The Birth of Izaak
25th June 2006
8lb 11oz I 3940g
I want to preface the sharing of my first birth (which also applies to my second) journey by explaining that I thought I had read, and absorbed so much knowledge, information that would carry through my labour and birth just as I imagined. However, there is so much magic, and medicine and power that comes with age, being surrounded by likeminded women, new research and trusting your own instincts. In retrospect, I had barely scratched the surface and while my first births were amazing, just as I wanted, with no trauma, they were a learning experience and I went into my third and fourth births with eight years behind me, different life experiences my eyes wide open, a completely different perspective and a knowing of another kind.
I was 18 when I fell pregnant with my first son, and I knew before I even fell pregnant that I wanted an undisturbed, natural birth. I booked into the Birth Centre at our local hospital and looked forward to the relaxed approach to labour and birth that the midwives in the team promoted. I further explored water birth and the benefits and had decided that I’d love to utilise the big bath in the room and birth in the water.
I was due on Sunday the 18th of June and not knowing what I do now, I was terrified of going overdue and needing to be induced so in the week leading up to my due date I started using Clary Sage oil on my belly, bathing in it, acupressure, and brisk walking. As expected for a first-time mama, I got closer and closer to my due date with nothing more than some Braxton hicks. My midwife asked to do an internal examination at my appointment on the Friday before I was due, and not knowing any better I consented, and I was told my cervix was beginning to soften and shorten. Which I now know is completely irrelevant.
The following Wednesday, three days after my due date I began getting contractions in the evening that were approximately 10 minutes apart, but not really becoming any stronger or closer together. I thought at the time it was early labour so I called the birth centre and went to bed to try to get some rest. The same thing happened again on Thursday evening, and I woke with them still there in the early hours but went back to sleep and they had stopped again. I had an appointment with my midwife that afternoon and had another internal examination and she also did a stretch and sweep. We discussed the need to be induced early the following week if I didn’t go in to labour over the weekend and she booked me in to have my waters broken on Monday. I had similar mild contractions again on the Friday evening which I now recognise was prodromal labour.
On Saturday night I went to bed around 10:30pm feeling extremely restless. I dozed on and off until about 1:00am Sunday morning when I noticed some mild contractions again but given the 4 nights previous, I didn’t pay much notice and went back to sleep. I was woken at 3:30am with a strong contraction and felt a pop so quickly waddled to the toilet and sat down where a huge gush of waters released. My partner was still awake, so I let him know and then retreated to a different space in our house. I was getting some regular contractions almost immediately, so I decided to time them, and they were coming every 2-6 minutes and lasting anywhere between 20 seconds and a minute long. They were intensifying much quicker than I expected, being a first-time mum and being told that early labour can last hours or days, I felt a little naïve. I was coping okay with the contractions but knew then that I was in labour so called the birth centre and spoke with a midwife who told me that it was just early labour, try to rest, take some Panadol and stay at home as long as I could (which was always my plan, I didn’t want to be in hospital for hours). By 4:20am they were coming every 2 minutes and had increased in intensity again to the point I could no longer time them. I got in the shower at 4:30am and stayed there until the hot water ran out around 5am. I rang the midwife back and she asked if I wanted to come in, but I wasn’t sure, so she said to stay home a bit longer but call when I was ready. By 6am I wasn’t coping anymore, so we decided to head in.
The car ride was difficult, I was feeling nauseated and had an icecream container in the front with me, but my contractions spaced out a little and I was at least able to catch my breath which I had been struggling to do. We arrived to the birth centre at 6:45am and once in the room and seeing our midwife the contractions had picked right back up again and were coming thick and fast. My mum arrived not long after us also so she could support my partner and take photos. I was walking around, leaning over the sink in the bathroom as I was still feeling nauseous and terrified of having contractions AND throwing up so I was holding it down. Our midwife asked me at about 7:15am if she could do an internal examination and I consented, I was 3-4cm dilated. She asked if I wanted to get in the bath and I did, I couldn’t catch my breath and the contractions were on top of each other. It took about 15 minutes for the bath to fill, and I got in around 7:30am.
Once my body hit the water it was instant relief, the contractions were still intense and close together, but the water helped to take the edge off them. I was on my knees, leaning over the edge of the bath with my chin resting on a face cloth on the side. I had been in the bath around 30 minutes when the water was no longer having the same effect, so I asked for some gas and air. It worked amazingly, I was able to relax into the contractions better, breathe through them better as I had to really control my breathing while using it and it really too away the intensity.
At around 9:30am my body began involuntarily pushing. It was the most incredible feeling ever, I felt absolutely zero pain, it was surprisingly pleasurable and felt really good. I didn’t feel a ring of fire as I had been expecting, I just felt on top of the world knowing I was going to meet my baby soon. I birthed my baby at 9:47am, through the water and he was placed straight on my chest. It was pure magic. I remember looking across the room from where I was sitting in the water with him and looking out at the overcast day and asking what the time was. When they told me I was mind blown, I felt like I had been in another planet completely and was sure it was well into the afternoon.
We stayed in the water for around 15 minutes and then decided to get into bed for snuggles and to birth my placenta. I was adamant about having a physiological third stage and our placenta came away easily not long after. We had some beautiful skin to skin before I got up to shower and we moved to the postnatal ward to stay for a couple of days.