Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been fascinated by labour, birth and anything maternity. I was always the kid who was playing Mum’s and Dad’s, pushing her dolls around in their prams, dressing and undressing them. I would and still do, spot a pregnant woman a mile off and I’m drawn towards newborn babies. I remember making friends with a girl at primary school, whose Mum had just given birth. I would go round to her house, to play with my friend, but it was her new baby sister that I really wanted to see!
My Mum's Birth Story - The Birth of Me
I often listened to my Mum’s birth story of when she had me. I always wondered what it would be like to be pregnant, be in labour and have a real baby of my own. I would often listen to my Mum’s birth story about when she had me and how she went into early labour at home, stayed active during the day and breathed her way through her contractions. When she got a sudden urge to push, my Dad rang the maternity ward and they said that she should come down straight away and she'd need an ambulance. There was some real miscommunication and my Dad thought that they were sending an ambulance to the house. However, when an ambulance didn’t turn up and my Mum was saying hurry up, this baby is nearly here, my Dad rang the hospital again to ask how long the ambulance would be. That was when they said that they hadn’t called for one and it was my Dad’s responsibility to do that. In the end, the midwife called the ambulance, due to the emergency and my Mum was rushed to hospital with the sirens going, blue lights flashing and my Dad trying to keep up in his car, behind. The ambulance driver kept telling my Mum to just hang on and that they were nearly there. My Mum asked him if he'd delivered many babies before and he said oh don't worry about me and just focus on your breathing. The ambulance pulled up outside the hospital and the midwives were standing outside waiting. That's what it was like in the 80's! As they pushed my Mum into the lift, my head was born and just as my Mum arrived on the labour ward, I quickly slid out, into the arms of the midwife. My Mum had an amazing, positive, natural, vaginal birth, with no drugs and no interventions. She says that she felt incredible. As I listened to this birth story time and time again, I knew that this was the kind of birth that I wanted too. My Mum was a superhero and she had such a positive birth experience. She says that she felt in control, empowered and calm, despite the big rush to the hospital and the adrenaline trying to sneak in.
Later that day, when a new midwife came on shift, she came onto the postnatal ward and asked where this amazing new Mum was, that she'd been hearing all about. The Mum who had given birth so brilliantly and nearly gave the ambulance driver a heart attack. Apparently the driver hadn't delivered a baby before and he had to go to the staff room afterwards, for a cup of tea, to calm his nerves!
If you would like to prepare for your birth and learn about how to have the best birth possible for you, check out my hypnobirthing courses and/or my doula support packages.
Alternatively, drop me an email and we can have a free 30 minute chat.
Julia x