My VBAC birth story

by Sheridan Adams August 29, 2024

FIRST BIRTH of Lily Kate 🤍

Preparation for first birth:

Hypnobirth online class
Stretching
Walking 2-3 km everyday
Stretch and sweep
36 hour labour
Epidural
Emergency c section called due to fetal distress and failure to progress
6cm dilated
Postnatal anxiety

SECOND BIRTH

Preparation:

-Hypnobirth private 1:1 class with Amy jurd

-Pregnancy Pilates with

-Chiropractor weekly from 34 weeks

-Acupuncture weekly from 36 weeks

-Core floor restore antenatal class online

-Spinning babies exercises

-MGP continuity of care

-VBAC birth stories podcasts

-Australia birth stories podcasts

-Reading vbac birth stories on Facebook

Birth story of Beau William 🤍

Sunday morning of the 17th sept I woke up at 1:30am to strong surges coming regularly but not lasting longer than 30 seconds every 8 minutes - 10 minutes. When I finally decided to get up around 7:00am they fizzled out by 8:00am.

I hopped in the shower and had a long one. They were coming and going but not really showing a pattern anymore so I thought it was probably just a false alarm and it’s just really early

labour and that I should just get some rest.

I went down on the bed and did the miles circuit doing half an hour of the open knee and chest lay. When I was in this position I had my diffuser with lavender going and I had josh (husband) read out the fear release section of our hypnobirthing booklet. Which made me really relax in the position. Then I did half an hour each side for the exaggerated side lying position and then I hopped up and did the side lunge on a chair for 15 minutes each leg.

Then we had some lunch and put on Brooklyn nine-nine for something funny and distracting and I was getting annoyed at my surges coming and going without getting longer and stronger.

I got on all fours and started to just crawl around on the floor, not sure why but they made the surges feel stronger and it felt right.

I had a bit more of a rest after that and had a lay down on my left side on the couch.

At about 4:30 we got up and went for a walk around the block where I did curb walking for about 30 mins. I could feel the surges getting stronger and it was making me so excited!

I had the urge to go and see lily(my daughter) who was staying at my parents house because I felt like I need some of those love hormones and to see her one more time before I had another baby to care for.

As soon as we got there about 6:00pm the surges changed dramatically. They were coming every 5 minutes and lasting roughly a minute long.

We got back home about 7:30pm and they just continued to get closer together. I got josh to put my tens machine on and my friend from work came around and braided my hair!

I was feeling so confident and calm about what my body was doing I looked at josh and said “imagine if I do this whole thing without even taking a panadol😂”

I had my diffuser with lavender oil going, I had my labour music playlist going, I was bouncing away on my ball, squeezing the hell out of my birth comb loving my tens machine and groaning and moaning through each surge.

By 11:30pm the surges for every 3-4 minutes lasting a minute and I woke josh up to call the midwife to let her know how close they were. They said stay home if I’m comfortable there and come in whenever I’m ready.

My instinct was to be in my daughters bedroom and have her little night light and sit on my ball.

At about 12:30am I got the urge to run to the toilet, I completely emptied my bowels and as I was sitting on the toilet I started to feel really cold and my whole body started to shake. I got some clothes on and as soon as I did I started to feel really hot. My surges felt different everything felt different and I knew it was time to head in to the hospital. I told josh I was ready and he questioned me a couple of times because he knew I didn’t want to be in the hospital for long and as I was shaking in his arms and he counted my next few surges he knew they were coming every 2 minutes and they were different.

We got in the car and drove our 7 minute drive to the hospital and they wheeled me up to birth suite at about 1:30am

The midwife that we had called earlier was on her way and the other midwife that was on shift at the time asked me to get a CTG monitor to check baby and I said not right now thank you as it was part of my birth preference to only use a Doppler.

Before the midwife arrived I told josh who was busy getting my music and diffuser going and giving my preference list to the midwife, that I felt like I wanted to push and I needed to go to the toilet.

He came and sat with me on the toilet and for the first time I had some blood show and I asked him to call my mum to come in as I wanted her there for the birth.

They offered me to hop up on the bed on all fours and I stayed in that position for a while. During this time the midwife heather arrived and mum not long after.

Then it was go time.

I had my eyes closed majority of the time and was still using my tens machine and birth comb and completely flopping and resting between each surge. I had no idea what was going on behind me because everyone in the room spoke so softly and was calm the entire time. I questioned why I felt like I needed to push and the midwife simply said do what your body tells you to and breathe through it like you are.

I then hopped down off the bed onto the floor and leaned against the bed as the midwife offered me to try so they could get underneath me better to be able to catch the baby.

I started to feel the ring of fire burn with about five or six more surges here my little boys head came out and shoulders straight after. He slightly hit the floor as he came out and the midwife grabbed his head and josh grabbed the rest of his body. He was born with part of the sac still covering his head. They peeled it off and he gave a loud gargled scream. They passed him through my legs and I slowly tried to bring him up to my chest worried the cord might be short but the midwife said his cord is really long pull him right up. He was born at 3:20am 18/09/2023.

We all sat there for a minute and cried and I said happy birthday baby we did it. I stood up and got up onto the bed where we laid while he had delayed chord clamping and he latched onto my breast.

After I birthed my placenta naturally we had a run down of the inside and outside which was amazing to see.

We layed there in awe of what just happened and took in all the love of our little boy.

It was everything I could have ever dreamed of in a birth, completely unmedicated and intervention free!! I felt safe, calm and supported the entire time.

After some beautiful time the midwife assessed my perineum and I need to have stitches for second degree tear at the top and bottom of my perineum and for some grazing either side. The dr came in and offered me the gas and I didn’t want to take it as I just had the best experience of my life without any medication for the birth but after ten minutes I couldn’t handle the pain anymore. My mind was rattled from the gas I started seeing my daughter and I asked for her teddy to hold as I was crying. I asked if my baby was still alive at one point and was becoming quite hysterical.

It was so painful and a horrible experience but it really did need to happen.

By 7:00am I was up showering and headed up to maternity ward pushing my baby as I walked there💙

I can’t believe the experience I had and I can’t thank the team I had around me enough for respecting my body and supporting my choices.

And to my husband and mum for being everything I needed and more for the biggest challenge of my life.