Mataio

My birth story began at what seemed like five years overdue but was really just five days past my estimated due date. I had a slow start to labor; at 4:30 am, I had a show and the first true few contractions, spaced out by about ten minutes apart. I got up at 6 am, texted my midwife and birth photographer to let them know today was finally likely the day! I then started to get the older two children off to school, not letting them know as I wasn't sure if I would progress or how fast or slow it would be.

My husband Chris and I spent the day preparing the house with last-minute cleaning, and I had a nap around 2 pm. My contractions at this stage dropped down to about 17 minutes or so apart, so once I had a sleep, we decided to go for a walk to try and get things moving along. Chris got the children off the school bus at 3:30 pm, and they couldn't contain their excitement that it was finally happening. They went out to get some dinner and leave me in quiet.

I closed up all the curtains and lit candles and fairy lights around the house and zoned down on my birth ball with my headphones in and some heat packs on my belly and back. I was definitely now in active labor. The slow start and build-up was actually so lovely for me, as my second-born child seven years earlier had been a planned home birth, but I progressed very quickly and ended up free birthing him. It was fine but not what I had planned, and I did not want this to happen a second time. I needed this slow progression to help me feel calm and peaceful.

By the time the children and Chris arrived back home around 5:30 pm, we decided to start getting the birth pool up and filled. It was not a moment too soon; as soon as it was filled, I was desperate to get in. I then texted my midwife and birth photographer to make their way over, and my phone then was lost to me as I went deep into labor land around 6:30 pm. I heard my midwives arrive around 7:15 pm and heard a camera shutter click, letting me know my birth photographer had arrived.

I used my birth combs and the pool's warmth to take me through the next several hours. I was hydrating well, and every time I had to get up to use the toilet, I couldn't wait to get back into the pool, as every contraction outside of the pool was so very much harder. I had some crying, which I should have known was transition but didn't recognize it at this stage. I had requested no cervical checks, but I felt for the baby myself and knew it wasn't long to meet him or her.

Chris got into the pool, and I involuntarily was pushing now. Baby's head was born, and the next surges saw me pushing quite quickly after this, at which stage I expected to birth baby's body quickly, as this is how my last two births had happened. I was pushing and pushing, and nothing was happening. I was getting frustrated and confused. I tried to do a runner's lunge, but this didn't help. Suddenly I said, "Help me!" involuntarily. I don't even remember thinking to say this; it just came out from my mouth.

My midwife asked me to stand out of the water, and my calm and beautiful home birth was immediately loud and stressful. My midwife was performing an internal maneuver as the baby had a shoulder dystocia. This was very painful, and I was nearly screaming, gripping onto Chris' thighs with my forehead pressed very hard against his forehead. I don't know how I would have gotten through this part without his strength there to lean on and push against at this stage.

Suddenly, the baby slipped out, born finally, and crying immediately. A welcome sign, of course, especially in this situation. My midwife handed the baby through my legs to my chest, and I sat in the water in relief. The baby breastfed in the pool, and then we got out to cut the cord once it had finished transferring baby's blood and gone white and limp. I moved to the toilet to deliver the placenta while Chris and the older two children had a cuddle.

I had the calm and slow home birth I envisioned, but I also had a complication which I had always believed only occurred in managed hospital births. It was a big learning curve for me in this regard, and if we have any more babies, I will definitely be needing to debrief this before birth. However, would I home birth again? Of course! We waited to birth to find out the gender, and we had a healthy boy at 8.6 pounds.