I have had two children and so after consultation with midwife and doctor we decided to go for a home birth this time.
And so we waited 5 days later with my two eldest children safely deposited with grandparents, I went into labour 12.30pm,
I phoned midwife. She arrived and was slight concern about baby's heart rate so an ambulance called, but by the time it arrived
our son had arrived, safe and sound. No pain relief because everything went so quickly that I couldn't ask for the gas and
air even though I was desperate. But when all is said and done that was by far the quickest and easiest of my births and if
they were all like that I may have had a football team by now.
Kelly - Had her third child at home with no pain relief
I have had two children and so after consultation with midwife and doctor we decided to go for a home birth this time.
And so we waited 5 days later with my two eldest children safely deposited with grandparents, I went into labour 12.30pm,
I phoned midwife. She arrived and was slight concern about baby's heart rate so an ambulance called, but by the time it arrived
our son had arrived, safe and sound. No pain relief because everything went so quickly that I couldn't ask for the gas and
air even though I was desperate. But when all is said and done that was by far the quickest and easiest of my births and if
they were all like that I may have had a football team by now.
If you have a story or a comment on this stories please share it with us
Rachel - had a 5lbs 14 ounce baby at home with the help of a mid wife
I had an wonderful homebirth experience Josh was born at 5th March and weighed 5 pounds 14 ounces. On the evening
of the 4th of march, I felt the water warm between my legs as I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep. I told
my husband, “ I think my waters have broken “. He didn't believe me as it was three weeks early so I went into
the bathroom, and water continued to slowly trickle into the toilet. Then he believed me.
Suddenly, everything I had read and all of the preparations I had made flew right out the door. I couldn't remember what
I should do. My husband found the pamphlet the midwives had given us on what to do if your water breaks. So I called the midwife
on-call. She calmly told me to eat and rest (which I knew but had forgotten in all of the excitement) and to call her if contractions
started. She called to check up on us the next morning, I never had the Strep B test and with my waters broken it was more
of a concern. So she did the test and sent it into the lab. The results would come back negative after the birth. On the days
after my waters broke the contractions finally started. They were approximately 10 minutes apart and 50-60 seconds in duration.
My husband called the midwives, they told us to call back once the contractions were five minutes apart. So at 6 he called
again and let them know that contractions were five minutes apart and lasting for one minute or longer. He was very nervous
and wanted the midwives to arrive because he was afraid of the baby arriving before them. As soon as they arrived at 7 pm
I knew we had called them too soon.
They checked me and the baby and both of our vitals were good. I declined to have any vaginal exams until I had the urge
to push. Once I did want them to check me to make sure I was completely dilated to avoid bruising my cervix. Little did I
know that the urge to push was only a few hours away and would be quite premature. At 10 p.m. I felt an urge to push, but
I was a little unsure with this being my first baby and all. I accepted a vaginal exam and to my dismay I was only four centimeters
dilated. I took a long shower, which helped a little with the contractions. There was still the nagging urge to push, which
I did my best to blow through and ignore. At 10:30 pm I got back in bed lying on my side. I had preferred this position all
through labour. Looking back I feel that if I had listened to the midwives sooner and tried different positions I would have
had a shorter labour. At 1 am I felt that the pushing sensation was now so strong I must be ready to push. So I requested
another vaginal exam -- only 7 centimeters dilation. At around 1:30 am or so the urge to push was so intense that I couldn't
resist it. From then on I began pushing through some of the contractions. I wasn't bearing down, but I did push. At 2 I requested
another exam because I felt I must be fully dilated by now! But no, I was only 8 centimeters. With this disheartening news
the midwives were able to convince me to try some new positions. So I moved to the chair, then to the toilet, and back to
the bed. Now 4 p.m., an hour since the last exam I must be complete by now. Oh God, still only 9 centimeters. At that point
all I wanted to do was push, but instead I was prodded even harder to try different positions. I tried the toilet and then
standing while supported. All the while I was trying not to push and begging them to let me lie down. My hubby was great if
he hadn't kept me focused I would have probably pushed too hard. Thanks to him and my midwives I didn't.
At 4:42 a.m. I had another vaginal exam and thankfully I was complete. Because Josh was so low I only had to push for about
40 minutes. When he began to crown I felt the ‘burning ring of fire’ birth instructor had called it. The midwives
asked if I wanted to feel his head but I didn't want to. I really don't know why I didn't and I regret that now. When his
head was born his hands were found to be up near his face. This made delivering the rest of him a little tricky but the midwives
managed beautifully. I thought that he was perfect and beautiful. Now that I look back at the pictures I see he is simply
a normal baby, but he is my baby and I love him. I plan to have a homebirth for all of my future children. The experience
was personal and perfect. Most importantly it was my experience, I had control not anyone else.
If you have a story or a comment on this stories please share it with us
Keely - had her baby two weeks early in her bedroom alone
It was a peaceful morning on Monday the 20th ofJune. My boyfriend dosen‘t drive and I lived in his house which is
about a mile away from all the other houses in the village. I was two weeks away from my due date so everything was going
along fine. After lunch Paul had to go out to the shops I wasn't worried about being alone in the house. I settled down with
a magazine and a cup of tea. Not long after he left I needed the loo. Nothing happened. So I went back to reading my magazine.
About an hour later I felt a sharp pain shoot round my tummy. I'd heard somewhere that you could soothe pain through water
so slowly, in agony, I climbed the stairs to the bathroom and ran a nice hot bath. Climbing in, I relaxed all over and soon
I was asleep. I must have slept for more or less an hour and a half, for now it was 3:20 p.m.
I needed the loo again. I sat down, but nothing. I was really scared now. I didn’t know what was wrong I had no contractions,
That's when I discovered a large bump at the end of my vagina! I grabbed a mirror to see more.
I was taken so aback by surprise, I just sat there staring and staring at what I saw. It was the top of the baby's head!
The thing that brought me back to the real world was the sudden urge to push. The sink was the nearest thing so I pulled on
that and squatted and pushed as hard as I could, hoping that I was doing everything right. At the intervals between pushes,
I tried to summon back my energy, but it was all too quick for me and by the time I'd finished one push, I had to push again.
I waddled over to my bedroom which, fortunately, was right next to the bathroom. It was like walking with a melon stuck between
your legs. Collapsing on the bed, I felt an urge to push so much greater than all the others. I was in complete agony. I clutched
the two bedposts on either side of me and pushed and pushed! That's when I spotted the phone. I waited to stop pushing, then
took the receiver and dialed 999. A woman picked it up on the other end and I eventually managed to sputter out that I was
alone in the house and in labour. She asked me how far I proceeded and were there any neighbors who could help me. I told
her we had none. So all the way until paramedics came, she told me to breathe and not to worry. The paramedics arrived shortly
and I dropped my arms over two of their shoulders, and squatted down still doing my breathing. Then after a long while the
whole head came out in one push. Almost there, you're doing really well. On Monday at 4:05 pm, my little baby boy James Kieran
was finally born. I was so pleased and just at that moment, my boy friend came running in saying he'd seen the ambulance and
knew something was wrong, nothing wrong I said meet your son !!
If you have a story or a comment on any of these stories please
share it with us 
