Mom: Amélie T. Like every night for the past month, I was still having intermittent contractions. But this night was the one! When I woke up because of a contraction, I felt a big splash. It wasn’t pee, but the breaking of my water. Since it was 4 a.m., I didn’t call my midwife immediately. I tried to go back to bed and listen to my hypno-birthing guided meditation while I waited for the contractions to get closer. I was too excited to go back to sleep, but I tried to rest, knowing that I would need my strength a little later.
After a second splash, I realized it was meconium. Worried, I decided to call my midwife, who asked me to meet her at 6:00 a.m. at the birth center. By then, my contractions were 20 minutes apart and still mild. I decided to take a shower and, suddenly, my contractions were closer to 5 minutes apart and quickly became very intense. I concentrated on my breathing techniques. With Dad’s help, I got dressed and we headed to the birth center.
When we arrived, my midwife, surprised by the rapid change, ran me a bath to make me comfortable. My sister also joined us, and her presence was invaluable. As the contractions intensified, I breathed, relaxed and tried to let go. I concentrated on the present moment; it was really mental work at this stage.
It was now 7:30 a.m. and I asked my midwife to check my cervix: 5 cm… The number I didn’t want to hear. A difficult memory of my first birth came back to me, where I stayed at 5 cm for several hours of intense contractions, ending with a transfer and an intervention with forceps. I quickly pull myself together with the help of my team and reminded myself that this time can be different. We decided that it would be a good idea to get out of the bath so that we could change position and get on with labour.
I decided to settle into a squat position on the birth stool, and an intense contraction occurred just a few minutes out of the bath. We then realized that I had gone from 5 cm to full dilation, and I felt the pressure of the head. It was incredible how quickly the transition happened! I settled on the bed to start pushing. After a short pause, the contractions started again with a strong urge to push.
We got scared when baby’s shoulder got stuck in my pelvis. Another midwife was called to stand by. My midwife calmly asked me to lie on my back and to push with all of my strength while she got the shoulder unstuck. Yippee, baby’s came out, but no crying… We were all worried and waited impatiently for a cry. My midwife did a few techniques to clear the airways, finally we heard the first cry and we all gave a sigh of relief! Fortunately, this little scare only lasted a few minutes. In this scary moment my midwife made me feel safe.
Our little girl was born at 8:20 a.m. We were very happy to meet our baby and I was very impressed by the strength of my body. I’m grateful for the support and respect I received throughout every stage of my birth. Overcoming my fear of childbirth and finally experiencing the natural birth I had been longing for was a truly incredible experience. I’m proud of myself for facing those challenges and achieving what I hoped for.
