Positive Birth Stories: Calm Unplanned Caesarean Section by Emily

It was a Monday evening sat on the sofa, and I felt a gush of water. I looked at my partner in disbelief - we quickly but calmly went upstairs and knew that this was the start, we would soon be meeting our baby! That evening, we spoke to the hospital and they asked us to go in to confirm this. Having had it confirmed, we headed home around midnight and got into bed. At that point I started to feel twinges but I stayed calm hoping for a good nights sleep.

That morning, my contractions were still mild, we headed out for a walk around our local park. The rest of that day is a bit of a blur, but my partner kept me well fed and we carried on our day as normal (as possible) at home. My contractions continued throughout that day progressively getting stronger, but we stayed at home for as long as possible, using all the hypnobirthing technique that we had practiced throughout the pregnancy. Finally my partner made the call, and we were advised to make our way in.

We arrived just after midnight, 40 weeks to the day. My pregnancy had been very low risk, and I had been hoping for the maternity ward. Once we arrived to the hospital, we were told that this wouldn't be possible as my waters had been broken for over 24 hours, and that they would like to monitor me. At this stage, my contractions were very strong, but I wasn't far dilated, so we took the suggestion of a hormone drip. Knowing that the maternity ward wasn't an option, I opted to have an epidural in order to try and get some rest.

That night into morning, we had created a beautiful relaxed space, with our own playlist on repeat. We were complimented by the midwives and doctors that visited us on how calm a space it was. We were in and out of sleep and we were supported by the amazing midwives. The midwife changed shift at 8am, and we were greeted by a familiar face, Shannon, who we had met during one of our routine appointments.

I was dilating more and we were preparing to be in a position to give birth. The previous midwife had raised a concern as they started to notice blood in my urine. They had been happy to observe this and not intervene. The level of blood became more intense, and doctors came in to review the situation. They advised that they had concerns that our baby was pressing so hard on my bladder that blood was entering my bladder, and were concerned on long term damage.

Our baby was happy and calm throughout, they suggested that we go to theatre to help to protect us both. At this point, I was comfortable but in a lot of pain from the babies position. They discussed in detail what they proposed the next steps were, and gave time for myself and my partner to talk it through - we made the decision to move to theatre.

Things moved very quickly from this point, but the midwives continued to reassure both of us. We arrived in theatre, and one of the doctors reminded my partner to go and get his phone to put our music on for the birth, and so they could take photographs. There were a lot of people in the room, but it felt like just the two of us. We were so well looked after and everything was explained to us very clearly. My epidural was removed, and I was given a spinal anaesthesia.

We first attempted to deliver the baby vaginally, via forceps and ventouse. Our midwife was talking me through my contractions, telling me when to push with the assistance of the doctors, supporting and encouraging me along the way. After a few attempts it was decided to proceed to a caesarean.

At this point, we were just so ready to meet our baby. And we couldn't believe it was so close. The next thing I remember is the curtain lowering, the doctor showing us our baby - and my partner saying 'it's a girl!'. The time was 12.20PM. They immediately positioned the baby on my chest and we couldn't believe we had our own beautiful daughter. She was perfect. After having my partner put on her first nappy (and some stitching which I was mostly unaware of), we were taken back to the room where we had spent all that time in - but with our daughter in our arms. The midwife noticed her hunger cues and we placed the baby to breastfeed, Shannon delivered us the famous tea and toast, and we were left to stare in disbelief at our new arrival.

Reflecting on our birth, it was nothing like our birth preferences, but I will always speak so highly of it. The way we were cared for was incredible. We attended Charlotte's course which filled us with so much knowledge, for as and when things change and how to manage this together. And we have some pretty amazing photos of our daughter entering the world!

Our baby arrived into this world calmly, healthy and most importantly, safely - and this is all we could ask for.