Birth Stories


30/10/09
I was 38 weeks pregnant & with it being just after Christmas I was doing a bit of sale shopping.
I had just walked out of a shop when 'pop' my waters had broken all over the floor. I was so embarrassed i just walked to the nearest exit and asked my partner to drive the car round to me. (This was about 3.15pm) I didn't have any pains at all so I went home and rang the hospital and finished packing my hospital bag. The hospital advised me to come in within the next hour. As I travelled to the hospital which was only 5-10 mins away I started getting some very strong pains. Once I arrived at the hospital they put me on monitors & left me for about 2 hours. After the very long & painful 2 hours had passed they decided to do an internal examination. Good and Bad news... Good I was 5cm dilated.. bad news.. They felt her little foot just inside my cervix. I had to have an emergency cesarean section. She was an undiagnosed Breech. I was quite upset and disappointed but finally realised that what mattered was that this way she was going to be safe.
At 7:41pm My baby girl Evie- Anne was born weighing 6lb 6oz. After my c-section I stayed in hospital for 3 days.. While I was there I caught an Infection and was put on antibiotics but recovered fine.

This is Evie Today aged 2 1/2. 

08/10/11

For this birth I decided I would like to try for a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) I had to have alot of scans & checkups because I was a higher risk. At 36 weeks I decided It was time to buy Evie a 'Big girls bed' so went to a place called the baby barn. Whilst I was there I had quite a few sharp pains, every 10 mins or so. Anyway we chose & bought Evie's bed, loaded it in the car & headed home. I got a few more pains in the car but just kept them to myself. As we got home (at about 1pm) I told my Partner I was going for a lye down, After about 15mins the pains were coming every 5mins and were getting stronger each time. I eventually told him that I think this maybe it and he rang the hospital. They told me to come in, so I ran around & started (yes started!) packing my hospital bag. After getting my mother-in-law to watch Evie, we headed for the hospital.

Not long after I got there they did an internal examination & I was 3cm dilated. After about 2hours of my partner driving me mental going 'click click click' on his phone I finally decided it was time for the gas and air... Mmmm it was lovely I'd recommend it to anyone.A few more hours later (about 9pm) the pain was getting far too Intense and I opted for an epidural. By this time i was 6-7cm. The epidural was a complete waste of time.. It made my left leg dead and that's about it!

Finally at 12 midnight I was fully dilated and began pushing. After 2 pushes my contractions slowed right down to every 20mins. I got put on a drip and was told if my contractions didn't become regular within 30mins then I would have to have another Cesarean. Luckily it worked but she still had difficulty in coming out so they gave me a little help with the suction cap. My beautiful baby girl was born literally flying out (the midwife had to catch her)at 3:56am weighing 6lb 3oz.

It turns out she was back to back and looking up which was why she got stuck but because of this and the suction cap she had a large bruise on the front of her head where the cap had been. Unfortunately this made her very poorly, she developed severe jaundice & feeding problems. When she was born he also had a few breathing problems and had to be taken away for 5hrs which was heartbreaking.
After a while in hospital she was finally allowed home and is now a happy & healthy 10 month old.
It wasn't how I'd planned my Birth but again I'm just glad Lexie is safe now & I'm sure not many births go to plan!

This is Lexie being treated for jaundice 

Lexie at 5 days old with her feeding tube 

Lexie Now 

My Birth Story:

Even after nine months of pregnancy nothing could prepare me for labour. You hear stories from friends and family, watch television shows and even speak to healthcare professionals yet until it happens to you what lies ahead is unknown.

Like I'm sure every Mum to be experiences at some stage I was terrified. I was exactly a week over and as soon as I awoke I knew today was the day. Feeling aching in my lower back but no contractions I tried to carry on the day as usual. The contractions started and strangely they were as I had imagined them to feel. The pain wasn't too bad although I knew it would get stronger as the contractions got closer.

At this stage I was surprisingly calm more concerned that I hadn't hoovered the stairs and worried people would be coming to see the new arrival and have to see the house in its messy state. It must have been such a sight because there I am on my hands and knees hoovering the stairs between contractions whilst my partner types out a birth plan ( we have never been organised not even regarding something as important as this!!!)

My partner is timing every contraction making notes of exactly when they are. It's amazing how exact to the minute they can be. Its a fair way to the hospital and I didn't want to have to go all the way there to be turned away because we were too early so I hung on as long as I could with my home comforts.

The first stage of labour wasn't so bad for me. It wasn't comfortable by any stretch of the imagination but I had worked myself up for something much worse. I was emotional though. Everything was going to change once this baby arrived and I really didn't feel ready. My partner was brilliant and although he was just as nervous he kept me calm. We really grew close at this point and as the hours passed we talked and talked like when we first met.

My labour had progressed steadily whilst being in the hospital the contractions were really close together now and the pain was really setting in. I didn't want an epidural and the gas and air was no longer taking the edge off things. It was at this point when I just wanted it to be over. It had been hours of waiting and I just wanted to meet my baby now. My waters still hadn't broken and during the next examination the midwife was going to attempt to break them.

As my waters were broken the midwife calmly confirmed that there was meconium in the waters which can sometimes mean the baby is a little distressed. As the midwife listened to the heartbeat things had really changed. My baby's heartbeat had dropped and they were concerned he was distressed. I began to feel worried as things were really moving fast now. I had to be taken to another unit where a doctor would use forceps to pull the baby out. It was all happening so quickly it was rather scary. As the doctor prepared the equipment and explained what would happen. I didn't take anything in. All I thought was I would let them do whatever it takes to help my baby. I was in auto pilot from that moment.

The room was filled with nurses and midwives. Everyone doing their own specific job so calmly just like this was normal. The doctor told me my baby may not cry straight away and not to worry as this can often be quite normal. I couldn't see how that was normal but I had no choice but to trust them. The well being of my unborn baby was solely in the hands of these people. People I had just met but people trained specifically for this. They were fantastic keeping me calm, talking me through every step and reassuring me at every turn.

My baby was delivered safely and he was crying straight away. Although his birth is not how I imagined or how I would have liked I knew no matter what happened I was in the safest hands. The team of midwives, doctors and nurses were amazing and even though it was a horrific and terrifying moment knowing they were there to help means i haven't been put off having more children in the (not too) near future.

The doctor assured me this kind of birth isn't too common and it would be very unlikely to happen to me again although it's a scary experience holding my baby made it all worth while.

 By Sophie

My birth story

On Tuesday 9th August i was booked in t be induced, just had to ring at 8am to check for a bed as they start the process on a ward and then move you down to delivery ward at a later stage. At 8am there were no beds so i had to ring back at 11. By 12pm myself and my husband were on the ward waiting to get booked in etc all of this happened and then at around 2pm they started the induction. By 3pm i said to my husband that the pain i was in seemed very immense for so soon after. The midwife came to check and used a monitor as routine with being induced. After half an hour it seemed to be a bit panic stricken in my small room... i was in such pain as i was having seven contractions every 10minutes! They gave me a medicine to try and slow the labour down as even though i was having this amount of contractions my waters were still intact and my cervix was yet to dilate.
They soon hurried me down to delivery ward... sterile pack on the bed in the midwifes words "to be on the safe side incase i decided t deliver in the lift!"
By this time the drugs to slow labour hadn't worked so this was repeated but with no prevail still a minimum of 7 contractions every 10 minutes... it didn't actually feel like there was a gap between them at any point! This went on for a few hours with pain relief being just gas and air, by this point my mum was also with us as my husband can be more then a little queasy at times... and he was concerned with all that was happening i would be taken in for an emergency c-section. By this time i knew in myself that things weren't right, I'd been through labour before and knew that the pain and immensity of it wasn't right, i still was only 6cm dilated and waters still intact. I wasn't able to have an epidural as no one was available to give it! the only pain relief i was on was the gas and air, my blood pressure was dangerously high due to my pain levels and i was literally writhing around in pain plus to make matters worse our daughter was showing signs of distress. The midwife in my room was trying so hard to get me seen by higher staff but they were busy in theatre she told me to tell anyone that came into the room that i physically couldn't do it and needed an emergency c-section, so i did to a midwife that came into the room looking for equipment her response was to physically laugh in my face. In all the pain i was in and how blurred my labour actually feels when i look back at it now... i still remember that point clear as day it has disgusted me that much!
Around 10pm things had finally progressed so that i was dilated fully but i still had been given nothing other then the gas and air, at last i had the head doctor on call with me having just got out of theatre. She realised how much distress we were both in and also that baby was actually physically stuck by her shoulders but it was to late to get me into a theatre. It was at this point that the emergency button was pressed and the room was flooded with staff and everything went to melt down! I was laid completely flat on my back, the doctor had to cut me whilst a midwife was physically on top of me on the bed compressing my stomach to force baby out. With the force baby was finally out but i did completely tear both inside and out. Baby was born with the cord wrapped around her neck and had to be given cpr. It was he longest 4minutes of our lives waiting to hear baby cry but she did, she was fine. After the placenta was delivered i was taken into theatre and finally given proper pain relief (a little ironic to get the epidural AFTER the birth) to have my third degree tear repaired, i came out of theatre around 1am and saw baby shortly.
Baby was taken to special care baby unit as was unable to stabilise her blood glucose levels after two feeds with daddy, but this is quite common for newborns with diabetic mums and usually regulates quickly. Due to her delivery she was black and blue across her shoulders and had to be x-rayed the following day luckily nothing was damaged but the bruising did cause off the chart jaundice levels and she spent about 4days under uv lights to clear it up, at one point she physically looked orange and was under two lights continuously for 48hrs only being allowed out for feeds.

 by Donna

My Birth Stories

Everything was going well a uneventful pregnancy up until 34 weeks i developed gestational diabetes but only borderline so it was managed with diet alone but due to the diabetes i had to go for growth scans every week at 36 weeks they told me the baby was breech they could try to turn her or do a section went went with what we thought was the best option and had her turned at 36+4 week they gave me this fab drug that made me feel all happy and relaxed it took them all of 20 mins and she was the right way around but her heart rate was bit fast so we had to stay in hospital for 3 hrs listening to our baby's heart beat going crazy after 18 hrs with no food or drink a nurse came in and said the doctor was happy with her heart rate and we could go eat and go home come bk next week i was sore for the rest of the night and all Saturday felt much better on Sunday a lovely sunny day we went to my inlaws and as we were getting up to leave my waters broke it was like a tidal wave we came home phoned the hospital told me to make my way in was examined and told i wasn't even 1 cm but her head was 4 5ths down so we couldn't go home we went walking round the hospital and near by lake all night finally they found me a bed at 5 am my partner went home they said id get some help to get started off the next morning that came and went then it was the afternoon that came and went by evening i was starting to feel a bit poorly and also my baby had not moved for over a hr the dr came listened to her heart rate it was over 200 it should of been 140-160 they told me the best thing for us was a section they took us down did the section Erin Elizabeth Georgina was born at 1147pm on the 4th of June 07 i had group b strep in the placenta we got to the ward at 2am i noticed her chest was moving very fast buzzed the nurse the dr came took her away for x rays and other tests i phoned my partner her came in and she was kept in scbu for 2 days she was de-sating her oxygen levels every time she was fed she had a tube in her nose for feeding and all sorts of monitors attached to her she was diagnosed with a heart murmur and jaundice we stayed in hospital a week she was on a billy bed for another 2 days after she came out of scbu shes now a very healthy happy 4 yr old :-)


At first a nice easy pregnancy everything going fine till 22 weeks gestational diabetes again 1st we tried diet nope that didn't work so then at 26 weeks i started metformin they made me so ill i lost a half a ston in a week that still didn't work so they upped the dose 3 times till at 34 weeks still not working so now i have to inject insulin twice a day and take the dreaded metformin tablets so with having the diabetes again its every week for growth scans but this time shes head down everything is looking good shes not too big 8lb at most my smallest baby i get my induction day 14th of sept 2011 im all set i know its gona be painful but im ready for that im so confident that im going to do it in 24hrs i only pack stuff for 1 days stay and erin only takes 1 set of extra clothes to her grandparents i get the pessary at 1pm start getting contractions at 4pm they midwife tried to break my waters at 8 pm but has short fingers and just cant do it im 2cms a new midwife comes she sets us up in delivery suit and she breaks my waters at 9pm she gives me till 12am to see how i go i get to 5 cms she gives me a oxytocin drip things are going good the pains are starting to get bad she gives me the gas and air its fab at 1st at 3 am the pain is getting unbearable i want a epidural i say she gets the doctor to come give me 1 i can just about remember him i was so exhausted the midwife kept spraying me and asking can you feel it yes i can its not helping with the pain push the button to release more drugs she kept saying i did no i can still fl the pain next thing i remember is loads of drs and nurses in the room they were throwing all the stuff on my bed and taking me away i was rushed into theatre and i can just remember hearing the midwife say theres no time for that come on hurry up some dr pressing a mask over my face and me saying i cant breath i cant breath then it goes blank the rest i have to find out when i wake up the doctor is talking but i don't really know what hes on about i look to my partner and in a very pathetic squeak ask is the baby ok ? yes he said am i ok ? no he said no more babies did i need a hysterectomy ? no but nearly they managed to save your uterus but it ruptured ok i said you go home and freshen up the midwifes took me to scbu to see my baby she was in a incubator with monitors on her head and a drip through her belly button she looked so tiny they took me bk the the ward and i didn't really understand what happened till the drs who delivered my baby came to see me your uterus ruptured along your previous section scar ok i said not thinking much of it also it ruptured from the top down into your vagina you are lucky to be alive and your baby is a very lucky little girl she was in your tummy she was outside the uterus i was blown away i just thought i needed a section cos my scar had a small tear Cassidy Grace was born at 7 05am 15th September 2011 it took them 2 attempts to get her breathing she had to have her brain monitored she lost a lb in weight she didnt feed well at 1st she spent 1 day in scbu and the doctors could not belive how good she was after we came home we found out that they have 17 mins to get the baby out she is as bright as a button and a happy healthy 4 month old its took me a long time to get back on my feet the 1st 3 weeks were hell but worth it to have my beautiful little girl.

by Nicola

My Birth Story: Twins!
Right from conception i thought i wouldn't have an easy pregnancy or delivery, from 10 weeks my legs, ankles and feet were double in size, i didn't know i was pregnant at the time, 3 doctors appointments and 4 pregnancy tests later showed i was, and was showing signs of severe edema. I was signed off work for most of the pregnancy due to the fact i couldn't walk no more than 10 minutes without being in severe pain. At 12 weeks i had my 1st dating scan.... oh my i'm carrying twins!!! Around 5 months i started getting shooting pains in my pelvis, which turned out to be SPD (Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction ), after seeing a physio i wore a special belt, not as severe as some cases i have read. At 6 months i looked like i was 9 months and was diagnosed with anaemia and gestational diabetes, so was taking 4 iron tablets a day and 4 metformin tablets, oh yes and no cakes or anything else i craved :(. Thinking back to the night when my waters broke i was 35 weeks, my partner and i were not living together ( we've had a long distance relationship for 5 years) and my mum was working night shifts for the nhs, i remember telling all on facebook that i was going into labour and had to wake up my sisters boyfriend and ask him to take me to the hospital, it was such a rush i forget everything, my notes, bags, even the twins 1st clothes, i think i was freaking out more that i was going to be on my own. After checking in at L&D, there was no sign of babies and had to stay in overnight for monitoring, my sister arrived the following morning and said my mum would be up later. my OB said that if the babies didn't show within the next 24 hours they would induce me, but luckily within 3 hours i was 3cm dilated, i felt nothing no contractions, no pain, just the monitor flashed up saying i had one,Finally my mum and partner have arrived- i feel calm. i remember next that a nurse came to check on me and said i was 6cm dilated -again i felt nothing, and i was rushed to the delivery room. I must of had around 5 nurses and 1 doctor with me as they explained that i had to either have the epidural or c-section, i chose epidural, which was hard to do, such a big bump and them telling me to lean right over, thought i was going to fall off the bed at one point. Another problem occurred they told me that my body wasn't producing the correct hormones for the contractions, so i had to have a drip to help the labour along, i remember having 2 midwives by my head, one holding my hand, my partner holding the other, 1 midwife checking the drip and telling me when to push , 2 midwives holding my legs, 1 doctor, my mum watching, and 2 paediatric nurses with 2 incubators... a lot going on, i was pushing what seemed to be forever, the doctor told me that twin 1 needed forceps, i shouted "its fine, just no cutting", petrified of knives and being cut open,I feel a weird kind of pressure as twin 1 came out, crying and quickly whisked away, the next bit was much like a blur, i don't remember giving birth to twin 2, i remember seeing the doctor with some thread and asking her what she was doing, she replied "nothing Leanne its ok", i'm knackered, i look over to my mum who's holding twin 2 and my partner holding twin 1. I don't get to see or hold my twins for another 12 hours, as i've lost so much blood i had to have 2 blood transfusions, and was hardly eating, a nurse brought them into me, but i was so out of it on drugs i didn't want to hold them. Once i regained my energy i was back on ward with 1 cot and 2 babies, who looked so cute all snuggled together, well worth the wait.


by Leanne, Twin 1- Jacob Twin 2- Lily


My Birth story

Well I was 6 days overdue, and had not had one sign. This particular day I had my Goddaughter's 1st birthday party in the morning and my mother's 50th in the evening. So it was obviously going to start! On the way to my Goddaughter's party my OH almost crashed the car and as I got out of the car away came the mucus plug. Had very mild contractions the rest of the journey every 10 minutes, which carried on throughout the party! They stopped on the way home, but restarted as soon as I sat down to eat in the local Indian my mother was having her meal in. They were getting a bit more intense, and everyone except my mother (we didn't want to freak her out) knew I was going in to labour! Kept it from her all night, then someone had the bright idea to go to my Aunty's and let off some fireworks. Every time I felt one coming on I had to go out of the room. As everyone was leaving that's when we informed my mother, who instantly went in to panic mode (first Grandchild). 

Went home, didn't sleep all night and at 6am we went to the hospital (Me, OH and my cousin who was my birth partner). Only 2cm dilated! But they wouldn't send me home as I lived so far away from the hospital. So off to the early labour ward with lot's of walking (even ended up in the morgue at one point!). Nothing was progressing and at 4pm I was 3cm. Started to get a bit peeved at this point. OH went home to check on our dogs, rushed back in case something was happening, and I'm sat there drawing in a colouring book bouncing on "Paul the ball". 

9pm contractions kicked off big time. Still only 4cm. Enough to go to the delivery suite and try some gas&air. As I'd had high BP and some other minor things when I was pregnant I was strapped to the bed with a heart monitor on and not allowed to move. All night strapped in the bed, a failed attempt at breaking my waters. 5cm at 2am. Still 5cm at 6am! Doctor came around and offered me an epidural, as being strapped to the bed I couldn't manage the pain (was rocking them away when I could walk). Epidural put in and bye bye contractions. As the baby's heart rate kept slipping I had to have a patch put on her head. Cue about 6 midwives, legs here, there and everywhere and more on show since I myself came in to the world. About 9am my mother (who with my aunty and sister had camped out in the relatives room all night) came in to say they were off home for some kip, when the doctor announced it was time to push. Back to the relatives room! When they told me they could see the head, for a bit of comic relief I asked was the baby ginger to a stunned room of midwives :) 50 minutes after first pushing, at 10.04am, there she was. 7lb 7.5oz of screaming joy! Lily Alice. A bit to eager to get her out meant I was left with a tear, so a few stitches (more painful than the actual birth) and we were done! Would do it all again tomorrow.

My Birth Story

You hear soo many horror stories, some saying it was the worst experience of their lives, never again and after watching One Born Every Minute the closer I got to my due date the more scared I was.  Which was made even worse at the hospial visit, seeing a lady get rushed unto the room we were all in, having to get out the door whilst she is in the middle of a contraction. I won't repeat what she said, but her husband was saying sorry and that she was high on gas and air trying to get her more drugs.
So I was due to 19th August, but I always had a feeling that would not be the case. My birthday is on the 7th August and felt my baby would come around that date, and sure enough I woke up early hours of 5th August with my waters breaking. I was in no pain, but a few hours later the hospial asked me to come in a confirm that my waters had gone, and check baby was ok.
Everything was fine and told to go home, and to come back if the labour progressed or in the morning to be induced.
On the way out of hospial, there was quite a commotion whilst grabbing a bite to eat and drink on the way out. Another ladies waters broke as she got out the car and by the time they got her a wheel chair, she was being pushed through the front door with the baby in her arms.
The contractions got more and more intense, and got the usual stay at home, take paracetamol and lots of baths, it got to the point that I was going to go in if they liked it or not. 11pm we left for hospial, and they kept me in.
I was one of the last people they admitted, as it was one of the busiest weekends they had experienced. The other local hospial was the same, so the poor people who had to go else where.
I was put into a water birth room, which was new, however not plumbed in at that time. I am not moaning, I did want a water birth, but was a big room that I could walk around and when I got a contraction I grabbed hold of the bath and it did help.
It got to the point that I decided I needed some gas and air, so the midwife looked me over and I was nearly 8cm dilated.
When it was time to push its amazing how your body takes over, I did not like the gas and air anymore, but the tube was great to bite on. I didn't poo, but I did fart and apologize, my husband found it funny.
They did not have a bed spare bed, I had those long seats that are covered in plastic, thke kind of ones you see in children's play centers. I don't remember my husband and the midwife taking about local places, but I do remember my hubby saying squeeze my hand, so I stuck my nails in him. Haha I thought have some of that...soo mean.
At one point I stopped pushing and told the midwife I was hungry, got told I need to get the baby out and she would then get me tea and toast. Why I said it, god  only knows, I put it down to the gas and air.
So, I had to be cut there and then, the babie s head was trying to come out but just not happening. She cut on the next contraction so I wouldn't feel it and on the next push my baby laid on my tummy.
He had the cord around his neck, but the midwife had never seen such a long cord, like a skipping rope she said.
My baby boy look up at me, my heart melted and my brain thought thank fuck for that (sorry for swearing).
The afterbirth took a while to come out, even with the injection, that they told daddy to take his top off and they put our baby on his chest. Yep, up came my legs again, so I could push some more and then the afterbirth came out.
My body was in total shock and I was shaking from head to toe.
So I had a bath, got stitched up and had tea and toast. Daddy dressed our baby, which took him ages and we just sat in amazement looking at our wonderful baby boy.
I stayed over night and just couldn't stop looking at him, and with practice we both learnt the art of breastfeeding. I sat in bed that night with him under my pj top and thought I would do it all again right now.
The feeling of when I first saw him and the smell of him I will treasure forever, and I look at him now a few days off a year old and  just don't know where I would be with out him.  He has brought us soo much pleasure and I would do anything for him, plus I secretly can't wait to give him a little brother or sister.

My Birth Story

Due date; 31^st January 2O1O.

Monday 24^th January 2O1O, 39 weeks.

I woke up at 5am to go to the bathroom, I felt completely fine other than being tired. When I went, I noticed there was a small drop of blood in the toilet which naturally made me panic like a mad woman. I went downstairs in tears to my mom and told her what had happened and she told me to ring the NHS helpline.

I rang and they told me that it was most likely my ‘show’ and told me not to panic, reassured me everything was ok and told me what to look out for and keep an eye on.

I sat on the sofa and nodded off back to sleep for an hour or so until I woke up really uncomfortable with slight backache and belly ache. Was pretty obvious my little boy was ready to make an appearance, 7 days early!

At this point I rang my hospital, explained what was happening and asked if I needed to go in. they told me that from the sound of my voice and being able to talk easily it didn’t sound as if I was in loads of pain, they just told me to wait it out and that if they got worse to the point where I couldn’t cope, to ring again.

The pains were bareable, and throughout the day gradually got worse. I just did what the hospital said and waited it out, until it got to the point where I just couldn’t cope anymore and I needed to go to the hospital.

Between 7-8pm I rang the hospital again and they told me to go up as they could tell I was in a lot of pain and discomfort and that waiting it out wasn’t an option for me anymore.

Good job I got the motivation to pack my hospital bag, I’d only done it a few days before!

I got to the hospital and they took me to triage, gave me a bed and put me on the monitor. I was scared, but it still didn’t seem real, I think I was more in shock.

When the midwife came to see how I was doing and see if I was dilating, I wouldn’t let her check me and kept tensing up, I just wouldn’t relax! So she sent me for a nice relaxing bath and said it might help with the backache. I suffered from backache all through my pregnancy and now being in labour made it 10 times worse.

It was about 9.30pm now, I’d had my bath and was back on the monitors but still wouldn’t let the midwife see how dilated I was. I’m such a bloody nightmare I swear!

The midwife could see I was in a lot of pain and asked me if I wanted some pain relief. Obviously I said yes. So she said that she’d move me to my own room.

i hadn’t even got out the door to triage and I was on my hands and knees in the corridor with another contraction haha! Then it was a race to my room before I got another. She had to give me the room right at the other end of the massive long corridor. I remember her saying ‘walking will help’ and I felt like punching her in the face ha!

I got to my own room and she gave me gas and air which oh my word is amazing stuff! I FINALLY let the midwife see how dilated I was and I was 3cm. I remember thinking ‘all that and I’m only 3cm!? really!’

At the time me and my partner were in an on/off relationship and it was all just really crappy. I said to my mum that I was going to let him know I was in labour and that they were keeping me in. I didn’t want to tell him until I knew what was happening and knew I was going to be kept in as I knew obviously he would want to come to the hospital and I didn’t want him to have a wasted journey.

My partner came to the hospital around 10.30/11pm and although we didn’t see eye to eye, he was incredibly supportive. He sat next to me and was constantly rubbing my back and talking to me. Just what I needed.

The anaesthetist and doctor came in to see me as I was due to see him on the 25^th January in regards to my heart problem, which had been triggered by my pregnancy from 20 weeks, but that’s a whole other story! They put a cannula in my hand just in case my heart was to start racing during my labour, this way they could still give me the drug straight away if anything was to happen.

Time went by, and to be honest I don’t really remember much of the waiting until the midwife came back to check me again. All of a sudden I was 9cm!

I had the urge to push but the midwife told me that I should try to resist as I still had 1cm to go, but I just couldn’t. The midwife eventually told me to start pushing, but gently to start off with, and that baby boy was on his way! Scary stuff!

I continued to push for what seemed like a lifetime, and started to get really tired. My little boys heart rate kept dropping slightly and the midwife thought he was starting to become a little stressed due to me becoming so tired. My back was hurting so much that I just physically could not push any harder than what I was trying to do. The midwife told the doctor and me that I needed help to try and get my baby out and all of a sudden my room was full of midwives and doctors, plus the anaesthetist.

The doctor said she had to make a small cut to make it easier for baby to come out, and she did everything on contractions so I didn’t feel anything. They continued to get the ventouse to help me to deliver my baby boy.

The cord was round his neck but they loosed it straight away. They took him to the side of me to clean him up, give him some oxygen and to help him clear his lungs. His first cry was so relieving.

My little boy was here.

Harry Daniel

25^th January 2O1O.

6lb 3oz.

6 days early.

From when I had my ‘show’ it took 24 hours and 5 minutes for him to arrive.

I was in established labour for 5 hours and 57 minutes.

He is now 2 and a half years old and he is my absolute world.

Him and his daddy are everything I could ever ask for.

My Birth Story

After contractions starting 48hours before my lo was born and having 6 sweeps due to not dilating I was finally aloud to stay in hospital, my contractions became every 30seconds at 6am however the midwife advised that as I was not dilating the baby wouldnt be born until later that night! Therefore a spinal and an epidural would be appropriate, this was the scariest thing in my life! I hate needles and to have to curl up in a ball while they did the procedure was horrible! Once that was done I was placed on a hormone drip, and monitors to check the baby was ok but given 2 tablets to try and lower my blood pressure, a while later I was given another 2 tablets, once we got to the stage of pushing there was 2 doctors present also and they were instant on me having forceps but the midwife disagreed, I pushed for a total of 2 1/2 hours, and had to be cut internally as te baby's cord was rapped around his head, once born he wasn't breathing and was bright blue, they quickly took him away to try and get him breathing again, this was the longest 2mins of my life! Then he was given back to me and he certainly had a set of lungs on him the noise he was making! Whilst being stitched up, my blood pressure dropped  rather low an I was told that I may have pre eclampsia and that the previous tablets I was given was too much, I had 3 full blood counts and 2 normal bloods done within the space of 5 mins from different areas in my hands and arms, then was placed on an antibiotic drip and left to rest, my 8lb 3.5oz little boy was finally here! The journey was over, I just had to recover. Sent home 2days later to be sent back with my lo after he suffered jaundice, however all is fine now and he is a happy lil man.