In the week leading up to the birth I had been having pretty regular strong cramps through the night that would wake me up but then fizzle off in the morning which started to become really frustrating. The first time it happened I called my partner home from work! I also spent the whole week feeling like I was coming down with a cold that never actually materialised and in hindsight I think was just part of the prodromal labour build up.

Overnight I kept getting some irregular but stronger cramps but nothing substantial. My partner was off work and we spent the day on the sofa watching TV and chilling. By about 4pm I had put the TENS on and was using the comb, they were anywhere from every 15 minutes to every 3 minutes and some strong and some not so I let my midwife Hannah know and she came to do a wellbeing check at about 7pm. As things were still irregular she left and went home about 8:30pm. At 22:30 I had a bath things went from 0-100, suddenly the contractions changed from irregular 1:10 to 4:10. I couldn’t stay in the bath any longer as I needed to stand up every contraction. I spent the next two hours walking around the bedroom, trying to hold off calling Hannah as long as possible incase things fizzled off again!!

At 00:30 I knew I needed to get in the pool so I asked Mark to blow it up and rang Hannah to come as I felt like I just was not coping at all anymore. I couldn’t sit or stand or anything. Hannah arrived at 01:15. At 02:30 I got into pool and couldn’t find any position that was comfortable, the pressure was insane. At 03:00 I asked for gas & air and started that but I didn’t think it helped much other than to regulate my breathing.

At 03:55 I asked to be examined as I think I needed some confirmation I was doing it - I stayed in the pool for this and Hannah told me I was 7cm but that her head was extremely low at +1. I had lost control a bit and requested that Sally my second midwife attended for extra support, but also I think I knew baby was coming soon and wanted her there - knowing she was on the way helped me get through the next hour because I was really questioning if I could actually do it anymore. Hannah was repeating my affirmations to me and I was just trying to focus on getting through each one!
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I remember for the next hour the urge to push getting stronger until 04:55 when I couldn’t hold it back and just did a massive bear down and when I examined myself I could feel her head ready to come. I pushed for the next 17 minutes and at 05:12 baby Matilda was born and I untangled her and lifted her out of the water! 💦 Sally unfortunately missed the birth by a few minutes 🫣
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I requested the injection for my placenta as I just found the whole thing so intense I didn’t want to push anymore, and in the moment it just felt like the right thing to do. I got out the pool, placenta was born after a bit of drama with some stubborn membranes, and I had a 2nd degree tear which was sutured.

I still can’t believe I did it 😭❤️ I often wonder how I got so lucky, but then I remind myself I put the work in - I invested in the team I knew would give me the best chance to achieve my dream birth, that made me feel safe and supported and held at the most vulnerable time of my life.

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Every birth story is different. Yours deserves the same continuity, compassion and personalised care that made such a difference to mine.

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If you're considering independent midwifery, I'd love to hear about your hopes for this pregnancy. You can book a free discovery call, or read what other families have said about their experience of working with me.