Charlotte’s story
My contractions started at night and I was on the phone with Stina from the early hours.
The home birth experience was amazing, the midwives were really lovely and everybody was getting on as a team. I was able to labour for 19 hours without pain relief and felt so glad to have practiced Hypnobirthing during pregnancy. I felt totally in control and empowered and moving through the surges using with my breath. I was in the pool, playing Hypnobirthing affirmations and was amazed at how much they helped.
Throughout the birth, Stina suggested ways to help the birth progress. She kept me hydrated and well fed and avoided an early transfer to the hospital due to Ketosis (not eating enough so the body breaks down its own stores). However, when I was about 6cm dilated my labour stalled and there was talk of being transferred to the hospital. Stina helped with her “Spinning Babies” technique which may have been why baby moved into an optimal position and descend.
We transferred to the hospital to check the position of the baby and enroute my waters broke and amazingly, on arrival I was 8 cm dilated!
I was taken to the ward - and then it got crazy. The room filled with people and I totally zoned out. The hospital staff strongly recommended I have the induction drip, saying my contractions were not strong and regular enough - but my contractions were really strong and regular. They said the baby was distressed because there was meconium in the waters but Stina said "won't giving her the induction drip make the surges stronger and stress baby out more?" This could well have lead to an instrumental birth or C-Section...The vibe was tense and the doctor then suggested I have an epidural because I was exhausted and needed help to push baby out. Again Stina stepped in and said, "but how can it help her push if having the epidural means she can't feel her legs?"
Having built up a relationship prior to the birth, Stina knew me - but the hospital staff didn't. To them I was a load of statistics. Stina knew I had a history of competitive sports and I remember her saying to me quietly that she could see I was tired yes, but not exhausted...and that I had all the strength I needed to birth my baby.
These words gave me encouragement - but the discussion in general was also buying me time! I had been feeling the urge to push for a while and in doing so, I was bringing the baby down. Suddenly the baby's head started to show and the staff looked so suprised and the doctor walked out..then only a few minutes later I birthed Gael - without any intervention.
It is clear to my husband and I that we may not have had the birth we wanted without Stina. Without blame, the hospital staff had not seen the bigger picture, they had not seen how well the birth had progressed during transfer and that all I needed was time. The suggested interventions turned out to be unnecessary and may have interfered with the natural birth we so wanted.”