My 'birth story' by Alison

In March 2006 I had my 45th birthday and became pregnant.  The reason that my first pregnancy came along so late in life is another story.  I have always been fit and healthy with an active lifestyle.  From the first I imagined a birth in which I would be mobile throughout labour, and deliver squatting in a crouched position.  With this in mind I religiously attended ante-natal yoga throughout my pregnancy.  At the yoga sessions the group leader told the 'birth stories' of women that had been in her classes.  It was not unusual for women to have had to argue with medical staff in the maternity units in order to be allowed to get off the bed and stay active throughout delivery.  For some reason I didn't associate this with me and assumed I would be fine! I was living in East London at the time, so went to Whipps Cross for a check up at week 32.    The obstetrician told me that because of my age I was regarded as 'high risk' so would be unable to have the baby in their new 'active birth suite' and it felt like the baby was breach.  If he stayed like this I would have to have a caesarean.  This was the kick start I needed.  It at last dawned on me that if I didn't do something proactive I would have no control over the birth. 

I moved to Kent a month before I was due and saw an advert for 'Kent Independent Midwives' in the local NCT journal.  I decided the only way I could ensure a mobile / crouching delivery was ensure that the midwife who was with me knew my capabilities. 

I rang Virginia who came round to have a chat.  After examining me she said that she didn't think the baby was breach and she brought up the subject of home birth and using a birthing pool.  I was pretty sure that I wanted a hospital birth for the usual reason; so that the emergency services would be there, if needed, for either me or the baby. Virginia presented convincing evidence that a home birth was at least as safe, if not safer than a hospital birth.  Planning a home birth would keep my options open, any last minute hitches and I would be rushed into hospital via the emergency services. She discussed the medical intervention in childbirth that comes with hospitalisation and the long term implications for the health of both mother and child.  Some of this was anecdotal and some evidence based.  The evidence for 'where is best' is pretty inconclusive so in the end pregnant women can only hear the evidence and trust their instinct.  My instinct was to believe in Virginia!  I wanted minimal intervention, I wanted to maintain as much control as I could which meant minimal pain killing, I wanted a natural birth and a physiological third stage……and this is exactly what I got.

 At 4am on 7th December 2006 I felt my first contraction.  By 4.30 the contractions were at 5 minute intervals and I had been sick.  My partner, Roger, was with me.  We had been told that the first stage of labour usually takes about 12 hours so we decided to leave it until 6am to ring Virginia.  By then I was in the pool trying to relax as much as possible.  The pain was coming in waves, each lasting 5 minutes and repeating at 4 minute intervals.  With the first twinge of each contraction it was difficult not to go tense with the anticipation of the pain to come.  Once the pain reached its peak it was much easier, as I knew it was going to ease. Being in the warm water of the pool eased the pain to some extent but the pool's greatest benefit was that it reduced my weight, so I could move about easily, rolling from my back to my front, holding on to the well placed handles on the pool edge or sitting on its little seat.  Although the warmth relieved the muscle tension it made me feel hot and feint.  Roger put a cold sponge on my face which resolved that!  At 6 am, when Roger spoke to Virginia, I felt like I was starting to push but I was unsure.  The contractions so far had been painful but not excruciating, so I thought the sensation that I was pushing may be wishful thinking.  I also had an urge to grunt, so I went with it!  Virginia spoke to me on the phone and when she heard my grunts she thought the pushing was for real.  It was a foul night when Virginia set off in the wind and rain to get across Kent.  She knew it would take her an hour to get to us, so recommended that Roger ring for an ambulance.  I was to get out of the pool and attempt to slow things down by kneeling with my bum in the air and head on the floor.  When Roger dialled 999 they told him to stay on the phone in case they needed to talk him through the delivery before the ambulance arrived.  This was when Roger thought he was getting more than he bargained for!  Once I was out of the water each contraction or push was more painful.  When the two ambulance men arrived I was still in this lovely position, like a cat on heat, with my bum pointing towards the door.  So much for a home delivery leaving me with some dignity but, to be honest, by this stage I didn't care!  Anyway, the ambulance men wouldn't be able to recognise me as they didn't see my face.

Throughout the pregnancy I had said I didn't want to use painkillers during the birth, but the minute the ambulance men walked in I grabbed the face mask of the entonox and started to inhale!  My only excuse is that fighting against gravity whilst 'slowing things down' was more painful. I don't know if there is any truth in this but the 'gas and air' helped make the contractions more bearable.  It was about 20 minutes before Virginia arrived at which point I got back into the pool and got on with the business.  What a relief!  My memory gets a bit vague now but after a while I do remember feeling exhausted and thinking that this pushing was going on for ever.  It was only then that I began to doubt that I had the fitness to see this through.  Intermittently I gave myself an internal examination and reported progress although to be honest I wasn't entirely convinced!  The top of the babies head felt soft, which I thought was strange, so Virginia used a mirror to check it was not the umbilical cord I was feeling.  It turned out to be amniotic fluid as my waters hadn't broken.  Virginia tried to position the mirror so Roger could see the head but all he saw was bright crimson red.  He thought something was drastically wrong, but was confused as he could not read any concern in Virginia's face.  We now realise Roger wasn't seeing me or the babies head but a reflection of the red t-shirt he was wearing. A couple of hours later my progress seemed to have slowed, so Virginia recommended that I got out of the pool for an internal examination.  I climbed out and waddled into the bedroom.  Roger sat on the edge of our bed and held me in a crouching position.  As Virginia touched the amniotic sac it burst, and 10 minutes later she encouraged one final push and ….. the magic moment.  Max appeared.  I don't remember seeing his head but I can still imagine the feeling of his body slithering out and the sight of a baby on the floor in front of me.  9.30 am.  What a fantastic moment. I felt complete disbelief.  A real baby!  It was another few minutes before the umbilical cord stopped pulsating, after which Roger cut it.  I then went to sit on the loo, babe in arms, whilst I waited for the placenta.  This took another hour but by 11.00 I was sitting in my own bed in my own home breast feeding my new baby.   The delivery was all over and our new life had begun. 

E mail note sent to MP on Thurs 12th April:

Dear John Stanley,

In December 2006 I gave birth at home, to a healthy boy, using an independent midwife.  I have recently heard that the right for independent midwives to practice their profession is being threatened.  This has occurred as the government are bringing in legislation demanding that all health care professionals have full indemnity insurance.  Apparently, on the open market, independent midwives cannot get indemnity insurance as the price is too high.  My recent experience has encouraged me to completely support this very professional group of women.  They provide a service in which the time spent with their clients and the individual attention up to and beyond the birth would be impossible within the financial constraints of the NHS.  The midwives within the NHS seem to be under such time pressure that they cannot give the individual attention required to help a woman through home birth.  At age 46 years I am classified as an old mother and so, in the NHS, would have been attached to monitors and forced to lie on a bed.  I desperately wanted an active birth and the only way I could see this happening would be to personally know the midwife that would be attending to me. As it worked out not only did I get the active birth I wanted with a midwife I knew, but a successful home delivery as well, which was fantastic.  I strongly believe it would be a retrograde step not to have the facility of the independent midwife available to all those who want it.  I believe that John Baron MP has submitted an 'early day motion' supporting this case. I would be grateful if you could let me know your stance on this issue.  Please feel free to contact me if a discussion could help persuade you to support the case for a means to be found of maintaining women's choice for childbirth and the independent midwife.

 

Yours sincerely,

Alison Finlay