My homebirth experience

Thought I would post this on here - love thinking back to this birth.

My due date past, and 3 days I began to feel some pains on the Wednesday evening. I had been having strong Braxton hicks for the last 2weeks, so didn't think too much of it. However after a night of regular pains and the discovery my plug was coming away I thought that this could be the start of it. I said bye to my boyfriend as he went to work, telling him not to be too excited as my last labour had lasted ages.
I kept myself busy, cleaning the house and having a bath. This slowed down my contractions so I decided to go down town with my toddler and my sister to see if I could get things moving. I also took some homeopathic remedies, Caulophyllum to try and get my contractions stronger and more regular; and Pulsatilla to help with turning my baby into a better birthing position. My daughter decided to have a nap when we got home so I joined her and when I woke my contractions were 6 minutes apart. I still did not think this was the real deal so carried on as normal-ish but they were getting more intense. My boyfriend came home to find me on all fours groaning, which was a massive shock to him as I hadn't been in touch with him all day.



I had wanted my daughter to stay at home (she is 2 years old) but she was getting tetchy as it was bedtime and I couldn’t cope with that. So she went round her Nan’s. At 6.30pm I called the hospital to tell them I was having strong contractions and that I was having a homebirth. They told me someone would be out. At 7pm I went back downstairs to sit on the sofa only for my waters to break (I never had this with my daughter and thought I had wet myself until it gushed out). Just after the midwife arrived and checked me to find I was 3cm dilated but baby was lying with their head in the transverse position so she was still turning into the right position. Just after the midwife arrived a student midwife arrived too, and so did my best friend.

I was struggling with the pain at this time (had my TENs on but it wasn't doing much) so they decided to start the gas and air. However there was a right struggle to get it sorted, they couldn't get it to work for ages. Even with the gas and air I was not coping with the contractions so it was suggested I went into the bath. Getting into the bath was bliss. It had lavender oil in which helped calm me down and this really helped for a bit, boyfriend was splashing water on my back during contractions whilst I was putting it on my bump.

The gas and air was brought into me but it just wasn't doing anything (found out after that I wasn't breathing hard enough to take it in, thanks to my chest infection). However it gave me something to concentrate on but the pains were getting too much and I started begging everyone to let me go to the hospital. The midwife wanted to check me again at 10.30pm and I was 4cm, but my cervix had thinned out and baby's head was in the right position. I felt that I wasn't progressing and began to beg my boyfriend, sister and friend to take me to hospital but they kept encouraging me telling me I didn't want to go. I went back into the bath for a bit but started to make a lot of noise so the midwife asked to listen to the baby's heartbeat. It was really hurting me to stand up so I got out the bath again, and onto the bed. I really felt heavy pressure and an urge to go to the toilet but no-one seemed to be taking me seriously (or so I thought), and I ended up going into the bathroom in a sulk. Have been told that all they could hear from the bedroom was a little voice saying "why won't anyone listen to me". The midwife told me I needed to get active but it was really hurting to stand up (I now know it was because baby was moving down). I had another contraction and my friend noticed I was bleeding and that this was a sign that baby was coming. The midwife examined me and it was discovered I was fully dilated (4 to 10cms in half an hour) but there was a lip of cervix so I wasn't to push. However I couldn't stop it, I felt this overwhelming urge to push. I was on my hands and knees hanging on to my friend. The midwives were not ready as I had gone from 4 cm to 10cm in half an hour and they had to quickly phone for the second midwife and were rushing round getting stuff ready out of the home birth box (my sister had to rush out to their car to get the delivery kit). I couldn't stop though and was pushing my baby out, the student midwife was holding the head in but I remember my sister announcing that “the head is out". I had another big contraction and my baby was born at 11.22pm on the 28th February (just missing the leap year). In total the second stage lasted 12 minutes (my eldest took 2 hours to push out). I was just in shock, and was just on all fours on the bed. My sister told the midwife not to tell me the sex as I wanted to discover this for myself. The midwife told me that baby was wrapped up in the cord so I was not to move, and after what seemed like a lifetime I was able to look down and see my baby and see we had another daughter, who we called Cally. I picked her up, and cut the cord myself. The second midwife arrived then, had missed the whole thing. I decided to have the injection to pass the placenta but my membranes snapped so it was a few minutes before I got to hold Cally to feed her. We phoned up my mother in law to tell her she had another grand daughter and she came round to meet her.


I had a quick shower then back into a clean bed with my newborn. My boyfriend brought up a glass of champagne for everyone, and my sister made me some honey on toast and a cup of coffee. The midwives cleaned everything up and said goodbye, my friend put on the washing and tidied up. At 3.30am I decided I was hungry and ate the rest of boyfriend's Chinese meal that he had earlier on that night. I couldn’t sleep as the adrenaline was still going, I could not stop staring at my beautiful baby.

It was an amazing experience and being at home really helped me. I felt more relaxed and much more in control; and although I did beg to go to hospital I was given great support and this helped me to stay where I was. I healed so fast, and whilst I put this down to the amount of arnica I took I do think the homebirth was a big factor in this. It also helped me to come to terms with my first birth, I had felt like I had failed and couldn’t do labour properly, but this shows I can and that at my first birth I made the right decisions for me at that time.

What a beautiful birth story!

Thankyou so much for sharing with us :aww:

Wonderful story! Well done!
I wanted home birth with Maya, but midwife transfered us to hosp worried baby might get stuck: all 9lb 11oz of joy
Thank you for sharing with us :aww:

What a lovely story,I wanted to have Mollie at home but on community midwifes advice had her at hospital (she thought she would be a lot bigger than she was (8lb 12oz), and i might have problems) but only just got to hospital in time anyway.Thankyou for sharing such a personal/private moment with us.

:aww: Wonderful birth story! Thank you for posting it Beanie

I hope to do it again and stay at home this time! :cheer:

What a beautiful story! Thanks for sharing! :aww: :aww: :aww:

what a lovely story! thanks for sharing :aww: :aww:

awwwwww thankyou for sharing! xx