A positive ventouse labour: Nina’s birth story
My pregnancy was pretty easy and stress free – I was worried about all the usual things but everything was going to plan. As the due date came and went, we were getting more and more worried with how many times we might have to go into hospital for check ups during the pandemic. Now we're home with Nina and she’s safe and healthy.
Happy Parents. Happy Baby. classes really helped us think about what's important and what's not – the classes themselves were great, and it was great meeting so many other couples. The classes help you understand where you are on a sliding scale of what you want – what really matters, what’s negotiable, and what you really don’t want.
When we arrived at hospital for the induction, we had to be taken in through the back entrance to the hospital as they were transferring Covid patients near the front. I was induced nine days after my due date as my blood pressure was slightly high. Neil was with me throughout the whole induction process, labour and birth. Half an hour after the induction I started contracting and progressed really quickly.
I asked for an epidural and fell asleep for a short nap while it kicked in. Pushing was tough and, over an hour and a half in, I was getting really tired, so the midwife discussed different options with us. C-section was discussed because my baby seemed to have a positioning issue, but in the end I had a ventouse birth with some episiotomy cuts and a tear. She came out with both her hands next to her head like Superwoman! Luckily, she wasn’t distressed at any point, she was alert and perfectly healthy when she was born.
On day two of being home suddenly Nina’s entire body went quite yellow and I had to take her to hospital, once again without Neil. She had Phototherapy for her jaundice and after two days she was better and we could go home again.
Breastfeeding has been really hard and we are doing a combination of breast and bottle feeding. I’ve found it really tough from the beginning but because Neil’s working from home now he gets to spend more time with us so that's a huge positive.
Neil’s perspective
I was really surprised with how overwhelmed and emotional I felt watching Chris go through labour. Chris going back into hospital when Nina had jaundice was hard because we'd just had the celebration of bringing her home and then 48 hours later she was back in hospital. But I kept busy and positive, speaking to them on Skype, and prepping and cleaning the apartment for when they came home!
It’s been really nice going through the same thing at the same time as all the other parents on the Happy Parents. Happy Baby. course. The obstetric part of the course was brilliant, finding out about interventions and being shown exactly what a ventouse was and how it could be used was so useful because when it came to the doctors saying the word 'ventouse' we'd already seen it, we felt prepared - we knew our baby would be born with somewhat of a conical-shaped head, but that her head would soon go back to its regular shape. The separate midwife and birth partner sessions where the mums and birth partners split into two groups were so useful. Being able to talk openly about our body changing after birth and ask questions without feeling judgement was wonderful.
For the birth partners, going for a beer and chatting made everyone open up, it was a great opportunity to take notes. It’s nice to know we were all in the same boat and there was lots of food for thought. We bought the course with a discount from The Baby Show, but we would have done it even without the discount. We did a couple of the hospital antenatal classes which we found to be prescriptive. Happy Parents. Happy Baby. was completely different - different content, different attitude and a different perspective.
Top Tips:
Don't plan too much. Prepare as much as you can, but don't fully plan as things won't always go the way you think they might. I’m somewhat of an obsessive planner and found that knowing all the options and possibilities was incredibly useful, and that whilst there were a few things I was sure I wanted or didn’t want, there were several others which would need to be left to chance, practicality and the expertise of the clinical team in the room on the day!
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.
