Katie and Margot’s birth story
After a pretty dreamy pregnancy I started to feel really unwell at around 33 weeks and would often wake up in the middle of the night drenched with a fever. I was in and out of hospital for various blood tests and scans over the course of a couple of weeks and was eventually diagnosed with Obstetric cholestasis - a condition that affects your liver during pregnancy.
After an extremely high reading, I was called into hospital and was advised that an induction was necessary to keep my baby safe. Being induced was the last thing I ever wanted. Throughout my pregnancy I always had an image of my ‘perfect birth’ which was calm and serene so the prospect of being hooked up to a machine with limited movement was my worst nightmare.
Over a 12 hour period I was induced using two rounds of the Prostaglandin gel. I was initially really disheartened as there were no signs that the induction had been successful and a C section was looking ever more likely. However, after several hours, my waters broke and I remember being so excited that my baby was finally on her way.
It had been a long few days in hospital with conflicting advice from consultants so I felt such relief knowing my baby was finally coming and the decision of what was best was now out of my hands. My contractions were very mild to begin with and I managed to get a few hours sleep before I saw the consultant the following afternoon. After an examination I was put on the Syntocinon drip at which point the surges started to come thick and fast. This is where the breathing techniques from the course really came into their own and I was able to manage them with gas and air.
Rich and I got into a nice little routine during each surge, we knew how important it was for me to feel supported by my birth partner and Rich was amazing. It became a real team effort. He used massage techniques on my back which really helped and he was really encouraging. Particularly towards the end when I needed that final bit of encouragement to keep going and reassurance our little girl was about to make an appearance.
After being put on the drip, Margot arrived two hours fourteen minutes later (at 35+4 weeks) and all the tears and heartache leading up to it had vanished. I will never forget that moment. Despite being told it was likely that she would need to spend time in the neonatal unit, Margot arrived safe and healthy (with a good set of lungs on her!) and hasn’t left our side since.
There are so many scary stories and negative connotations around inductions, and in particular, the Syntocinon drip but I only have positive things to say. Despite being far from the ‘perfect birth’, I will always remember the day I gave birth to Margot as beautiful and peaceful and I wouldn’t change a second of our journey.
Im really happy that I did Katie’s course, even though my preferences had to change I had a toolkit of things to keep me positive and empowered. I would recommend it to anyone. When my pregnancy changed at 33 weeks I felt I had the knowledge to ask the questions that mattered most to me when I met with various consultants, I also knew about induction and c-section and this made a stressful situation more manageable.
