At 10 days overdue, I had already had the chat and been booked in for an induction on 12th August. This was not what I had planned. Due to Covid, home births had been stopped which meant I had to go into hospital to have my baby. Fortunately, Neath Port Talbot have a fantastic set up in their midwife led birth centre, so I felt comfortable with the thought of going there. The only thing I wanted to prevent was possible induction!
Day 9, at 9:40pm, my waters went, and for me it was a gush as I got off the sofa. So I sat on my ball, chilled out and just tried to relax as much as possible. Surges were bearable and I felt ok moving around the house and making sure everything was packed and ready to go. At around 11pm I went to bed to get some rest. I got up again around 1:30am and continued to move around. I rang my best friend to make her way over. I also rang the birth centre and they said to have something to eat and drink and make my way over.
At 3:30am I arrived at the birth centre and was happy to be examined. I was at 5cm (and the midwife said she could feel ALOT of hair 😂) so I continued to stay upright, move around and practiced my breathing and visualisation. I listened to Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombes podcast to get that oxytocin flowing! And I went to my own little place and completely zoned out. Around 5am I asked for gas and air but continued to move around, drink plenty, and use the toilet!
Then just after 8am I felt the need to bear down. I remember saying to my husband, tell them to take me to singleton, I want to have a c section, I can’t do this. And in the back of my mind, I thought ‘this must be transition’
Then after 25 minutes of pushing, at 8:52am I gave birth to a baby girl, Alys.
Before, during and after my labour at Neath Port Talbot,
I felt fully supported, my choices were recognised and I was able to do things at my own pace. I can’t praise the midwives and staff there enough, they were amazing! It’s so relaxed there and so close to being at home. We had loads of support from Christine the breastfeeding consultant (guru) and she provided some invaluable advice which had continued even to this day, 4 weeks on.And the stay after Alys was born was like a hotel. We left at 9pm the same day, but we had our own room with a double bed and the staff popped back now and then to see how we were getting on.
With Angharad’s advice and information provided in the hypnobirthing course and the support at Neath Port Talbot, it was honestly the best experience and everything I wanted despite the changes along the way.
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