Just saw this pop up on the home page and I thought I would come and give my thoughts.
I went to a Birth Centre (Jubilee BC in Hull) and they offer a more natural birth compared to a hospital medicalised one, but with the backup of some pain relief and medical know-how (not to mention someone to clean up afterwards! lol).....it's like having a home birth, but without the hassle!
I went through 42 hours of labour (from the very start of contractions) 8 hours of which was active labour from 6-7cm dilated and 30 minutes of pushing to get my not so little boy into the world 7 weeks ago. He was 9lb 6oz and solid so it was hard going!!
I made full use of the facilities and spent about 5 hours in the birth pool. I used the Gas and Air but this was the only painkiller I had and I didn't have this during the pushing phase as I didn't feel in control when using the gas. The midwife I had for my latent phase was also a trained aromatherapist and I would sa ladies, have a look into this! Clary Sage is excellent!! I had 2 baths at the centre, one before my waters went and one after, both with some form of aromatherapy and it really helped. I even managed to get about an hours sleep in total in them even with massive contractions every 2 minutes!!
I would say that the whole experience was well worth it. It's traumatic and tbh I still feel like I WOULD NOT want to do it again, but it hasn't put me off it entirely. I would probably take some form of painkiller next time, if only to give me a rest as I was exhaisted by the end!
I really hope you get the births you want ladies. I would advise you not to be martyrs, if you can't cope, say those magic words and someone will help, even if, like in my case, you want to smack them for suggesting you have a drink of lucozade instead of giving you DRUGS and lots of them! lol - try to keep perspective that every minute in labour is a minute less time until you get to meet that fabulous little person. Expect the worst, hope for the best and whatever you get will pale into insignificance when you are handed your baby. Get your birth partner as involved as you can..... my hubby caught our little man as he was born, cut the cord, coached me all the way through (at one point I had all 14 stone of me and baby hanging off his neck as I bore down!! But I couldn't have done any of it without his support! He made me laugh when I felt like dying and helped me to remember why I was there!!
Last word of warning..... my MW told me this when I was in labour and it's not in any of the books. You will need to get to a point where you can't go on, when your pain threshold is way behind you and you are in agony. You're exhausted and if you're honest, you would rather die than carry on....then your body will take over, you will work purely on instinct. This point is your friend as this is when your baby WILL be born!! You will find a reserve you never thought you had, and you will feel yourself work harder than you have ever worked before. Don't fight it, use this adrenaline and you will meet your baby sooner! It feels like it will never arrive but wehn it does, you become almost like an animal, and you wont be able to stop it. For some women this stage lasts about 2 minutes, others. like me, hours!! But it means you will meet your baby and it's the strangest thing I have ever experienced! It's scary, but so so worth it!!
Sorry if this has scared any of you, but had I been told that, I would have known that I would reach that point, rather than fighting to stay in control. Let your body do what it is designed to do and you will be so proud of yourself for doing it all on your own. (but please use the Gas and Air for that pesky active stage around 8-10cm....that was the worst bit for me!!)
Sorry, that turned into an essay lol!
x
)
Fingers crossed for you hun xx
