Meabh's birth story

Unbelievable relief at first, I felt so thankful and lucky to have a pool...

Preparation

Not only did I want a home-birth but also a water-birth.  I had given birth to my first child at home in Dublin, in 1995.  The home-birth network there was very strong and I found a lovely midwife (Ann Kelly) and a pool quite easily.

A home birth in France made me feel apprehensive – I heard quite a lot of stories (from friends who wanted home or natural births) of their babies being in strange, awkward, positions that not only needed to be hospital births but also caesareans.

It seems however that I was lucky, a friend recommended a midwife who was not only willing but also enthusiastic about a home-water-birth.   I also found out that a container was being passed around for water births.  But my partner and I wanted a purpose built birthing pool, preferably with a heater and filter.

Thus my search began – I got in touch with every organisation that could possibly put me a contact with someone to hire a pool.   I was told that couples wanting to give birth in water at home or even in hospital go to Belgium, Holland or even Switzerland!! (most French hospitals don’t allow water births, even if they do have the pools)

Eventually I got in touch with Birthworks who were not only willing to provide me with a pool but were also interested to see if I could hold on to the pool to hire out to anyone interested in France.

My due date was 1st January 2007, (I had been 17 days overdue with my first child!) but I was feeling delicate by Christmas, I was feeling under pressure, as I hadn't been able to contact my midwife in a week.  But by Tuesday 26th December we'd had a lovely Christmas lunch with friends, managed to make an appointment with our midwife and filled the pool (to see how long it took and to try it out).  It was so good to relax and take all these positions I hadn't though possible!  That night I had the best sleep in ages.

The Birth

The next morning I woke at 6am with a contraction, after which it seemed I had more contractions none stop, I was confused at the intensity and the speed of the contractions.  I remembered reading Sheila Kitzinger who said to pay attention and concentrate on the pains, but I also thought about a friend who’d said that she’d slept through nearly all her contractions!  After a while I decided to try to walk to the bathroom and have a shower, I was having contractions nearly every step! I held out till 8.30 when I woke my husband, and asked him to change the water in the pool.  Thankfully he didn’t listen to me, and he instead started to heat some pans to heat up the water already in the pool. 

I couldn’t hold the pains any longer and gave in to them by collapsing (face down onto a pile of cushions and pillows). 

I had intended to ring a friend for support but I was unable to think, move or even form a sentence. My husband tried to sooth me but I couldn’t take anything in.  Meditating in shock on my digital bedside clock was the best I could do………I just couldn’t go above the pains and think of the universe or the stars or anything like that.   Letting go completely did mean I opened up fairly quickly though (which is what I wanted); I didn’t want to exhaust everybody and repeat my first 3-day marathon labour!

Amande (our mid-wife) arrived at 11.30; my waters had broken by then.  I wasn’t able to look or really speak to Amande, she instinctively massaged my back and suggested I sit on the toilet which I was reluctant to do at first, it did however help me to relax, and I managed to walk down the stairs to the water-pool.

Unbelievable relief at first, I felt so thankful and lucky to have a pool.  I tried to feel (by inserting my hand into my vagina) how dilated I was myself and I could feel this strange cone shaped head!  Amande confirmed this and told me I could push, but I was so tired out, the contractions were still very painful but were not useful for pushing.  Amande explained that I shouldn’t wait for pushing as the baby’s head wasn’t comfortable so I stood up out of the water where I had more strength, although I wished for a rope to pull on, I pulled on Jluc instead!

 I remember the feeling of the baby’s head getting closer to getting out and each time slipping away.  Even though giving birth in water means there is less likelihood of tearing of the perineum, it was important for me to know that Amande was holding my skin so I could really push and know I wouldn’t tear.  Like my first child I didn’t get that strong uncontrollable desire to push that I’d read about, so I concentrated and just bore down as hard as I could, I found it hard to concentrate when Jluc would touch me but Amande somehow got me to lie back into him.

When the baby’s head did come she asked me to be still and I could feel her doing something to me, it felt like she was gently stretching me, I felt it was beneficial to the baby and me.  Amande told us later that the cord was caught on the baby’s shoulder and she had been easing it away.  By 2.30pm I was holding my belly pushing down and I felt her wriggle out like a little fish.  Amande put her on my stomach and we gazed into each others eyes, hers full of wonder or wisdom perhaps, we stayed like that for a few minutes, me listening to her soft breaths, she was so alert that I now regret not having photographs of this moment to show to others how beautiful a birth can be.  I hadn’t wanted a bright flash to be one of her first experiences.

Amande got us to come out, as she was afraid the baby would get cold. Standing up though I Haemorrhaged and blood came out of me like a tap. Jluc took the baby.  I lay down on the sofa and Amande massaged my uterus gently to close it up and I stopped bleeding quite quickly. I was so glad to have such a gentle and yet effective midwife. 

That was it then for me, I didn’t move again until evening in fact I was so worn out I had to crawl to get up the stairs to my bed!  Thankfully our new little being (later we named her Niamh) must have been as tired as I, because she slept soundly though her first night!

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