"Water Birth - positive birthing classes"

I couldn’t be happier with my birth experience. It wasn’t at home as planned due to me developing cholestasis in the last little bit and I was therefore scheduled for induction a day after my due date if things hadn’t happened on its own, but after a stretch and sweep our little girl got into action!

The positive birthing classes were so incredibly helpful. I have never been a good meditative or mindfulness person but the education provided through the classes meant I understood my options and what the whole birthing experience would actually involve with all its variability’s as well as really helpful strategies both me and my husband to utilise. The course and the MGP program filled me with such confidence that my body was capable to do then task ahead and block out all the comments from people that were negative like “I am too small, the baby won’t fit”.

I first started feeling tightenings around 10:30pm and in more active labour by 2am. I was coping really well at home in the shower standing with my hands against the wall with water running on my back through surges either slapping the wall to a beat or singing songs 😂 then our hot water ran out and my surges were very regular and only a couple minutes apart so we headed to the hospital around 5am. My midwife believes I was 8cm on arrival.

We rented a birthing pool which was the best decision I ever made! The relief once I could get in was phenomenal. My midwife told me she believed I achieved a hypnostasis in there as she was struggling to tell when I was having contractions! At one point she felt I had slowed somewhat and offered a vaginal examination which found I was 9cm and she encouraged a short stay on the “dilation station” aka the toilet 😂. I found these moves (the bed/toilet) quite uncomfortable though it did ramp up the surges again, in these moments I found myself whistling and drumming my fingers on the toilet. I then returned the pool and the pushing phase began shortly after. Release and let go, and come on down baby, and one step closer were my mantras and thinking, who cares if I poo myself push into the bottom! My waters finally broke about 20mins before our baby girl joined us. I pulled her from the water myself and placed her on my chest and she demonstrated her beautiful vocal cords 🥰

It was an extraordinary experience and I can’t thank the positive birthing classes and MGP program enough!