I would like to start off by saying that the birth of my son Rakan was an experience I will never forget.
The positive birth completely healed the trauma from my first birth, the day my son Rayan was born.
This would not have been possible without the help of the doulas Ana Piera from The Dancing Birth and Nour Hafifi. Also, Spinning Babies digital videos helped a great deal. I felt I was a lot more prepared and equipped with knowledge which gave me power during the birth day. My contractions started at 4am in the morning on December 5th 2020. They were light and tolerable, inconsistent and quite random...they lasted until 7am. Once morning came, I opened my windows and greeted my son good morning ...suddenly, my contractions completely stopped. I waited for them to come back but no sign of them so I decided to do some morning dances with my son, then we did some yoga...then I dropped him to school. I came back a little discouraged and frustrated since I thought I was gonna meet my baby that day. I decided to embrace the day and spend my day as well as I could because I knew labor was around the corner.
Around 6 pm, I took a long walk around my compound listening to the birth affirmations MP3. After my shower, I went to the bathroom and my mucus plug had fallen out. I knew that was an early sign of labor. Around 9pm, light contractions started. I went up to my room to rest. My night was challenging with very little sleep due to irregular contractions but I tried to close my eyes and when I could I would move. I would rest doing the miles circuit positions or on the toilet seat. I would smell Clary Sage and Lavender Oil.
Finally, it was morning and by 7am, my contractions stopped once again. I was a little upset but again, I knew I was very close. I knew that I needed to help my body’s melatonin rise to aid the labor. By 10am, I turned off the lights and got ready for a nap. I went back into labor. I spent my day between rest and movement. Getting baby into optimal position by inversions, hip openers, birth ball and miles circuit. My husband assisted with massages, I took frequent hot showers and I would laugh or cry to release any stored emotion. I started to visualize the baby descending and I would focus very much on my breath. The breathing work was what really kept me sane and strong throughout.
By 7pm, I got a very strong contraction and then I heard a pop sound and felt the baby descend...suddenly, I felt though l peed myself. My water broke. Once that happened, my contractions went from 10 minutes apart to 3 minutes apart in a matter of seconds. I felt it was time to go to the hospital. I grabbed my things and started to walk to the car. My contractions were strong and were 2-3 minutes apart. The car ride was difficult but the wind blowing on my face helped, the bumps did not.
By the time I arrived at the hospital, I started losing my strong mindset. I felt everyone was taking too long to take me to the room and I wasn’t able to completely unleash my instinctual self, my thinking mind turned on. Once I got into the room, I started to ask for the epidural. I needed the relief. Once I was given the epidural, I entered the delivery room and I was already 10 cm dilated. The doctor entered and said “you are 10 cm and a great 10 cm, the baby is low and engaged”. He helped me explore different positions to birth my baby that would assist my pelvis in the process. I was planning on side lying but wasn’t comfortable then so I opted for a squat-like posture. Once I was ready, I started pushing (guided by Dr) and in 10 minutes the baby was crowning. The doctor helped me feel the baby’s head then he helped me pull my baby out! The room had dim lighting. There was only my husband, the doctor, the nurse and myself in the room. Once the baby was out, he gave me 10 minutes of delayed cord clamping and two hours of undisturbed skin to skin with breastfeeding. After that the pediatrician came in to check the baby.
I must say that the breathing techniques Ana Piera taught me during the hypnobirthing course were so helpful during the pushing stage. I only had a small first degree tear (whereas I had a fourth degree with my first son).
My doctor respected my birth plan and followed it step by step as a manual. This really empowered me and allowed me to feel as though I was in control of the birth.
This was truly a positive birth experience, the room was calm and all decisions taken were by me and my husband. It was a magical moment when I held my baby and I pray yours will be too.
PS. I opted for the epidural but it didn’t change the fact that I did everything to prepare and get baby in optimal position before taking it. This helped me a great deal. Also the fact that I took it late helped. It was my coping technique and my empowered choice.