Here are a collection of birth stories. Some are good experiences, and some are hard but all are different and personal, and all are written by mums in their own words.
Kirstys story
Ashley was due on the 17th July but was 4 days over due in total. On the 2nd day of being over due i had a consultants appointment in Southmead bristol and asked for a stretch and sweep this procedure was done and was lets say not the most comfortable thing i have ever had done, this was done in hope that it would induce my labour. The following morning (Thurday 20th July) I was woken up at around 4am with sharp pains in my stomach and i was thinking ohh maybe this is it, these pains started to get more frequent and stronger so i decided to put the tenns machine on which if i am honest did nothing to help! Around midday my contractions were text book so i decided to ring the hospital and see what i should do they advised me to go in and get checked. When i was examined i was only 2cm so went for a LONG walk in aid to speed things up this did not work so i was packed off back home until i could stand the pain no more which was around 6pm. When i arrived at the hospital i was given pethadine which i feel was a waste of time as it did absolutly nothing for me by this time i was in agony i was like a headless chicken not knowing what to do or how to stand ect. Around 9pm i was transfered to the assessment ward in another part of the department as delivery was needed for people in "established labour" (rubish) anyway they send my partner and my mum home only to call them back in an hr later as i was in aggony and needed them with me, when a bed was availabe i was transfered to delivery again as at last i was 3cm dilated and in established labour. Anyway i was asking for an epidural from around 12 midnight as i was in aggony and did not seam to be dilating very fast, the epidural still never came! I was given gas and air which may as well have been oxygen in my opinion as this also did nothing for me. At 5am i was examined again only to be told that in 6 hrs i had dilated half a cm at this point i lost the will to live i demanded and epidural and asked them to break my waters this was done at 6am and ohh my god did i know that that had been done the cntractins came in thick and fast and were 100 x more painfull than before. Eventually at 7am i was given the epidural after having problems with me not being able to keep still that was. I manged to get some rest and then at around 8am i was tld i was 10cm whooo i thought thats it but no still a bit to go. At around 9ish i was told that i could push and i thought great its nearly over with untill ........ The midwife ran out the room crying as she had hurt her arm the day before and said that SHE was in too much pain and could not carry on and had to go and get someone else. SO there i am legs up pushing with no midwife iin sight i was thinking ohh god this cant be happening. Anyway after eventualy getting a midwife i was pushing for just under 1hr and ashley Jodi was born at 10am on the 21st July, he was 6lb 13.5oz and was perfect. Looking back i think i had a horrid labour not only was it long but it was not well planned there was a shortage of midwives that night and things were not how i wanted them to be. I am still having back ache now from the epidural but it was the bestr thing in the world at the time, i did not plan to have one but as i had such a long labour i am glad i had it.
Rachels story
woke at 5am with back ache, pains coming all day, regular pains like back ache.. didnt realise it was contractions! stood up from the sofa and my waters broke at 7pm, arrived at hospital at 7.35pm, M/W told me I was in labour at about 8.20pm, pains hit then!! M/W told me megan would be born b4 the end of her shift(9.30), but megan was sideways round so was stuck in the birth canal. megan was born at 12.04am!
Melanies story
i was sat watching tv on the 9th of january 2003, i was 28 weeks pregnant, all of a sudden i felt a trickle between my legs, i rushed upstairs to check incase i wet myself (as you do lol) but i hadn't and realised it must have been my waters it was 3pm.
I called my midwife and she told me to go straight to the delivery suite, now adrian was at work and the hospital was only a 10 minute walk from my house, so i decided to walk up there, now bearing in mind my waters had started to break i didn't bother putting a sanitary towel on, i only had thin trousers and a g-string on and it was the middle of winter and as i was walking up to the hospital my waters kept gushing out .
Anyway i got to the hospital about 3.30pm and was taken to an examination room (my trousers were soaked and i was freezing cold) and a doctor came in and took a swab from my cervix and asked me to put a sanitary towel on to check for amniotic fluid, it was amniotic fluid!
By now adrian had arrived and the doctor was getting ready to administer steroids (they really hurt!!) and i asked the doctor what were the chances of my baby surviving at 28 weeks but she just turned and said your baby wont be born yet.
After the steroids i was taken to the antenatal ward and told i would stay in overnight and the baby would be delevered at 34 weeks.
Meanwhile after 2 hours of being there adrian went home to get me an overnight bag.
He came back about 9pm and was told to leave immediately and visiting hours would be at 11am the next morning.
By half past 9 i started getting contractions so i buzzed the midwife who set up a trace, you could see on the monitor i was having contractions but she briefly looked at it and said it was just my baby lying in an awkward position and then told me to go to sleep.
I led there for an hour trying to sleep and all the time the pain was getting worse, so i got up and went to the midwives station and told them it was contractions, i even told them how frequently they were coming and how long they lasted but again they said it was baby in an awkward position and told me to go back to bed.
I lay in the bed for another 5 hours crying to myself and having very painful contractions, it was now 3am, so i went back to the midwives station crying and telling them it was contractions, they still didn't believe me or check me, next thing i know i'm being taken to the bathroom and told to have a bath as it might help baby get in a better position!! The bath was cold with 1cm of water and 50cm of bubbles, i was left alone and as soon as i got in the bath the pain became worse, i tried to get out to pull the emergency cord but i had a very strong contraction and cried so loudly a porter put her head around the door to see if i was ok.
I dont remember too much about what the midwives said but next thing i know i was being wheeled up to deliver naked and crying, and was then promptly told by the midwife "can you shut up there are mums who are actually in labour here".
When i got into the delivery room and onto the bed i felt an overwhelming urge to push, from then on there were 25 people in the room rushing round, i was trying to push a baby out and crying for adrian to get there, they said they had called him.
At 4.24am my daughter mollie was born and immeadietly peed all over the neonatal doctor and midwife who had told me to shut up then she was whisked off to nicu.
Then i was alone in the delivery room, no one came for about 20 minutes until i pressed the buzzer to tell the nurse i felt sick, she gave me a bowl and left.
Another 20 minutes later a midwife came in and said you need to have a bath so i was put in the bath (at least this one was warm) when i got out i was taken to the post natal ward with all the other mums and their new babies.
At 6.30am i was given a bowl of soggy cornflakes and "told" to eat (i threw them in the bin)
By now i was wondering where adrian was so i asked a midwife, she said they had been trying his phone all morning but had no reply.
At 10am on ward rounds a very nice midwife came round and asked me how i was, i burst into tears, i hadn't felt much emotion since the day before but now i was overwhelmed by it, she organized for me to go down and see mollie and call adrian.
I was down visiting mollie when adrian arrived he told me he only got a call an hour ago so no-one except the nice midwife had called him and he was at work (they had his correct mobile number).
At 2pm i discovered 2 ladies had given birth to prem babies that day hours after me and were given side rooms away from all the mums and their new babies, i was told there were no rooms.
At 4pm i had had enough so i discharged myself, not that anyone cared.
Mollie did well in the nicu and came home at 6 weeks old.
Paulas story
Sunday 19/2 - Woke up to a huge bloodstained show and mild contractions, 10 mins apart. Decided i needed to stay active, so walked dog twice, went shopping, cleaned house etc.
called parents in north wales when pains 5 mins apart and stronger, although more constant back pain, as she was back to back and wouldnt budge. Parents set off, by 3pm, pains 3 in 10 mins, I was exhausted, so took co codamol and had a nap. when i woke up, bloody pains back to every 10 mins again!!!!!Parents arrived, felt a bit of a pillock telling them contractions had eased off but they were very understanding. Had a reasonable night sleep. Monday 20/2 - Almost word for word the same as sunday, except by now i was very disheartened, and fit to drop by 6pm. had a very bad night, as pains, although irregular, were bloody strong, and the backache was almost unbearable. - Tuesday 21/2 - Went walking around the cliffs with my mum, and ended up on my hands and knees with the pain. Mum decided enough was enough, and off to hosp we went. Examined, 3cm, stretchy and effaced. That was 1pm. 5pm, after pacing the corridors in agony, no change. 9pm, no change, 1am, no bloody change. Sent mum and DH home, cried myself to sleep. - Wednesday 22/2 - Wonderful 3rd year student looking after me, but that meant that all ve's had to be repeated. At 4pm, after 6 internals, still no bloody progress! Had been stuck at 3cm for over 15 hours, pains were atrocious. I decided i was going home and not going back, that i wanted the baby adopted, that i wanted a divorce and that i never wanted to see anyone ever again except my DS LOL!!!!
Was discharges with a warning to return if waters broke started bleeding or couldnt cope with pain. Told them i wasnt coming back until the head was out.
Spent journey home curled in a ball crying with pain, got home, crawled upstairs to bed and started bleeding really badly. Contracting every 3 mins for a minute a time.
Mum almost passed out when she saw the blood, hubby put me straight back in car, and off back to hosp we went! Rush hour, traffic crawling, me contracting every 2 mins, and feeling pressure on back passage. Rob stuck his hazards on and shot up the middle of the road!!! Called mat unit, told them to get the epidural ready cos i believed id had quite enough pain now thankyou! They said they would bleep aneasthetist, but not to get hopes up, would prob be only 4cm. Think i might have swore at her. Arrived at hosp, examined whilst sucking the life out of gas and air, 6cm!!!!!!!!!YAY!!!!! Epidural sited, no visible reason for horrendous blood loss, Kira was chilled, and once epidural took effect, i got my sense of humour back. Epidural slowed things down again, and midwife said so, but in my best catherine tate voice i said "am i bovvered?!" In the end, i had established 1st stage, 9.25 hours, 2nd stage, 9 mins!!!!!!! 3rd stage, 8 mins. could still mobilise with epidural, and felt enough to push, was on my knees for pushing, and felt so in control it was unbelievable. One graze, a lot of vomiting and a bath, and it was all over. Kira weighed 7lb 2.5 oz, fed like a demon, and has done ever since. She truly is worth every second of the pain.
Vickys story
well here goes cantractions and back ache started at around 2 ish i think but really irregular nothing to write home about so phoned midwife who never got back to me so phoned the hospital and who said when it gets worse to phone delivery suite and go in decided to go in after 8 and got there at 8.30 admitted and was told would be examined in 30 mins this didn't happen contraction every few minutes but still only lasting about 45 secs new midwife came in and said will examine you in 30 mins this again didn't happen as had the urge to push and out came bubba only just managed to get trousers and knickers off in time as still had not been examined and midwife to quickly grab gloves to deliver little bubba girl. had a few grazes and a 2nd degree tear so had to have stitches
Rachels story
With Zoe my waters broke on the Thursday night and was checked and sent home until contractions started. They did during the next night so went in Saturday morning and by dinnertime my contractions were still irregular so given something to speed them up. After an hour of pushing she arrived 1.10am the Sunday morning. Tried pethidine, gas and air and finally an epidural. Needed an episiotomy and stitches and lost alot of blood. Refused a transfusion and felt washed out for over a week on iron tablets.
With Chelsea I went into hospital with a major bleed at 34 weeks (valentines night). Had grade 4 placenta praevia (very bad) so wasn't allowed out until baby born. (My parents had to look after my then 10 month old). Had a candula in all the time, bloods taken every other day to be cross matched for op. Had her by c-section 37 weeks and 1 day and needed no blood transfusion.
Hayleys story
Monday 13th February
I'd been having little pains all day but didn't think anything of them, later in the evening - I realised that the next day was Valentines Day so decided a curry would be a good plan!! I had a bath then went to bed about 10.30 when the pains started really strong but I ignored it and tried to sleep!
Tuesday 14th February
In the end I was so uncomfortable I woke Dan up and we decided if this was it then we should wash up and clean up a little!! Dan doesnt drive so I rang my Parents who came round and we sat & timed the contractions until 4am when they were about 5minutes apart and decided to go to hosp to see what was happening!
Arrived at labour ward and was examined by lovely midwife who said I was 2cm, so not in established labour but would see how it went and I'd have baby by the end of the day! WOhoo! Was given paracetemol & codine? which I then threw up. Day shift came on and I was given evil midwife who told me I'd be in labour all week as I was progressing so slowly! About 10am she sent me home. Got home and went to bed - still in pain and then I felt a gush!! We rang the delivery suite who said to come back in so had to get my brother to take us back - me being so classy sat on a primark carrier bag in his car!! Evil midwife exmined me again and I was still 2cm. She gave me gas & air (which made me sick!) and sent me home again at 2 with an appointment for DAU on wed and thermometers to check
temp every 6 hours.
So I came home and had about 3 baths as it was the only thing which was helping, by 7pm I was having contractions about 3-4 minutes apart and had to lean over the bannister or on the kitchen sides! I had a birthing ball but it didn;t do anything so me. Called my parents round again who kept telling me to go back to hospital but I wouldn't as I said they'd send me home again but by 8.30 it was so unbearable and I was just crying (wimp) they made me go! We got there and thats where the fun began...
We were shown to the only delivery room left as it was such a busy night (full moon) and waited for mw to come and see us. We were given the room wth the birth pool attached so I was happy! Mw came to examine me - felt my tummy and then asked to do an internal. She spent ages doing it and then said I'll just go ask the sister something and off she went. Sister came in and asked to feel. And they both confirmed she was breech and in fact a girl!! All of a sudden the room was packed - they were doing scans, the surgeon came in and asked wheter I wanted a section or to deliver naturally. I said section as I was in so much pain by then and she said that a section was much safer for breech babies and if I did try naturally I'd probably end up with a section anyway. More people came in asking me the same questions - make up? nail varnish? They tried to put a drip in my left hand but failed so went for the right, then they made me take antacids things, one in liquid form which I kept saying I cant i'll be sick I need another sick bowl! Also at some point I kept asking if she would be born on valentines or whether they'd make me wait! LOL! They wheeeled me off to theatre and Dan went to get changed which took forever.
The anetheitist kept telling me to calm down as I was shaking so much. Lovely midwife was holding my hands and told me off so sucking my thumb! Whilst they were doing the spinal I was having contractions so still in pain! I have no idea what actually happened in theatre, I remember them testing to see if I was numb with spray that we used when I was a cleaner to freeze chewing gum! They put up the screen and next thing I knew she was here - I kept asking Dan if they'd started and he kept saying no and aneastist kept asking me if I was chilled yet? and I was having a baby! Could feel a little bit f tugging and poking around but nothing uncomfortable.
Baby was brought to us and Dan clamped her cord, everyone was asking her name and we hadnt decided, her hair is amazing there's so much of it. She was taken off to be weighed with Dan and was 8lb 12oz - but she looks tiny - she's quite long I don't know where she gets that from as me & dan are so short! I was taken off to recovery and fed her. In the morning, transfered to postnatal ward and stayed there til Friday.
So in summary : Alexandra Roxie born 14th February 2006 - 22:55 - 8lb 12oz
Collettes story
My birth story begins at 36 weeks. It was between christmas and new year, my midwife came to see me for a home visit. I thought I was small for 36 weeks so I mentioned it. She agreed. She took my BP and it was sky high, she then took it again half hour later and confirmed it was much too high. She told me to go to the BMH and to take a book as I'd probably be in there a while.
When I arrived there I had a scan and then was hooked up to a heartbeat monitoring machine after having blood taken. I had to do a urine sample too. I was in there until 7pm that evening and I started to get worried they wouldn't let me go home.
I then had to go back to the BMH every other day for just over a week. My BP remained high throughout and my wrists had swollen up, I now had to wear splints most of the day. I was monitored and scanned on a regular basis. My baby was breech and very tiny so I was told they may have to turn her, I can't remember now what the procedure is called.
When I was 37 weeks +4 I had my final appointment where I saw a consultant who recommended an elective C section on the following Tuesday, 38 weeks exactly.
The morning of the birth I had to phone the BMH at 7:30am to see when they wanted me. I was told to get there asap. We made it for 8:45. They made me feel at ease, I had to undress into the gown and then I was taken to Theatre with my OH too. He was scrubbed up too. I had chosen my own cd to listen to, I was introduced to the team of people in the theatre. They sorted me out with a drip and then the anaethatist injected my spine with the anaesthetic. They tipped me sideways to get it to work evenly. Apparently they pricked my legs and tummy with a long needle and I didn't feel a thing.
They began the procedure, 9 mins later out popped Caitlin weighing 5lbs 6oz. They then took approx 30 mins sewing me up. It didn't feel that bad, like someone washing up in your tummy I suppose!
Kims story
On 31st Oct I was so fed up and tired I thought i'd try eating a whole pineapple.
Then on 1st Nov at 4am started having pains. After so many false alarms I just put it down to engagement pains.
Then at 7am I realised that pains were every 10 mins and getting worse.
so went for a fry up and up Asda to get few snacks to take in hospital with me.
Called ward and went in at 11am but was only 2 cm diluated.
Went home then decided to go christmas shopping so went out to our mall and got everyones pressies.
Got back home and by 4pm pain was killing me so went back in to hospital.
Got there settled in birthing suite and got on gas and air woo woo.
By 7pm I was only 3 cm diluated so I asked for pethedine so I could snooze.
Had Petehdine about 8pm.
Then at 8:50 had show, 9pm waters broke, then felt need to go toilet. So DF and midwife took me to loo when I felt the need for no 2 the midwife asked if I needed no 2 I said yes so she got me on bed and discovered I was 10cm diluated and I could start pushing.
started pushing and he was out by 9:32pm.
Was painful but didnt tear and no stitches. Lucky me.
Maries story
i had been contractiong on and off for 3 weeks then on friday 9th on novemnber at 4pm i gt a really bad pain in my back after an hr i realised i was contarcting as the pains were getting worse. so i had bath and decided to see how things went as this had happened several times b4 and nothing had developed.
It got to 7pm and i decidedto call dp mates who said theyd look after cj and they cametround i then rang the hospital who told me to see how i was in an hour by this time my contractions were 3 mins apart lasting 1min and were quite painfull.
at 8pm i called an ambulance to take me in to hospital as my contractions were then every 2 mins lasting amin
i arrived at hospital where a mw met us and took me into the birth suite where i was told where every thing was, i sat in the rocking chair and started breaitng thru contarctions. aftear half an hr lol i told dp to ask mw if i could have sum gas and air and she came in and said shes examine me and see how far dilated i was and to listen to baby.
she did this and said i was only 4 cm so it was to early for gas and air but i couod have petahdine if i wanted too so i said but that makes baby sleepy and she said no its fine so i said ok
i was given sum pethadine and was told to lie on my left hand side and get sum sleep i tried this but the contarctiosn were so close together i couldnt rest so i was up on th birthball and the rail to try and ease the pain bu it wasnt working after an hr i asked 4 the gas and air again and this time she let me have it thank god it took the pains away lol by this time i was contracting non stop
after a few hrs she came in and i said the paisn were so much worse now and she examined me again i was still only 5cm dialted afetar 6 hrs of being there so she said i had to stop using the gas and air and have a bath hahah wtfs a bath goann do!! iasked her to break my watres as i new as soon as they broke baby would be out but she refued.
anyway i had a bath and was in 5mins b4 i had to get out, dp told me not to use gas and air as the mw said it will slow things down bolox to that i said im having it lol
after 30 misn of not using any pain relief i grabbed it id had enuff of that
the mw came back in and said marie its to soon and its not doing anything i replied it bloody is its taking my pain away and she just laughed at me lol
then a little while later she came back with another mw who was taking over her shift and that mw said are u happy with the gas and air and i said yeaa so she said i could stick with that and to call her if i needed anything all i could remeber was ahhh at last sum1 who letting me have it and nt tryingt to take it away lmao i asked them again to break my waters and she said no :s
an hr later she came in and asked how i was and i said i was in a lotof pain and she said shed examine me in an hr and see what was happenig she said i was still only 5 cm dilated and thats shed reexamine me in 4 hrs and if my waytres hadent broken she talk to drs about what to do next
four hrs later she examined me again and said i was still only 5cm and that she would think about breaking my watres but as babys head was high up she needed to ask the dr 1st she came back 5mins later and said she needed to examine me 1st to i said ok go aheaad so as she did i had a really bad contarction and scremed at her to get her bloody hands out!! so she did and i aploigised for doing that and she said it sok love im used t it lol
anyway she said baby head was still high up so she needed to check if she could break them incase the cord prolapsed she came back with another mw and they broke my waters it took them 20mins of agonising pain to drain my waters where i had so much and omg the pain increased even more!!!!
she reexamined me 5 mins after my watres had broken and i was getting alotof presure and i was 8cm!!
i new baby was coming quickly now
after a very short while i had the urge to push i was screaming i need to push and she was telling me no u dint i said i bloody no ive done it b4!! and she said ok lie on ya back and ill examine u and said nos shes still high hang on no i can feel her head i said so can bloody i lol
she said to psuh with the next pain i fi wanted too so i did and with 2 contarctions i had massive pressure there and new i needed to get her out of me
after 10pushes she was out and omg what a relief that was as i held my baby girl for the first time i was overwhelmed by the feelings i had for her my little angel was fianlly here.....
Libby Ann Marie was born on 10th of november at 5.40 pm aftear a 26 hr labour and was worth every min xx
Bernadettes story
it was 1am on 17th dec and i woke with a pain in my back i didnt think much of it until about 5 mins later when i felt another one. by the 3rd/ 4th pain i new my contractions had started but i wasnt in too much pain so i hopped in the bath as i couldnt sleep.
when i got out of the bath the pain seemed to be worse so i phoned my mum who was due to come to hospital with me and she came over but my contractions werent regular so we just sat around chatting. at about 4am i was in alot more pain so i rang the hospital and they said come in and get checked out so i woke my partner and off we went to hospital.
wen we got to hospital i was put on a monitor for about half hr then examined and i was only 1cm dilated so they sent me home with a tens machine and some bean bag thing that u put in the microwave and it goes on your back to help with the pain.
i got home and got back into bed with tens on and beanbag in hand and had a lie down as i couldnt sleep then when my contractions felt worse i went back into hospital but i was still only 1cm dilated so they sent me into a room and told me to walk around for abit and someone would examine me again in 4 hrs...
i got examined and was 2cms dilated but as it was going so slowly they sent me home...again! i got back into bed and slept for an hr or so then got up and had some fruit then got in the bath.
wen i got out of the bath i was in lots of pain but mum said we should write down contraction times etc so thats what i did. then after a few hours the pain was unbearable so we went to hospital. they put me in a delivery room and examined me. only 4cm so me mum and my partner went for a walk as MW said she would examine me again in 20 mins.when we came back i got on the bed and 5 mins later the MW came 2 examine me and i was fully dilated!!! after our walk the pain was alot worse so MW offered me gas n air so i took it!
i was in so much pain so the MW decided 2 break my waters. i started pushing and after 3 n half hrs and a little cut later out he came. my mum wanted 2 cut the cord as my partner is abit of a wimp. then they weighed cameron and he was a massive 10lb 4!!!!i had to wait an hr then i was back on the gas n air to have my stitches done!
Ginas Story
Ashley Aimee was born at 3.40am on Monday 20th February she weighed 5lb 14ozs but height has not yet been measured!
My birth story:
Sunday morning i awoke with some mild contractions and had a small amount of show when i went to the bathroom, since it was very early i decided if this was it i would probably wake up later when they got stronger so i went back to bed and lay awake for awhile feeling the contractions, but they must have eased off as i went back to sleep and when i woke later they were gone
i was so dissappointed because i thought this was it!
later in the day i was really tired so went to sleep for a few hours and when i woke i was experiencing a very achey back, so after a few hours of suffering i got a hot water bottle to ease the pain!
After not long of sitting against the hot water bottle i began to notice contractions it was approximately 9:30pm by then, after a short while of contractions i began to time them, 3mins appart approximately 40secs length, thinking this was a little to close together i phoned the midwives and they said oh its still early stages you will have a while yet but you can come in and get checked out if you are concerned, i said i think i'll wait a bit then, but when i got off the phone my concerned partner said no i think we should go in, so we packed everything up(between contractions) and set off to hospital.
On arrived at the hospital they settled us in one of the delivery suites and sent for someone to take a look, a lady arrived just before us, and while we were there we could here her giving birth, her screaming alarmed me i was petrified that i couldn't handle that much pain!
Anyway they checked me out, "1cm Dilated a long way to go yet, and your contractions are only mild", i was told. They didnt feel mild to me! Then they said i'd probably be another twelve hours or more, and said to go home and sleep for a while longer... like, how??
So home we went, and i basically screamed for one minute in every 3 for about three and a half hours before we decided to try again. DH rang the midwife and she said "come on back" so off we went again. As I sat down in the car my waters broke. On arrival this time I must've looked in pain, because the midwife rushed us straight into L&D, and checked everything out almost straight away. She looked up with a suprised look and said "you have done well! the baby is almost here!"
She then told us that baby had had a bowel motion during labour, so we would need a doctor present for the birth, and went out to page the doctor. Once they were back, things started to happen pretty quickly. the midwife said she would probably tell me not to push in the next contraction. She didnt! as the contraction started she said " I can see its head, so push if you want to" At this point things started to ache a whole lot worse, so i started on the giggle gas.this push got her showing a bit more. three more pushes and Ashley Aimee was free from her mum, and after the second push they cut the cord as it was around her neck twice. The Placenta was delivered a few moments later, assisted by the midwife. from that second push until now I'd been asking if the baby was ok, and they finally heard me and said "yes, everything is fine" they had a little trouble getting her to breath, but nothing serious, just enough for me to worry!
next they had to stitch me up, and for that they made me use the gas and gave me a local anesthetic, and i swear this part was far more frightening than the birth, i hadn't torn badly just a tiny tear but there were some lacerations because it all happened so quickly, the midwife fiddled round for a while instructing me to use the gas, then she called a doctor in to do the stitching as she was concerned that she might stitch the wrong place as she was struggling to identify where the bleeding was coming from, so the doctor took over and this all seemed to take forever, and as i breathed more and more of the gas and air i began to loss consciousness, i could only see the clock on the wall and hear the noises in the room and every now and again i could feel twinges and stings as they progressed with the stitches some that were alarmingly painful and made me take bigger breathes of the gas, i could here my breathing going funny, one second i was breathing fine , next i was aware that i wasn't breathing, but it wasn't untile somebody said something that i was able to make myself breath again, i was concerned that i was going to just stop breathing and gripping my partners hand squeezing occasionally throughout, my partner assures me that i was actually breathing, just very fast, but from my point of view it was all very confusing and frightening.
afterwards the midwife brought me the baby and we gave her a short feed, then she helped me bath and we settled down with some toast and telly while we waited to be taken to the ward.
Theres so much more i could say, but Ashley is hungry and we are all tired so i must go,
Thankyou for reading my birth story!
Kellys Story
As my due date got closer i was sure my baby would be early i had a small show at 36 weeks but no sign of baby! At a week overdue my midwife did a sweep, the next day i started getting low back pain i had this all day on and off it wasn't to bad so didnt think much of it that night i woke up with worse back pain so was sure this must be the start at 8am i was getting excited that it would be soon this carried on all day turning into contractions there wasn't to strong so at about 6pm i started with the tens machine which i found helped. At 11pm they were getting worse so i called the midwife i was such i would be at least 4cm but she came to the house and checked i was only 2cm!! she said it was up to me but probably best to stay at home as still had long way to go by 3am the pain was getting more so phoned again and we made our way to southmead, i still couldn't quite belive this was it. We arrived at southmead and went into a the birthing suite which was lovely and really relaxing we had music on and me and my partner was left alone the midwife kept popping in to check we was ok, i was still using the tens and was now 4cm. After a hour or so the pain was worse so started on the gas and air which i found great it still hurt but took your mind of the pain it made me giggly!! I was hoping on a water birth...the midwife started running the pool when i was 6cm we made our way into the room with pool. Everything seemed fine the pool was lush&the room had mood light it was really nice i was coping well with the pain by staying topped up on gas&air and i felt like i could cope with it. However when i stepped into the pool she checked babys heart beat and it had dropped so i had to get out and lie down she checked again it was still to low, she pushed the emergency button and within seconds there was a team of docs/nurses they put me in a wheelchair & took me to the labour ward.I have never been so scared the got me on the bed & attached a monitor to my belly but couldnt get a clear heart beat so after a while attached a wire to the babys head to check the heart beat, i was still using gas&air but was in lots of pain i think mainly due to being scared and not breathing properly!Babys heart beat kept dropping&rising so the decided to break my waters then take a sample of blood from babys head to check for distress, they didn't have time to give me an epidural it was not nice!i couldnt cope with the pain anymore the doctor said i could have an epidural if i wanted to...all through pregnancy this was the 1 thing i didn't want&was worried about but when offered i jumped at the chance&was shouting for them to hurry up with it! after 20mins i had it&it took 20mins to work but really helped i couldnt feel anything. They put me on a hormone drip as i had stopped dilating&cervix had started to get thicker not thiner they wasnt sure why, they took another sample of bood from babys head. After a couple of hrs things still hadn't improved so started talking about c section which made me scared but i just wanted it over&my baby safe i was so tiered!! they topped up epidural&gave me morphine we went into thearte for c section but when i got there i was fuly dilated so they changed there minds again and told me when to push i couldnt feel anything but with the help of midwife and my partner i pushed best i could! but baby didnt want to come they tried suction but it kept coming of babys head so ended up makig a cut&using forceps but i still tore. After 10mins of pushing & pulling a healthy baby josh was born weighing 7lb15oz he was very bruised but perfect. 45mins of stiches later it was all over & i finally could hold our baby. would i do it all again? of course i would josh is the worth it all however bad x
Anitas story
Well it all started on Saturday 9th February 2008 around 10am, our daughter was at my parents house and my husband had gone to his parents to help rip out their old kitchen. I went to the toilet and had a slight show it was like pale green snot with a little pink tinge I knew this was a show and felt quite excited but knew that it didn't mean baby would arrive today as it could take days or a week. I went downstairs and had a cup of tea and started getting mild like period pains just thought it was a one off but they were coming every 15-20min and lasting no longer than 30 seconds was getting really excited my heart started racing. I rang hubby at the in-laws but he was at the skip with his brother so informed my motor-in-law of the situation and she said that she thought this was the start of things. Well as soon as I put the phone down I started cleaning making sure everything was tidy and put away etc, when I had finished I had a warm bath to calm me down a bit. Hubby came home about 1pm and by then they were every 15min and still only very mild. I rang my mum and she thought baby would be here by tea time, we had to take mum to the hairdressers as Dad couldn't drive due a knee operation. So at 2.30pm we arrived at mums and the contractions were still 12-15min and lasting slightly longer at 45 seconds and getting a little stronger but still very bearable. We arrived at the hairdressers around 3pm I was sat on the floor with Neeve playing Lego and had to get up again as they were getting more intense and coming every 8min, kept thinking to myself OMG this is it baby is going to come tonight and was feeling a little scared. I was sat on the couch in the hairdressers and I had to breathe through my contractions as they were starting to hurt and were every 5mins, they were all commenting as they could see I was in discomfort they all wished me luck and we left about 4pm. We drove back to Mum's house and Neeve stayed there with them as we knew baby was on its way. We got home and I made sure I had everything packed in my labour bag and made sure babies bag was all packed and ready. I asked my Aunty to come over with some bits and bobs for hospital like slippers etc wanted to look presentable mad I know, at about 5.30pm she helped me put on the tens machine as the pain was getting worse and the contractions were coming every 4 minutes and lasting about 90 seconds I then remembered how painful it was when in labour with Neeve. My Aunty made my a raspberry tea and I had a few sips but had to keep breathing through the contractions. I decided to ring the Southmead Birthing Suite at 6pm as my contractions were now every 2.5 minutes and quite painful, I spoke to a lovely Midwife and she said to come on in and would get the Birthing Suite ready for me. I was really nervous but excited and we left at 6.20pm, OMG the ride there was awful it felt so bumpy I am sure we only drove about 20mph the whole way. As soon as we reached the hospital I started to cry I did this with Neeve too I felt very emotional and quite scared. We had arranged for my mother-in-law to also be at the Birth as last time we had my Mum and thought it would be nice for her to experience the birth and also Mum and Dad had to look after Neeve. We were taken to the large Birthing Suite room it was lovely very clean and the pool was half full with warm water and still running she suggested that the water would help me with the pain. The room was lit with Mood lights and the CD player was playing relaxing music, there were yoga mats and pillows on the floor and a huge birthing ball so I leant over the ball and rocked back and forth as this really helped. One of the leads on the tens machine stopped working so I only had it working on the left side which was really annoying but there was nothing I could do. The Midwife left at 7.30pm as this was the end of her shift then we had another Midwife called Glynis she checked me over and I was 4cm and I thought to myself is that all. After about 30min (8pm) I got into the pool OMG it was an amazing feeling it was so relaxing and really did help with the pain, it was still painful but I could breathe through the contractions with ease. By 8.30pm they were getting stronger so she gave me the gas and air which was a god send. I think I was coping really well till about 9.15pm at which point I said I couldn't take anymore and that I wanted an epidural so she told me to get out the pool as we would have to go to the Labour Ward felt quite scared then, as soon as my body left the water the pains got 10 times worse, I was wheeled to the labour ward and into a room. I kept apologising to my hubby and MIL saying I am sorry I have let you down wanting an epidural, they kept saying don't be silly it's fine. The room was very clinical, again I was checked over and I was 7cm dilated at 9.25pm, the Midwife put a drip into my left hand but it didn't work I had a huge lump on my hand as it missed the vein, so she put one in my right hand I kept begging for the epidural as soon as the needle went into my hand my waters burst and I mean burst it was the most strangest noise. I then panicked as I knew baby was on its way about 2min later I felt a huge urge to push, and was told to push as I was fully dilated with every push I made the most loudest noise felt very embarrassed but couldn't help it and with about 8 pushed or so and 20min later our baby was born at 9.40pm. The Midwife announced it was a girl and we all had tears in our eyes, funny really as 20mins before I just had a feeling the baby was a girl. My mother-in-law cut the cord and my little baby girl was wrapped in a towel and placed onto my chest. The Midwife gave me an injection for the placenta and that came out not long after which was a little uncomfortable. I was told I had a 1st degree tear and she suggested I have it stitched but I blankly refused and she said that was fine and is should heal OK. We named our Daughter Maddie Lana and then all the phone calls started. I was in such a daze, I was on that bed for about 30mins shaking like a leaf I was in shock and I remember thinking my bottom has gone to sleep and I really wanted to stand up. Maddie was then weighed and checked over and dressed, I was taken to a bathroom via wheelchair where another lady has prepared a bath for me. Hubby stayed with me and helped me wash etc, there was so much blood felt really guilty dripping everywhere but there wasn't much I could do about it. Although the bath was pink with Blood it was nice to be in there. About 15min later I got out got into my PJ's and was taken to the early discharge area where there are two beds. They like to keep you in for 6 hours but as it was so late I would have to stay in overnight which was fine, and Maddie arrived with my MIL. They then left about 20min later and it was just me and my beautiful daughter it felt so surreal and I couldn't believe my bump was gone and next to me was my baby. We were discharged the next day at 12noon, we went straight to my parents to introduce Maddie to her big sister she was a little shy at first but after 30min or so she just kept giggling and staring at her. She loves her to bits now and is so helpful I hope that they become close when they are older. Every pain you experience is so worth it although you don't think it at the time but I promise it is worth every second and the pain just stops when the baby arrives. I was sore for a couple of weeks with the tear but now its all forgotten and we are now a family of four. Still can't believe we had a girl as everyone was convinced we would have a boy. I do wish that I had stayed in the pool, the MW wouldn't check me again as she said it was only done a short while ago, my MW from our Clinic said if she has checked me then no doubt I would have stayed in the pool and I would have had a water birth, but I am just grateful that my daughter was born healthy.
Ruths Story
I had a sweep at 4pm on Wed 14th (40wks +4) and had irregular mild contractions for the rest of the evening. At 2am I was watching Desperate Housewives and eating Haagen Dazs from the tub.Got to sleep around 3am and was woken at 5.30am with stronger contractions every 5-7 mins apart. Dropped DD1 Alyssa at a friends at 8am and was in hospital by 9am. Was told I was 4cm dilated.Had a great midwife, she is a community midwife and hadn't done a birth since 2005. She was so nice and enthusiastic, it really made all the difference.I was on gas & air by about 10am. Brilliant stuff! Completely out of my head for half of it.Contractions got steadily stronger, delivered on all fours at 11.56am after a 2nd stage of just 16mins.Luke was really wriggly and came out with his arm across his chest and hand above his shoulder, due to this I have a 2nd degree tear. Alyssa met her little brother at the hospital when he was 5hrs old. It was very sweet, they swapped presents and amazingly she was too interested in him to open hers (don't see that lasting long!).We were discharged at 7pm. Decided on the name when he was 30mins old, his middle name is Allen after FIL (Alyssa's is Ann after my mum).Luke is very sleepy, it takes a lot to wake him for feeds and we rarely see his beautiful blue eyes. I think he looks a lot like Alyssa did. He weighed 8lbs 12oz, 2oz less than Alyssa. Think that's everything!