Lizzie’s Home Birth Story
I had been considering a home birth since the start of my pregnancy after a friend of mine had a really positive experience at home. I really wanted to give birth in a relaxed and familiar environment with access to a birth pool. I knew that having a home birth reduces the risk of medical interventions, which I was keen to avoid.
At around 12 weeks pregnant, I attended the Birth Journeys hypnobirthing course. Through these classes I learned so much about birth itself and the techniques behind a calm and positive experience. Leah had the knowledge and experience to really reassure me and give me a clear picture of what a home birth would involve. After each session, I left feeling relaxed, informed more confident.
As I continued researching home births, I wanted my partner to feel equally involved. He was keen to learn, so we attended the Leah’s Active Birth Workshop together, which was fantastic. I knew that wherever I gave birth, I wanted to stay active and mobile, and we both picked up really useful techniques to support that.
My contractions began on Tuesday morning. I felt a mix of excitement and nerves, but I focused on staying relaxed and conserving my energy. I spent the day listening to my hypnobirthing tracks as the contractions gradually increased.
By Tuesday afternoon, the contractions were becoming stronger. I found the TENS machine really helpful alongside my hypnobirthing tracks, which I had used throughout pregnancy. Overnight, as contractions became more frequent, my partner called the home birth team. However, by Wednesday morning, my contractions had slowed down again so we continued to stay at home with the plan to contact the midwives when my contractions became more frequent.
I spent most of Wednesday resting on the sofa, napping and watching my favourite films in between contractions.
By Wednesday evening, things began to pick up again. The home birth team arrived late that night. We had created a calm environment with dim lighting, fairy lights, candles, aromatherapy oils, and my hypnobirthing track playing continuously. At that point, I was 3.5 cm dilated, so the midwives stayed and began monitoring me and baby while my partner prepared the birth pool.
By Thursday morning I had progressed further. I found the gas and air really effective alongside breathing techniques. I tried the birth pool several times, but each time I got in my contractions slowed down, so I chose to get out and stay active instead. I used a lot of upright positions, mainly on the birth ball, swaying side to side.
On Thursday afternoon my waters broke at 9.5cm. Up until transition stage I felt calm, in control, and positive. I experienced the emotional shift of transition stage, which I was helped through by my partner and the midwives who were all very encouraging.
As I began pushing, I was offered the pool again, but I decided against it. Instead, I asked for support into a position that would minimise the risk of tearing. I laboured on my hands and knees, and with gentle coaching from the midwives, my daughter was born on Thursday afternoon.
The next few hours were incredibly special as I had skin to skin with my daughter on the sofa. The midwives were wonderful, they supported me with feeding and even made me a cup of tea and a slice of toast!
By Thursday evening, our home was pretty much back to normal. I showered, changed into my pyjamas, and ordered a takeaway while we took turns cuddling our baby.
The whole experience was overwhelmingly positive, and I felt supported and empowered throughout.
To find out more about place of birth, visit my homebirth blog post, contact me to discuss your birth plans or book an antenatal course.
