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My yellow bump was breech from at least 25 weeks. It wasn't until I was around 36 weeks that I started to get concerned about what it would mean if the baby didn't turn. I knew my local hospital wasn't in favour of doing vaginal breech births but with my doula and student midwife supporting me I expected to be allowed to attempt one.
At my 36 week appointment an ECV was offered, but I would have had to drive to a hospital three hours away, alone with my 16 month old, in order to have it done and in combination with having tried numerous gentle methods to turn bub we decided to skip the procedure and accept that there was a reason for being breech.
At 37 weeks my hospital scheduled me a cesarean for 39+3 - something I was very much against simply for bub being breech. I learned that my hospital wasn't just against breech births, but only two of the consultants had any experience in delivering breech babies vaginally so just standing my ground and going in demanding a vaginal delivery would be risky. So it was time to explore other options.
I sought out an independent midwife who is a known birth advocate in my town. She wasn't able to take me on as a client so late in my pregnancy but she promised to help advocate for me. She did speak to one of the two breech experienced consultants who agreed to a vaginal delivery should I go into labour the week he was on - when i was 38-39 weeks. Unfortunately he was unable to come in if it wasn't his week on call but it was better than nothing. If I didn't go into labour before 39 weeks then my only options were the scheduled cesarean or to transfer to a hospital three hours away that has a breech clinic. We chose option b.
At 39+5 we drove to John Hunter hospital 3 hours away (2 hours and 48 minutes specifically) to meet the head of the breech centre. It was fantastic to be supported in my birth preferences for once and even though changing hospitals meant not having my doula or student midwife present I knew it was the right decision. We decided to attempt an ECV before leaving though, just in case there was a chance for a normal delivery at my hospital. Bub didn't budge though.
Wednesday June 5 at 40+3 my mom, daughter, husband and I headed back to John Hunter for an appointment with all of our bags packed just in case labour started while down there. It didn't, so when my appointment ended we turned around and drove back home. I had a nice long bubble bath and went to bed at 9:30, quite early for me.
I woke up at 11:40 Wednesday night with my first contraction. 20 minutes later I'd had 4 or 5 and while they weren't very strong yet, with a three hour drive ahead of us decided we should get on the road pretty quickly. Dh hadn't been to bed yet and I nearly told him to go lie down for an hour or two, but then I started timing my contractions and had two less than 4 minutes apart so decided it wasn't a good idea. DH called mom at 12:20 and she arrived 20 minutes later and I was still pottering around in my robe, timing contractions which I had to stop and sway through. They were between 5 and 8 minutes apart, lasting 40-90 seconds. We got on the road by 1:15.
Having to sit through contractions for three hours wasn't the funnest experience, but I managed to breathe through them and timing them helped keep me focused. They had slowed to between 7-10 minutes apart but were generally all lasting at least a minute. My daughter woke up at 2am and wouldn't go back to sleep in the car.
We arrived at hospital at 4. Admission process took 20 minutes and I fully expected to be checked and sent away in early labour and we'd go find a hotel for the rest of the night. After half an hour on the trace I only had 4 contractions, which barely showed up on the ctg (turns out she had the trace on baby's head which kept pushing it too high to pick up the contractions). Was told it was a good thing I was just in early labour as the consultant on was an automatic c section Dr and he wasn't getting replaced til 8 but since I was in early labour they didn't have to tell him I was there. And the Dr who I had met the previous week who would normally come in was away!
I was checked by the registrar at 5:20 - 4cm dilated! I wasn't going anywhere. But we were still expecting hours yet as the contractions weren't too intense so we were advised to get some sleep. Mom brought Sara up and Dh snuggled her to sleep on the fold out couch in my room as she'd been awake since 2am. That was around 6am I believe, though the timing was already starting to get fuzzy.
I was laying on the bed wrapped up in a blanket trying to rest in between contractions, during which I'd get up on my hands and knees and breathe and rock through them. But it wasn't long after my mom left and Sara went to sleep that things started heating up quickly and I was soon having to vocalise through the contractions that were suddenly fast and strong. I started feeling like a wuss for feeling like I needed pain relief already when I went drug free with my daughter no problem (though I had an amazing midwife encouraging me the whole time) but after the third contraction I decided to call the midwife and at least ask for gas to start with. It was around 6:20, and in hindsight I was already in transition.
She asked me if I was feeling any pressure while she got the gas ready and I said not really, but then I had a fourth powerful contraction and definitely was feeling pressure. I tried sucking on the gas but didn't even get any and decided I needed to vocalise instead. When the contraction ended I said yes there was definitely pressure and asked what would happen if I got pushy before 8am when the next consultant came on. Lisa assured me that the senior registrar was fine with delivering and she herself had 22 years experience and that the consultant simply wouldn't arrive in time to have any say.
Oh when the midwife first arrived she hooked me back up to the ctg and I took my skirt off cause having it below my belly was bothering me. She also administered antibiotics through my cannula which I'd had put in at admission due to being GBS positive at 27 weeks.
Shortly the registrar arrived and said she wanted me to lay down (i was still on all fours, on the bed but leaning over the raised end) so she could examine me and I agree but before I could comply I basically announced too late I'm pushing and my waters went with a gush. At some point I know my mom was called back to get Sara (who thankfully didn't wake up until after my mom was waiting outside. She apparently looked quite worried when she woke up to a room full of people and her mama's back end before the second midwife handed her outside to mom.
When all the other people showed up I have no idea lol, but there were two registrars and two midwives and a nicu team (due to her being breech in case of complications) who all arrived in time for the birth.
After my waters went her bum was out I think on the next contraction. I felt the ring of fire which I didn't with Saranna's birth. I felt a slippery body slide down my legs which was a bizarre feeling, and then one leg dropped down and it felt like someone had to help free her other leg which dh confirmed was the case. Then dh came up and whispered that we had another girl
I pushed out her head with the next contraction and I heard Dh saying we wanted delayed cord clamping and something about not being able to cause she was stunned and needed a bit of help. He did get to cut the cord though.
She was born at 6:50, so an hour and a half labour!
One of the midwives helped me roll over and clean up the mess a little so I wasn't laying in it and she apologized that she'd only gotten halfway through reading my birth plan and was only up to physiological third stage. I hadn't expected anyone would have had time to read any of it lol. I could see dh standing with the nicu team at the resus cart and there was my baby girl with her straight legs pointing at the ceiling. I was sad not to get skin to skin right away but knew it was for the best. After a couple minutes she was brought to me for 10-15 minutes before they took her back, though at least she never left the from. She just had some fluid they needed to clear out of her lungs I think, and they gave her some oxygen. I birthed the placenta while holding her.
When I got her back the second time she latched herself and has been feeding like a champ ever since.
Mom and Sara came in and we were left alone for ages. I had one small perineum tear that they decided to check in an hour if it needed stitching and decided to leave it alone. I did lose a lot of clots when they massaged my tummy though (probably due to ragged membranes from the Dr pulling on the cord despite my request for physiological third stage) and they gave me the syntocinon injection which I was fine with. Mw estimated blood loss at 500ml on top of 200ml at birth so they put me on a drip for 4 hours.
After a few hours she was weighed and measured - 3.15kg and 54cm long with a 34 cm head.
We spent the entire day in the birth suite as there wasn't a bed on the ward and after asking all day and a huge comedy of errors we finally got discharged to go home (against medical advice) at 8:45 and got home after midnight! But it was worth it to sleep in my own bed between both my girls.
Our treatment post birth was less than ideal but the actual birth was an amazing, empowering experience and I'm so glad I fought for the right to a vaginal birth.
At my 36 week appointment an ECV was offered, but I would have had to drive to a hospital three hours away, alone with my 16 month old, in order to have it done and in combination with having tried numerous gentle methods to turn bub we decided to skip the procedure and accept that there was a reason for being breech.
At 37 weeks my hospital scheduled me a cesarean for 39+3 - something I was very much against simply for bub being breech. I learned that my hospital wasn't just against breech births, but only two of the consultants had any experience in delivering breech babies vaginally so just standing my ground and going in demanding a vaginal delivery would be risky. So it was time to explore other options.
I sought out an independent midwife who is a known birth advocate in my town. She wasn't able to take me on as a client so late in my pregnancy but she promised to help advocate for me. She did speak to one of the two breech experienced consultants who agreed to a vaginal delivery should I go into labour the week he was on - when i was 38-39 weeks. Unfortunately he was unable to come in if it wasn't his week on call but it was better than nothing. If I didn't go into labour before 39 weeks then my only options were the scheduled cesarean or to transfer to a hospital three hours away that has a breech clinic. We chose option b.
At 39+5 we drove to John Hunter hospital 3 hours away (2 hours and 48 minutes specifically) to meet the head of the breech centre. It was fantastic to be supported in my birth preferences for once and even though changing hospitals meant not having my doula or student midwife present I knew it was the right decision. We decided to attempt an ECV before leaving though, just in case there was a chance for a normal delivery at my hospital. Bub didn't budge though.
Wednesday June 5 at 40+3 my mom, daughter, husband and I headed back to John Hunter for an appointment with all of our bags packed just in case labour started while down there. It didn't, so when my appointment ended we turned around and drove back home. I had a nice long bubble bath and went to bed at 9:30, quite early for me.
I woke up at 11:40 Wednesday night with my first contraction. 20 minutes later I'd had 4 or 5 and while they weren't very strong yet, with a three hour drive ahead of us decided we should get on the road pretty quickly. Dh hadn't been to bed yet and I nearly told him to go lie down for an hour or two, but then I started timing my contractions and had two less than 4 minutes apart so decided it wasn't a good idea. DH called mom at 12:20 and she arrived 20 minutes later and I was still pottering around in my robe, timing contractions which I had to stop and sway through. They were between 5 and 8 minutes apart, lasting 40-90 seconds. We got on the road by 1:15.
Having to sit through contractions for three hours wasn't the funnest experience, but I managed to breathe through them and timing them helped keep me focused. They had slowed to between 7-10 minutes apart but were generally all lasting at least a minute. My daughter woke up at 2am and wouldn't go back to sleep in the car.
We arrived at hospital at 4. Admission process took 20 minutes and I fully expected to be checked and sent away in early labour and we'd go find a hotel for the rest of the night. After half an hour on the trace I only had 4 contractions, which barely showed up on the ctg (turns out she had the trace on baby's head which kept pushing it too high to pick up the contractions). Was told it was a good thing I was just in early labour as the consultant on was an automatic c section Dr and he wasn't getting replaced til 8 but since I was in early labour they didn't have to tell him I was there. And the Dr who I had met the previous week who would normally come in was away!
I was checked by the registrar at 5:20 - 4cm dilated! I wasn't going anywhere. But we were still expecting hours yet as the contractions weren't too intense so we were advised to get some sleep. Mom brought Sara up and Dh snuggled her to sleep on the fold out couch in my room as she'd been awake since 2am. That was around 6am I believe, though the timing was already starting to get fuzzy.
I was laying on the bed wrapped up in a blanket trying to rest in between contractions, during which I'd get up on my hands and knees and breathe and rock through them. But it wasn't long after my mom left and Sara went to sleep that things started heating up quickly and I was soon having to vocalise through the contractions that were suddenly fast and strong. I started feeling like a wuss for feeling like I needed pain relief already when I went drug free with my daughter no problem (though I had an amazing midwife encouraging me the whole time) but after the third contraction I decided to call the midwife and at least ask for gas to start with. It was around 6:20, and in hindsight I was already in transition.
She asked me if I was feeling any pressure while she got the gas ready and I said not really, but then I had a fourth powerful contraction and definitely was feeling pressure. I tried sucking on the gas but didn't even get any and decided I needed to vocalise instead. When the contraction ended I said yes there was definitely pressure and asked what would happen if I got pushy before 8am when the next consultant came on. Lisa assured me that the senior registrar was fine with delivering and she herself had 22 years experience and that the consultant simply wouldn't arrive in time to have any say.
Oh when the midwife first arrived she hooked me back up to the ctg and I took my skirt off cause having it below my belly was bothering me. She also administered antibiotics through my cannula which I'd had put in at admission due to being GBS positive at 27 weeks.
Shortly the registrar arrived and said she wanted me to lay down (i was still on all fours, on the bed but leaning over the raised end) so she could examine me and I agree but before I could comply I basically announced too late I'm pushing and my waters went with a gush. At some point I know my mom was called back to get Sara (who thankfully didn't wake up until after my mom was waiting outside. She apparently looked quite worried when she woke up to a room full of people and her mama's back end before the second midwife handed her outside to mom.
When all the other people showed up I have no idea lol, but there were two registrars and two midwives and a nicu team (due to her being breech in case of complications) who all arrived in time for the birth.
After my waters went her bum was out I think on the next contraction. I felt the ring of fire which I didn't with Saranna's birth. I felt a slippery body slide down my legs which was a bizarre feeling, and then one leg dropped down and it felt like someone had to help free her other leg which dh confirmed was the case. Then dh came up and whispered that we had another girl
I pushed out her head with the next contraction and I heard Dh saying we wanted delayed cord clamping and something about not being able to cause she was stunned and needed a bit of help. He did get to cut the cord though.She was born at 6:50, so an hour and a half labour!
One of the midwives helped me roll over and clean up the mess a little so I wasn't laying in it and she apologized that she'd only gotten halfway through reading my birth plan and was only up to physiological third stage. I hadn't expected anyone would have had time to read any of it lol. I could see dh standing with the nicu team at the resus cart and there was my baby girl with her straight legs pointing at the ceiling. I was sad not to get skin to skin right away but knew it was for the best. After a couple minutes she was brought to me for 10-15 minutes before they took her back, though at least she never left the from. She just had some fluid they needed to clear out of her lungs I think, and they gave her some oxygen. I birthed the placenta while holding her.
When I got her back the second time she latched herself and has been feeding like a champ ever since.
Mom and Sara came in and we were left alone for ages. I had one small perineum tear that they decided to check in an hour if it needed stitching and decided to leave it alone. I did lose a lot of clots when they massaged my tummy though (probably due to ragged membranes from the Dr pulling on the cord despite my request for physiological third stage) and they gave me the syntocinon injection which I was fine with. Mw estimated blood loss at 500ml on top of 200ml at birth so they put me on a drip for 4 hours.
After a few hours she was weighed and measured - 3.15kg and 54cm long with a 34 cm head.
We spent the entire day in the birth suite as there wasn't a bed on the ward and after asking all day and a huge comedy of errors we finally got discharged to go home (against medical advice) at 8:45 and got home after midnight! But it was worth it to sleep in my own bed between both my girls.
Our treatment post birth was less than ideal but the actual birth was an amazing, empowering experience and I'm so glad I fought for the right to a vaginal birth.
what a amazing story
