Emma's birth story

Positive induction of labour at 42 weeks +2 days

At 18 weeks pregnant with my first baby, I joined Steph’s pregnancy yoga classes. I really wanted to meet new mums who were going through pregnancy at the same time as me. From the first week I couldn’t believe how welcoming the environment was and I floated out of the classes for the remainder of my pregnancy.

From the classes I heard the term “Hypnobirthing” and wanted to do some more research. I read some of the books that Steph recommended and I went from dreading the idea of giving birth, to looking forward to it! Steph’s advice about how to bring yoga into labour and her hypnobirthing advice continued though out my pregnancy. As a result, I had the most empowering birth experience and I will treasure my birth story for the rest of my life.

My due date was 11th June. Suddenly we found ourselves at 41 weeks and 5 days and having conversations about induction with hospital consultants. After being monitored and after a long day at the hospital, a consultant told us that we should be induced then and there at 6pm that evening. All of the monitoring that we had spent all day gathering showed that myself and my baby were doing well, there was no evidence of distress or discomfort for either of us. Following our instincts, my husband and I asked for a second opinion. The second consultant looked at all of our results and agreed that being induced the following week via gel, would be supported, if that is what we decided. He even spent time going through the NICE guidelines with us. It would also give our baby a few more days to make an appearance by his or herself.

At 42 weeks and 2 days, with no sign of baby wanting to leave the comfort of my tummy, Luke drove us calmly to Stoke Mandeville with enough bags packed for a 5 day stay, as we were told this is how long an induction could take. I was armed with all of my hypnobirthing tools, a good luck voice note from Steph and a birth partner who was full of as much knowledge as I was. I was amazed at how calm and excited we both were!

We followed Steph’s advice and pulled the curtains around us in the ward to create our own “oxytocin bubble”. We put up fairy lights, had my favourite affirmations on the wall, my pillow and blanket from home and my essential oils at the ready.

I had the prostaglandin gel put in at 11am. For an hour I laid down to give it a chance to get to work. After an hour I started smelling clary sage essential oil to help my cervix to open naturally and work alongside the gel. I started to get period pain type cramps but it was far from painful. At 3pm we decided to go for a walk, it was sunny and we thought some fresh air would be good for my oxytocin levels. This was when my contractions started on the walk. I used the breathing technique (in for 4 through the nose and out for 8 through the mouth) from this point onwards. By 3:30pm my contractions seemed extremely close. I hadn’t sat down since 12pm, as I wanted to keep gravity on my side. I was mainly leaning over the bed swaying my hips while breathing. I welcomed every surge as if my body and baby were working as a team and knew each one would last less than 60 seconds.

Luke went to get the midwife as he was sure that the contractions were getting even closer together. You could tell that the midwife didn’t quite believe him, as it had only been a few hours. I was busy listening to my hypnobirthing tracks on repeat. One of them being Steph’s, it was lovely to hear a familiar voice! After being examined we were ALL shocked (especially the midwife) to find out that I was 5cm dilated and needed to go to the labour ward ASAP.

Once at the labour ward we met the two new midwives who were going to support us. They were lovely but explained to me there wasn’t any space in the birth centre as we requested. However, the room we were in had dim lighting, was private and I knew we could keep the oxytocin flowing in there. Luke switched my hypnobirthing tracks from my headphones to my speaker and set up the room as we had done in the ward upstairs. I knew that I didn’t want to be on my back at all in labour. I managed to stay standing up and swaying throughout or in UFO (upright, forward & open) positions. I had requested the wireless monitoring which gave me full movement and allowed me to move round instead of being stuck on a bed, which I felt would slow things down. After an hour my legs started to get tired. I asked for a birth ball and leaned over it on all fours, while smelling lavender oil to keep me calm. I had used it in baths throughout my pregnancy, it reminded me of home and being relaxed.

My midwives suggested an epidural or pethidine as additional pain relief. This must have been out of habit, as I didn’t feel that I needed it. I was just fine with Luke’s voice, the gas and air and the TENS machine. So we refused the offer. We also knew that pethidine can make the baby tired. I felt so in tune with the baby at this time, I knew they would be here soon but strangely decided to keep this to myself, almost as a surprise for everyone else in the room to find out for themselves. The noises that I made with each contraction changed and became deeper. I felt fully in control and I requested that my birth plan was read out to everyone in the room. Hearing out loud that Luke was to announce the sex of the baby and to cut the cord, gave me the energy I needed to start pushing when I felt the urge.

I changed the music to a playlist that was full of music that Luke and I loved. By chance, our baby was born at 6:50pm to “Waiting in Vain” by Bob Marley - which was ironic as the baby kept us waiting so long after our estimated due date! And as Luke announced we had a baby girl and she was placed on my chest “Hold my Girl” by George Ezra began to play. It was by far the best moment of our lives.

All of the advice that we were given lead to a genuinely beautiful labour, even though we were induced. We both felt excited, calm, in tune with each other and ready to ask questions. We said “No” when something didn’t feel right and if we were told “No”, we asked a second time and got what we wanted. Thank you to Steph and all of the pregnancy yoga mums that I have been lucky enough to meet. Without you, our birth story could have been very different!