Aw I love reading/hearing womens' birth stories, I think it's very important as well as we can learn a lot from listening to how women experience labour/birth and the care we give, so thankyou for sharing everyone.

I haven't even introduced myself yet but I'm going to jump straight in here with my own story, which will without a doubt be long...because conciseness isn't my strong point!

My first birth (and only as yet!).
Edd 16/08
During the night of the 26th August I was woken with regular but not particularly painful 'contractions' which was nothing new. I woke up the next morning with pretty uncomfortable cramp like feeling, it was constant though not coming and going, and as I was by this point (T+11) starting to think this baby was never actually coming out, I didn't say anything and just got on with my day. My ex was still in bed and I went to the supermarket with my mam and nana, the cramp like feeling got worse as the morning went on. Went home and unpacked the shopping and had some lunch. Ex was up and just as he was leaving to go to work at about 1pm, I was standing next to the fireplace saying goodbye and I felt a definite change in the pain I was feeling . I still didn't say anything though and just let him get off to work. About an hour later my mam picked me up and we went into town, my pain by this point was about every 10 minutes and it was very low down in my pelvis, I was pretty sure now that this had to be going somewhere, but still kept quiet. When we got into town we bumped into my friend's mam who said she's been hoping I might have the baby today as it was her birthday (I thought to myself well there's still time (ha!)). We did some shopping and my contractions- as I was pretty sure they were by this point, started to stop me in tracks, obviously by this point my mam had noticed and said we should go back to hers. So we went and had some tea and then I had a bath, after my bath I started timing the contractions and over the next few hours they increased to about 4 minutes apart lasting about 50 seconds. At around 9pm I rang my ex at work and told him there was no rush but I was pretty sure I was in labour, and I was going back home now if he wanted to meet me there...he got there before we did!! My mam stayed for a bit, I had a another bath and, ex fell asleep on the settee, my mam decided to go home. Some of my contractions were pretty painful but they weren't anymore frequent. I decided now would be a good time to pack my hospital bag, went upstairs and left ex sleeping on the settee. While upstairs I had quite a few painful contractions in sucession so decided to give DS a ring, the midwife I spoke to told me to have another bath and not to come in until all of my contractions were very painful. About half an hour (and no bath...i don't even like baths and I'd already had two!) I though sod that, woke up ex, rang mam to come and get us and rang DS back up and told them i was coming in. Arrived at about 2.15am, the midwife took my history and was probably thinking 'no way is she in labour' because my contractions had compltely gone off, my mam and ex to left the room while I was examined- 6cms dilated on examination (very relieved me as I did not want to be sent home) still OP, membranes still intect- ARM offered and declined.

Ex and mam came back and I was put on CTG for admission trace, the contractions started to pick up again and I was given gas and air and left to get on with it....and that's where it all goes hazy lol. I can't even remember the midwife coming back in to remove the CTG but she did and obviously it was fine, actually I can't remember the midwife being there very much at all, I can't remember any IA or obs being done, what I do remember is how much I loved gas and air! I remember laughing my head off but then getting annoyed with myself 'because it's not even funny! It hurts!'. I don't think I moved from the bed at all, and I can't remember anyone encouraging me too- I think if they had I would have done because I was keen for a normal delivery and had done a little bit of reading. I can remember only being allowed tiny sips of water and being very fustrated as the gas and air was making me thirsy (I had a sore throat the next day and it was really no suprise!). I can't remember them putting the IV fluids up, and in fact it was only recently that I found out they did when I was showing my dd the pics and she pointed out my 'poorly hand'!

At my next examination (I'm presuming 4 hours later) I was about 8cms, ARM offered again ('to speed things up') and accepted...and bloody uncomfortable!

Maybe an hour or so after that the same midwife came and gave me pethidine 'because I was very tired and it would help me get some rest'. More than anything this annoys me looking back, I didn't request pain relief, it wasn't even offered, she came into the room with it and told me I was having it, I didn't feel I needed it, yes I was tired but I was coping and I was resting between contractions. It didn't have much of an effect (on me) anyway, except just to make me feel like I lost a little bit of control for a bit.

A while later a different midwife and student came into the room (I liked this midwife so was pleased to see her). They examined me again and I can't really remember what they said but I would guess 9cms/anterior lip. I can remember at this point them still comenting on the baby being OP (still no encouragment to move at all from my semi-recumbent position though). Shortly after that I started involuntary pushing, but the midwife telling me it was fine to push but this wasn't it yet, I argued a bit, and then said well okay then but when it is 'it' it won't take very long will it? And her saying it will probably take about an hour.

I couldn't fight the pushing anyway so I just went with it, and it got stronger and stronger and I loved this bit. I was totally in myself, I can't remember what was going on in the room at all but I can remember thinking how amazing it was, slightly scary that I felt like I couldn't not push if my life depended on it, but amazing because this is how women have babies, this is what I'm meant to do and my body just knows how to it....it was this amazement that I still feel even now that made me first think about midwifery as a career!

I remember telling the midwife I felt sick (not that there was much in my stomach, it had been hours since I had my tea and I'd only been allowed those tiny sips of water! ) and her smiling as she passed me a dish and saying that's good.

Then the midwife decided it would be a good idea if I got off the bed to deliver upright, so I was standing on one side of the bed with the mw and student behind me and my ex and mam were on the other side of the bed and I was holding onto their hands and when I was pushing with the contractions I was squating and using their hands as support (I can remember my mam crying at this point and reassuring her that I was absolutely fine). Then i looked down and saw quite a lot of blood on the inco pad, I insisted to the mw that this wasn't normal (what on earth did I know!), and tried to get my mam to tell her (even though she couldn't even see the blood from where she was) but she reassured me it was, however a couple of minutes later, much to my disgust, she was telling me very firmly to get back on the bed now (she later told me she was slightly concerned by the blood loss). I could feel her head just there as I climbed back onto the bed and it can't have been much longer till she was born. She was passed up to me for skin-to-skin and I just stared at her, I was still very aware of them messing around down there and pressing on stomach and it feeling very uncomfortable, then they stopped, and all of a sudden I was overcome with emotion, crying lots, and saying how beautiful she was.

She was born at 10.38am, T+12, weighing a decent 9lb6oz (I'd measured 2cms under the whole pregnancy!), no stitches required. I'm presuming at some point she turned herself round (miraculously with me reclined on the bed for pretty much the whole 8 hours of labour I spent in the hospital!) as I was never told otherwise. 2nd stage was about 35 minutes long....lol about the only time I communicated during the 2nd stage or was even aware of what anyone was saying was when the midwife told me it would only take a few more pushes and I looked to see what time it was, ex laghed and said 'do you have to be somwhere?' and I said 'no but I told you it wouldn't take an hour'. I've got a form here to get a copy of my notes from the hospital, I'll be quite interested to read them when I eventually get around to sending it off.

I loved labour and birth (much more so than pregnancy!), my body did just what it was supposed to and I felt so strong and mostly in control as I breathed through my contractions, and like I said the explusive contractions completely amazed me. In fact I think it was my positive experience and the confirmation of how well I'd done I received from my mam and the midwives afterwards (which is why I always always make a point of telling women how well they've done) that got me through the following difficult year. I know it was by no means the 'perfect birth experience' but it was incredibly special to me, and it definitely made me who I am today as a woman, mother and future midwife.

Next time (one day!) I'll do it at home (hated the night spent in hospital afterwards), without the pethidine- completely uneccesary, with food and drink rather than a drip, and on a birth ball (and maybe in a pool) rather than a bed!

ETA...oh dear I did say it would be long!!! Good job I have only had one baby....in my defense it was a pretty long labour though