"After 28 minutes of slow pushing, out popped the head!
I lifted one knee up to create as much space as I could for baby.
With the next contraction out slipped the body with ease.
It was the most incredible relief as baby’s body left mine & entered the world. Baby was passed up between my legs & I lifted baby straight to my chest."
MAMA: Christine Walkemeyer @christinedreams
In 2019 I had an SVD (spontaneous vaginal delivery) with my son through the FBC (family birth center); born in the main hospital due to high blood pressure in labour.
We always wanted our babies close together in age but sadly journeyed two miscarriages in 2021 before this pregnancy. Thankfully this pregnancy was very smooth; mild nausea first trimester, no gestational diabetes & my blood pressure was normal.
I was mentally prepared to go “overdue” trusting baby would come when they were ready.
We made it to the 41 week appointment and baby was measuring big on ultrasound, an estimated 4.7kg (+/- 700g) with an abdominal circumference on 97th%ile.
I knew what this meant, and I couldn’t hold back tears from here on. It was such a hard moment, alone (no support people allowed due to Covid) and all I could think about was the last 18 months of grief & loss leading up to this moment. I also knew that these ultrasounds can be inaccurate, so to mentally cope with this estimation, I assumed baby would be closer to 4kg like my previous.
The medical team reviewed me concerned about my babes size & risk of shoulder dystocia with baby’s “big tummy”. They were very kind & open about my options including.
1. elective cesarean
2. induction
3. stretch and sweep
4. do nothing
I found the BRAIN decision making tool so helpful in this moment (Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Intuition, and do Nothing) I had a gut feeling I would go into labour overnight… so I opted for a stretch & sweep with an induction booked the next day. And planned to birth in the main hospital rather than FBC due to shoulder dystocia risk.
My midwife was on her days off. I messaged the midwife who looked after me when I had my first baby in case she was around the hospital … she came to see me, gave me much needed support & a shoulder to cry on. She palpated baby and felt they were in a great position & felt “the right size for me”; these words were so reassuring.
She did a stretch & sweep and sent me on my way.
The next morning I woke at 5am with contractions, mild and irregular ~ 10minutes Apart.
Around 7am my son was awake and concerned about me. I gave him a big hug before sending him to grandma’s.
I used my TENS machine & breathing to cope with the labour. I laboured at home till about 10am when labour became more intense and I was starting to fear I’d birth in the car.
With all the Covid screening & bright lights my labour stalled on arrival. I tried to get back “in the zone” when we settled into our room. I asked the midwife to check my dilation, I was 3cm 🙈
After some time I found that labouring with a peanutball worked wonders for my contractions which became stronger. My waters broke at 2:30pm and from there things got really intense. I completely lost control & was so overwhelmed with the intensity. I tried all the techniques I knew of to calm my breathing and body but I just struggled to find my calm. In this time my body kept pushing involuntarily even though I tried not to push. The midwife checked my dilation again, hoping I’d be fully dilated, but I was still only 4cm.
She recommended an epidural & organized the anesthetist to put one in. In that moment, it was the right choice. At the time, I felt so embarrassed that I needed an epidural. None the less, I had one.
From there my body progressed really well still using the peanut ball side lying. By 7:30pm I was fully dilated. I opted to have my epidural turned off so I could regain feeling & movement for second stage.
We started pushing at 8:30pm. I was able to get up on my knees and kneel to push. I pushed slowly and controlled as I hoped to avoid tearing.
After 28 minutes of slow pushing, out popped the head! I lifted one knee up to create as much space as I could for baby.
With the next contraction out slipped the body with ease. It was the most incredible relief as baby’s body left mine & entered the world. Baby was passed up between my legs & I lifted baby straight to my chest.
The gender was a surprise all pregnancy; I repositioned myself on the bed to check her gender and it was truly worth the wait to meet our baby GIRL 🌈🌈! We had two hours of beautiful skin to skin and a breast feed.
At 41+1 She really was a big healthy baby weighing 4660g, 53cm long and 37cm head circumference! I thankfully only had a small 1st degree tear not requiring sutures & a normal blood loss.
I’m so thankful for the tools I learnt in preparation for birth, some of the incredible breathing techniques and relaxation from the birth book as well incredible support of my midwife & husband.
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