Anyone had a straightforward 1st vaginal birth?

[JRTfan]

So I'm 35 weeks now with my 1st baby I'm 40 and it's IVF. Will be hoping to go in to labour naturally but may be induced if go beyond 40 weeks. I am not scared as such of vaginal birth or being in pain but I don't know a single person lately that's had a non traumatic birth experience! They've all ended either in an emergency C section or an instrumental delivery with haemorrhage and tears.
I know a couple of people that have had planned c section and none have had a bad experience and recovery been fine..I'm just hoping for some positive vaginal 1st birth stories if they are out there. It's been a 12 year journey to get here and obviously all I want is a happy healthy baby but I'd prefer not to be ripped in half in the process!

@TheCraic you are amazing, no drugs! Absolute superstar! You must have a very high pain threshold!

I spent most of the day thinking I had indigestion. I was 3 days late but it still didn't register that I may have been having contractions as it wasn't painful. By the time my (then) H talked me into going to hospital I was an hour away from giving birth. I very rarely say this IRL as I'm accused of lying. I had a very easy and quick birth.

ETA 2nd stage (pushing), lasted 10 minutes and I just had a puff of gas and air as I was expecting it to be painful, didn't bother with a 2nd puff though as I really didn't need it.

I would really recommend pregnancy yoga OP. Even if you do it at home yourself. It's all about pushing through the pain and remaining calm. Trust your body. If you are pushing well and staying calm you are less likely to have complications. I found it very helpful in my first pregnancy. My first had the cord around her neck, I remember the midwife saying I needed to try and push as hard as possible and if it wasn't successful I'd need forceps. Fortunately I didn't need them. She actually asked me after if I had prepared in some way
I told her I did pregnancy yoga and she said she would recommend it to future patients.

My labour was very straightforward! I went into the hospital and was assessed at 1-2cm (but I was having 4 contractions within 5 minutes and pain was beginning to be intolerable!), two hours later I was 10cm and pushing. I did have a second degree tear, but I laboured on my back with legs in stirrups because I wasn't opening them wide enough, and they didn't realise I was as far as I was so there wasn't really time to shift around.

Honestly I think the fact you aren't afraid of it is a great starting point. I just kind of went with the flow and it was fine (obviously painful but you know it will be!).

I think after you give birth, it's common to go over and over it in your head. Everyone has a "story" of their labour!

Thank you for starting this thread OP! I am only 18 weeks with my first and hadn’t really thought about birth much yet but all of the news recently about the maternity scandals and birth traumas has sent me into a bit of a tizz. Out of 6 friends who have given birth in the last year or two 4 have ended up with an emergency C sections as well which doesn’t help.

Yes I've had two and were 42 and 34 years ago.
Just with Gas and air.
No injections or epidural.
Didn't even know if l was having boy or girl.
11 hours labour 1st one.
7 hours second.
Only thing l had was an episiotomy with first and she was only 6 pounds..
My sisters were all the same.

With DC1 my waters broke whilst I was in bed(thank goodness for waterproof mattress protectors).Contractions came thick and fast about 50 minutes later and by the time I got to the hospital I was fully dilated and told to start pushing.No time for pain relief.I ended up needing stitches for a tear .Time from waters breaking to DC being born was 2 hours.The no pain relief was ok as I just concentrated on what seemed like never ending contractions.With DC2 I chose not to have pain relief and total labour time was again just over 2 hrs.No stitches needed .

@Judgejudysno1fan I'm really not - I wanted drugs on the first as I was in a lot of pain but because I was 10cm on arrival they wouldn't give me any 😂

Wierdly, the 2nd and 3rd were more manageable but also quick labours and I guess what helped is I was a lot calmer.

Nope. Lovely thread though. Nice to hear that some people did and it's not a unicorn experience.

Sorry that should say 4 contractions within 10 minutes! Not 5 🤦🏻‍♀️

Mine was relatively straightforward. Waters broke but there was merconium so they put me on the oxytocin drip to speed things up. Had a vaginal delivery, no forceps. I did tear but i think that’s quite normal for a first delivery. Had stitches all fine

That happened to me! Wouldn't give me gas and air before because they didn't think I was established, then when they realised I was 10cm they said I needed to concentrate so couldn't have it 😂 I didn't argue it!

@spannered 🤣🤣🤣 I was glad in the end, because there was no additional recovery time afterwards or any negative drug effects but at the time I felt a bit hard done by 🤣

I had a normal vaginally delivery on her due date with my first 🙂

Yes. I was in labour for 9 hours and had no anaesthetic. I enjoyed pushing. My second labour was 3 hours. My mother had 3 babies by natural birth. She said I was born in the wheelchair on the way to the delivery room and she was on her own when my sister was born. It is perfectly possible to have a natural birth.

DS1 was reasonably straight forward water birth I did need some stitches but not many and definitely not 3rd degree etc. Gas and air only.
DS2 very straight forward no stitches water birth gas and air.

There are 3 things which can assist I think
The first is asking your midwife what position baby is lying in. Back to back delivery is very different if lying back to back there are ways to get them to turn (spinning baby techniques).
2nd doing perineum massage religiously daily.
3rd not having pain relief too early it slows labour down.

I couldn't have pain medication other then gas and air and paracetamol which made the difference and I knew I needed the pool to help.

Agree you can't really say this in baby groups I would have glares or told wasn't I lucky to have the magical birth etc. Not really DS1 went into neonatal 3 hours after birth due to a separate issue and spent quite a while there.

Congratulations on getting to this stage! Towards the end, all you want is the baby safely out, pregnancy gets such a drag at 40 weeks! However, baby is safe in there, and is so many cases it's when they are evicted early that complications arise- particularly in first pregnancies.

Allowing the baby to come in their right time (usually 38-41/2 weeks) means the body has prepared in all ways for delivery and birth is smoother. Induction is brutal on the mother and often ends in interventions.

Personally I've had 4 very straightforward deliveries. All between 40-41 weeks and babies weighing between 8-9.9lbs. All healthy and both of us home each time within hours. No further trauma or complications and breastfeeding. I have been lucky, but I've also resisted the temptation of induction!

Whilst not entirely straightforward (induced early for pre-eclampsia) I had a vaginal birth with my first, with just a second degree tear.

Had more drugs than I would have liked pre- labour, but in the moment they were needed, and I don't regret having them one jot. I had zero "urge to push", and the contractions disappeared without the drip being on so it was all conscious pushing, but only took 20 minutes. Probably the reason for the tear. No ring of fire sensation (that I remember) either at least.

My sister has had two vaginal births. Induction with her first (42 weeks) but went into labour after a second pessary. Baby came out slightly stunned, but was absolutely fine after some stimulation. Second was overdue as well, but she went into labour before induction. Labour was incredibly fast once started. Nothing but grazes with both.

My friend has had 5 vaginal births, the latter 4 of which were at home. Zero tears with any of them.

I did! :-)

First baby arrived at 39+4 ... delivered her in 11 minutes.
I had back pain 45 mins before and something just told me to get to hospital - very quick and no problems :-) gas and air only as I just made it to hospital

Me too! The physio I saw post birth told me that sporty people do sometimes struggle a bit more during pushing as your pelvic floor is stronger.

Yes! My baby is 2.5 weeks old. First baby.
bif of leakage at 10:30am, didn’t know if I’d just wet myself…
I was just over 37 weeks and still working up to this point!
went to triage, confirmed waters broken. Sent me home booked for induction the following morning.
went home for an hour and a half, back to hospital, examined at 4:20 and 10cm dilated, baby born at 5:20, i didn’t even have time to think or panic!!

I did for my first, i didn't know i was in labour and then made it to the hospital after a bleed and i was 6cm. 6 hours later baby came and i was allowed home 4 hours later.
I was 38+6.

@JRTfan please try not to worry too much, I know that’s easier said than done. I have had six children, from aged 20 to 40, and all were vaginal births with only gas and air. No stitches or anything, other than a slight graze with my first. Lengths of labours were between one and five hours.
I’ve also never “pushed”, I wouldn’t actually know how to haha. You can look up the Ferguson Reflex about this.

Wow thanks everyone, these stories have really helped isn't it weird how women don't like talking about an easy birth as if it's their fault/choice! I know I may not have a straightforward experience but it's nice to know people actually do so there is a chance.
I'm not too worried as such as I do have faith in the professionals I just know 3 people who have recently had pretty horrible experiences very recently, they had to be prompted to give me the details.
It also surprised me a bit that the board at my hospital displayed more c sections than vaginal births last month.
My thinking is if the chances are I will have to have a c section anyway I may aswell go elective but unfortunately that's not something I'm able to predict!

I had a straightforward first birth, no tears or instruments, completely painless as I opted for an early epidural. Discharged the next morning, and breastfed with no pain or issues, and walking out and about the next day. I was aged 20 so young and fit, and it was 23 years ago though and the NHS has certainly changed since then.