"My labour"

A few months ago, I had been getting really mild stomach cramps for two days. I woke up in the morning to find that I was bleeding, I made my way over to the hospital where the doctor gave me a vaginal examination and said that I was 4cm dilated and they asked if I wanted to stay in hospital and they would break my waters. I told them that if I didn't need to, I'd rather wait and see if I would go into labour naturally. The doctor said that's fine but recommended that if I didn't go into labour overnight for me to come back in the morning and they would break my waters.

I made my way back home feeling as though I still wouldn't go into labour any time soon. That night I remember I had large chocolate thick shake from Maccas for dinner and after that, I bounced and rolled on my fit ball while I watched Netflix. Later in the night, I decided to roll over and get some sleep. It was at that moment I felt my first proper contraction.

I remember thinking in the days before this I wonder what a contraction will feel like, and when it happens will I know that it's a contraction. Well, I can tell you right now that the second it happened, I knew exactly what it was and what was happening. I said to my partner we need to go to the hospital right now. I called the maternity ward to let them know I was in labour and that I needed to come right away. I was on the phone for 7 minutes talking to the midwife and in that time, I had three contractions.

Once I got to the hospital panic started to set in, I couldn't get myself into any position to give me relief from the contractions and they were coming strong and fast. I asked my midwife if I could have an epidural, they said that the anaesthesiologist was at the hospital but was currently in the operating theatre, so I would have to wait until they were finished for them to come and see me.

I can't tell you how much time passed before they finally arrived. I completely blocked out everything, even the music from the playlist I had specifically created for my labour, I was totally in my own zone trying to breathe through my contractions as they came.

Once they finally arrived, I remember saying to my midwife that I would feel a slight burning sensation. I knew from the smile and the look that they gave me that my baby was on the way. After they gave me another vaginal examination, they told me that there would be no time for the epidural to work and I was about to have my baby. At this stage panic really set in for me. One of my worst fears was having my baby without any pain relief. My midwife assured me that I could give birth to my baby all on my own, that I was the boss in this situation and that I've got full control of what happens now. I took a moment to pull myself together and told myself to focus on my breathing I remember thinking about all the things I had learnt, release and let go and that my body was made for this and all I had to do was listen to what my body was telling me to do.

With each contraction I could feel the urge to push, I listened to my body and with each push, I thought I'm that much closer to meeting my baby. After 20 minutes of pushing, I brought my baby into the world. I can safely say that the fear of giving birth is all a mental challenge. I'm so thankful to Kasey for giving me the knowledge and tools that got me through my labour and also to my amazing midwife Immi at Kalgoorlie Hospital, she made my worst fear become one of the best experiences of my life. She made me feel so comfortable and gave me so much reassurance that I was able to give birth on my own.

My baby is now just over 6 weeks and every day I think and reflect on their birth. If I was given the chance I would do it all again and I wouldn't change a thing about it. It truly was the most amazing and best experience of my life.