A positive natural delivery: Tio Polly’s birth story
My pregnancy was quite text book and without complications. First trimester was classic with a lot of fatigue and some nausea, however I did not throw up once! Whoever coined the phrase "morning sickness" though must have been a man or a woman who has not been pregnant, it came all times of day! I attended the HPHB course quite late in my pregnancy and it was great getting together with other women and men who were also pregnant around the same duration as us.
I had my mind set on an all natural birth since I really wanted to have the full experience of what my body as a child bearing woman was capable of. During my pregnancy I took every measure to ensure this would happen, and the HPHB course was definitely part in this preparation. The hypnobirthing session was very inspiring and came to good use during my delivery. Following my water breaking at 40+3, 2 am in the morning, I spent the first 7-8 hours of labour at home on my ball with my noise cancelling headphones on, pummeling Daft Punk, Queen and Marilyn Manson! When the surges kept coming closer and more regularly, we went in to the birth centre. It turned out that I was 4 cm dilated, however the midwife believed I might progress quite quickly from there so they admitted us. My baby’s position was a bit off, head tilted a bit to the left and facing backwards, hence labour work turned out to be quite long, 18 hours in total! Thanks however to my preparations with HPHB, yoga, mindfulness and a very supportive partner, I managed to get through it as I had wished with only gas and air and no other intervention. It was quite a close call at one point; 17.5 hours in my midwife told me that if I couldn't get her out in the next two pushes, we would have to go up to the hospital ward and intervene with forceps or other. This really got me going and with two massive pushes and a long, screaming warrior cry, she came out!
I think one of the best things with the HPHB course was that the birthing partners are attending. The fact that my husband had been through the course with me made him super prepared for the intense, long work that a delivery entails. Thanks to this he was incredibly supportive and did everything right!
Meeting my baby for the first time was the most surreal moment and a massive feeling of relief after that long labour. When she looked up at me with her big eyes I just felt out of this world, and completely in awe over what we had just been through together.
We were discharged from the birth centre the day after, hence were home quite quickly, which was very nice. The first couple of days were really quite a haze, with a lot of sleeping and eating for all of us! Thanks to the breast-feeding session in HPHB and to some very helpful midwives, we got the feeding going straight away. This was something I was quite stressed about prior to giving birth; worrying that this would prove a problem once she was here, however it went like a charm. The HPHB course also helped prepare with processes such as "topping and tailing", umbilical cord care, nappies, etc.. things first time parents would be clueless about otherwise.
I would definitely recommend the HPHB antenatal course. It is a great way of meeting other parents and also it covers such a broad and thorough range of areas for having a baby - it is really a one stop shop! Also Hannah was lovely and very knowledgeable.
Top Tips:
Realise that a newborn "eats all the time" and that you will have to be up every hour - two hours at night, always having them eating, the first few weeks. I think with this mindset you are not overwhelmed or shocked by the lack of sleep and neediness the baby displays, it is just the way nature made it out to be! Be responsive in your feeding to get the flow going, and listen to your instincts and your baby.
The first few weeks are intense but they will never come back, hence enjoy that baby, smell their head, snuggle them, they will be 18 and annoying before you know it!
Also, if you have a mindset of what you want your delivery to look like, be informed and determined of that mindset. You know your own body best and delivery is not a medicinal but a natural occurrence.
