving Leo was hard, but Vladimir was able to stay with him to bond, dress and take care of him. Vladimir was really good through labour and birth, he was on it. He was really calm and held me when I needed him.
The staff were so lovely and friendly, they said they were sorry for wearing masks and apologised to me for not being able to see their faces. When my midwifes shift finished, she took her mask off and said to me, ‘I just wanted you to see my smile’, that was lovely. You can’t see their facial expressions and you just have to accept that.
The breastfeeding session on the course was brilliant and they have really helped me with learning to feed my son. I wanted to breastfeed from the beginning so I would have done anything to make it work. Our midwife helped us when we were in hospital and it took a few days to get used to it - you have to be patient. I’m finding it fine now, getting used to him feeding every 2 hours was a surprise!
Vladimir’s perspective
Susha wasn’t in the greatest shape when I got there, she didn’t want me to touch her and she was very tired, so I sat in the chair watching her, getting water when she needed and comforting her when I could. Things escalated really quickly and the moment Susha heard the baby’s head was nearby she really activated. I don't know where she took that power from but it changed the whole game.
When Leo came he wasn’t crying and was very sleepy, it was quite a worrying time but this was from the pethidine given to Susha in labour. We had delayed cord clamping and I was really happy to cut the cord.
Coming on the HPHB antenatal course really helped us prepare. We chose the course because the team is made up of professionals in the medical, baby and parenting industry. You can ask questions to real experts and not have to just ask a friend or use Google. The course is such good value for money - we didn’t expect so many different experts during sessions, it was so worth it. You have so much to talk about, I don’t know how you fit it all in your course! We found the hypnobirthing really useful and it was great when I was pregnant too. Having 20 minutes of relaxing practice a day was really nice and the breathing techniques really helped me during labour. We also got so much information about pain relief and inductions from the midwife and obstetric sessions, there’s so many options that you just don’t know about. I totally changed my mind about C Sections and inductions, the way the course explains that it’s normal, not exceptional, really puts your mind at ease about if it were to happen to you. The baby care session was great, finding out all the different ways to hold a baby for feeding was so useful, just the practical side of this course was really so helpful.
Top Tips:
● Don’t listen to negative birth stories and if you have any questions, don’t google them - speak to your doctor or midwife.
● Trust your midwives, obstetricians and doctors.
● Do your pelvic floor practice when you’re pregnant and after you give birth
● I was worried as I was on my own - English is not my first language so I can be a bit shy. If you are in the same position don’t be afraid to ask for help and when the midwives do offer help - take it.
● Check with the hospital when your birth partner can be there with you as the rules change daily.
You can read lots more Positive Birth Stories here. We have positive birth stories from all types of births, including homebirths, water births, induction of labour, instrumental deliveries and Caesarean section births.
Download our free birth plan template and other resources for your pregnancy here.
Find out more about our antenatal and hypnobirthing classes in London, Essex and online and book your place here.
Access free hypnobirthing relaxations and videos to support you through your pregnancy on our Instagram TV page here.
