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Childbirth

Share experiences and get support around labour, birth and recovery.

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Original poster

Positive birth stories please!

19 replies

BankWuggery · 12/03/2013 19:06

I'm not even pg - trying for 3rd- but both previous births were very positive and whilst traumatic in that they bloody hurt, I was not traumatised by the experiences. Hearing other womens positive expetiences helped put me in a good place mentally i think. Anyone else want to share a positive birth story? Just about to go back and read ds1 and ds2's.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

SausageMother · 12/03/2013 19:37

I gave birth to DD on Friday. An hour and a half beforehand I had been at the nursery picking up DS. Got home, watched Octonauts with him and then put him up for his lunch nap. Contractions then ramped up and DD was nearly delivered by DH. Paramedic arrived just as her head was out.

She is now asleep in my arms after a feed. No matter how they get here it is all worth it in the end!

purrpurr · 12/03/2013 19:42

No personal experience, yet. But I've been reading this site:

tellmeagoodbirthstory.com

nutella81 · 12/03/2013 20:54

I gave birth to my DD (1st) in July. I prepared a birth plan beforehand, but I was very relaxed about it and didn't expect that everything would go as I had hoped, however it pretty much did....

After a full nights sleep, waters broke about 6am, strong contractions by mid morning, on the MLBU by 3pm, just one internal examination, got in the birthing pool, Doppler only monitoring and a healthy 8lb baby 4hours later with just 1st degree tear :)

I know what you mean about getting worried tho, after such a positive experience and being able to get a space in the midwife led bit/in a pool, I'd definitely want it again next time x

lemontwist · 12/03/2013 21:11

Straight forward birth with DS1 but even better with DS2. Had been out for DH's work xmas meal. Mild contractions during meal ( kept quiet though), made excuses and left about 11ish. Nipped into hospital on way home, only 3cm dilated but was snowing so decided to stay in. Had DS2 by 4.30 am. After shower, and a snooze was home by 9.30am.
We were staying with my parents for a while. My uncle was visiting. Last he'd seen of us was the night before all dressed up to go out. He'd had a lie in that morning and didn't notice DS2 in my arms when he wandered in to the living room. The double take when he finally realised was hilarious!
Am just hoping that if we get to DC3 it will go jst as smoothly.

Taffeta · 12/03/2013 21:14

I woke up with a contraction at midnight. Had DD within 4 minutes of arriving at hospital at 1.20am. Had her standing up, just about managed to get my pants off.

She slept and bf like a dream.

Very different experience to her elder brother.

Radiator1234 · 13/03/2013 05:49

I gave birth to DD 2 on Monday. I had previously been dreading the labour as I found the birth of DD1 quite traumatic. There isn't a particular drama story about DD1sbirth in fact it was quite a "normal" vaginal birth, I just literally hated every minute of it, so incredibly painful, forgot how to breathe, took hours to push her out, tore etc.

Anyway upshot was I was dreading this labour.

Then at 35 weeks, on a friend'srecommendation I started pregnancy yoga and also bought one of those hypnobirthing CDs. I found that they both helped prepare me mentally and I strangely felt so much calmer about the birth in the run up to it. Weird as I've tried and hated yoga in the past.

On the day the labour was quick, and I had her in the pool. Still v painful but my breathing techniques I learned from yoga certainly helped.

Really good idea to expose yourself to positive stories I think. Good luck.

SPBInDisguise · 13/03/2013 06:01

I've had 2, long and painful but manageable. Wish I cpuld do it again (and then be presented with a sleeping, walking, talking three year old at the end of it)

SPBInDisguise · 13/03/2013 06:02

(just to clarify, I want them to be newborn sized when coming out, THEN morph into the toilet trained, please and thank you saying, three year old)

Radiator congratulations :o

NoTimeForS · 13/03/2013 06:59

I'll give you my positive EmCS story from last Monday! The midwife and doctors and everyone talked me through the whole process, listened to my views and took them on board, and I never felt panic or worry even though I was being rushed off for major surgery. Got my baby out healthy and that's the main thing!
Everyone fears an EmCS but mine was fine.

SPBInDisguise · 13/03/2013 07:08

Congratulations notime :o

Radiator1234 · 13/03/2013 08:57

Thanks SPB!

ChutesTooNarrow · 13/03/2013 09:40

I had an amazing birth a few weeks back. It was a planned home waterbirth, I was so determined that it was different from birth no 1. Like you I read lots of positive stories - mainly on a water birth site. I read Childbirth Without Fear, I thought of helpful mantras to chant and took a few minutes each day to go through them (yes, very wanky).

Labour kicked off in the morning, contractions every four minutes. I visualised my cervix dilating and thinning each time and turned the pain into good pain (yes, yes, still very wanky).

Labour stopped for a few hours, this happened in my previous birth but this time no one twanged me on a drip to get it going. Then when it all kicked off again it was so fast I laboured and pushed on my own. Actually I really liked being on my own, I always said I just wanted to be left to get on with it. Contractions were ok, through each one I was chanting 'every contraction brings me closer to my baby'. I had one contraction that suddenly I felt was unmanageable and I just whimpered throughout but I realised I had reached transition. So I changed position and three times my body pushed, I was a passenger really, it felt so good though. Then I remember a flurry of activity in the hallway as my mum arrived for DS, and the midwife arrived. Midwife walked in, said hello and started unpacking. Meanwhile I felt the head slip out, and sort of knelt in the water holding the head wondering what to do/say. Then my waters went, baby flew out. I caught her, lifted her out of the water and all I could think was 'wow, that was AWESOME.'

I buzzed for days afterwards I felt so empowered.

Sorry that was long, have been meaning to get it written down for ages and the words just flew out.

ChutesTooNarrow · 13/03/2013 09:47

Oh, I should say my DP was checking on me but he had an excited three year old to wrangle. He said I was completely 'in the zone' though and sometimes I didn't even notice when he topped the pool up.

Also I have no doubt that if I had needed to transfer to hospital, it would still have been a positive experience because I had armed myself with so much knowledge. Homebirth was my ideal but my ultimate goal was healthy baby and I was fully aware that might involve hospital, monitoring, csection, etc, and thus devised coping techniques for all scenarios.

TwitchyTail · 13/03/2013 12:52

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NoTimeForS · 13/03/2013 13:13

Thanks for the congratulations SPB. :)

GingerDoodle · 13/03/2013 21:26

A week before I was due (1st baby) I went up to London for dinner with DH and his work colleagues (live in W. Sussex).

On the way up I started having what I thought was braxton hicks - I dismissed them as 1st timers don't go early....

Sat down to dinner at 6.30 and things started to get serious, 7 I told DH we needed to get home. Pronto.

Got the train at 7.30 got home and had a show took a couple of paracetomol. DH unloaded the car of band kit and loaded me in, 50 min car ride.

Got to the hospital around 10. I wanted an epi, midwive wasn't convinced I was in labour - boy was she surprised to find me ready to push. Never got the epi (which I am grateful for).

1 1/2 hours later our DD arrived in perfect health. I had a cpl of minor grazes which were stiched. I was up and about within 1/2 hour and had the best shower ever!

The next day I was anxious to be off home; one of the staff commented to DH that I really didn't look like someone who'd just had a baby - she had seen me marching off to the front desk to tell them to get a move on or we were leaving paperwork or no - I was starving and there was fish and chips with my name on it at home.

It wouldn't work for everyone, full blown labour on a packed commuter train could have gone very wrong and transition in a car wasn't fun BUT it worked for me and I regard it all as a very positive and happy experience. O and my fish and chips was AMAZING.

NB. We did a 1:1 hynobirth course which I do credit with teaching me how to breath and DH how to keep me calm.

GingerDoodle · 13/03/2013 21:27

I should also add DD is brilliant :)

Dirtymistress · 13/03/2013 21:58

Ds1, 17 months ago, 7 hours, pool, few grazes. Ds2, 4 days ago, 4 hours, pool, no damage whatsoever. Quite a lot of gas and air with my first, not much with the second. Feel very positive about both. But....it hurt. Not a little bit, but a great deal. I don't think saying that detracts from the positivity of it but I do think we have to steel ourselves for that level of pain and know that that is normal, it won't kill you and the only thing you can do is whatever it takes to get through it. For me, that is being extremely loud, in a very primal, crazed elephant sort of fashion midwife said her ears were still ringing when she got home-cheeky moo! I aim for serene but it seems to fall by the wayside

Crocodilehunter · 14/03/2013 20:46

My waters partly broke at 7am on a Thursday called the mid wife round who booked me in for induction the next day so i spent the day bouncing on a ball drinking raspberry leaf tea.

Come Friday, at the hospital, they examine me and tell me I'm 3 cm dilated (no so didn't need the pessary) no pain yet either.

They break my waters at 4pm and turn the drip on at 4:30 to start the more intense contractions, then at 8:35 DS is born after 15 mins of pushing and buries himself straight in to my boob where he fed away for ages, While I was having my grazes stitched up (honestly those 4 stitches were more painful than the labour or giving birth lol)

I can't wait to do it again! Partner says not but we'll see
X

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