My birth story..

Wow! When they say becoming a mum is a life-changing experience. They weren’t joking. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so calm yet so scared at the same time.

To be honest my pregnancy journey wasn’t so bad after the first 4 months. Those 4 months of vomiting & being super sensitive can really make you not want to do it again.

I was full term - 41 weeks - when my waters broke on the way to pick up my husband from the train station. Of course, even after all those NCT sessions, he turns around and says to me ‘but babe, the seat isn’t wet’ - he thought it was a Hollywood movie where it looks like buckets of water poured out of you.

So we turned up to the hospital & they wanted a male doctor to do a VE on me. I told them I preferred a female nurse. I don’t think it made a difference.. the pain was unbearable!!

They sent me home. Not dilated. So I sat on my yoga ball, watching Bridgeton, listening to my hypnobirthing tracks & timing my contractions. 24 hours later - 4pm the next day we went back in. I had dilated 4cm and gone into ‘active labour’ all on my own at home. I felt fine.

Although I was ‘high risk’ I managed to argue my case to be in the birthing suite. My husband & I walked up and down the stairs. Time went by and after another VE I was told I hadn’t gone any further than 4cm so I had to move to the ward to have oxytocin drips.

That’s where the nightmare began. I was unlucky and didn’t have great support in the ward. I was constantly being pressured to ‘stay still’ even in pain and when I had a contraction. Hours went by and eventually more doctors kept coming in telling me I had to get an epidural and possibly a c-section.

My grandma had 5 kids.. all natural birth. My mother had 4 kids.. all natural birth. My sister has had 2 kids.. both natural births. I really thought I would have the same experience so I ruled out a c-section altogether.

It had been 38 hours since my waters broke and the doctors came in to tell me my child’s heart rate was dropping every time I had a contraction and that he was in distress. Probably one of the scariest things a mum could hear. Of course, at that point I told the doctors to do what they had to and take him out.. 10 mins later.. our son was born 💙

Now I had planned all my postpartum care based on a natural birth. So I didn’t do much reading into healing from a c-section (I really wish I had done so).

My son was born with an infection which put him in the NICU for a week. I had a temperature a few days after giving birth and was close to being re-admitted.

The worst pain I had to deal with was probably the drive back and forth from the hospital to see my son. I would have gone 3 times a day if I could. The speed bumps and potholes made the drive even more painful.

I usually have issues with bloating, which were worsened by the c-section. This meant postpartum I couldn’t move without feeling excruciating pain.

Three products I would purchase for my wife to prepare her for a C-section:

1) Feeding pillow - not being able to hold him for long was tough. The feeding pillow was the only thing that eased our breastfeeding experience.

2) Dr.Gut bloating tablets - I took these on day 2 and the relief I felt was heavenly. The bloat had gone down which meant I had less pressure pushing against my cut & stitches.

3) Peppermint tea - this was a more natural alternative for me to relief the trapped gas, which apparently is inevitable post surgery because the doctors are prodding around your insides.

I am not a healthcare professional, so please get a second opinion before using the bloating tablets. It worked for me day 2 after giving birth.

I didn’t have the best experience giving birth. But ask me if I’d do it again & I’ll say yes - 100 times over! Our son is the best blessing we’ve ever had. We can’t wait to hopefully have more and grow our family.

I didn’t want to share my birthing story, so that I don’t scare anyone. Remember ever person is different. One tip I’d give you, however, is to remind you that if it does get rough in the hospital - you are allowed to ask for a different midwife. At one point I had a replacement one for half an hour & I could promise I was almost in tears when she had to leave. A patient & caring midwife can really change everything for you. That relaxing environment is extremely important for you and the baby. I’m grateful for my husband & family who stayed calm and supported me with love and care throughout this time.