Kasia, 30, Milton Keynes, United Kingdom
First child, Vegan pregnancy
@Gorakas_
Honestly, my birth story was one of the best days in my life and what a great story it is to tell!
As parenthood began to spring upon us, we awaited the birth of our first newborn.
We were pregnant with our first child and we didn’t know the sex. We didn’t know because, first of all ,it’s a great surprise and I love surprises and, secondly, we didn’t want to have scans due to their possible side effects (do your own research).
I calculated the due date myself; I knew exactly when she was created. That night in particular was very special. It’s like we felt it and we made her with pure love and affection.
Saturday, 18/08/18 at 00:15, while we were watching a movie I felt a leak in between my legs. I quickly got up and went to the bathroom to check if my water had broken. Just as I suspected, I then knew she was coming the same day. We decided to go to bed as we knew we would need our energy.
I woke up a few times during the night to change the pads as the water kept seeping out. Around 6:15 am I felt my stomach suddenly cramp. It felt like period pain, it wasn’t anything intense, just a slight discomfort in my stomach for no longer than a few minutes. At 6:35 am, the surge came again and it was coming regularly approximately every 15-20 minutes. My partner woke up after 7 am to check if I was ok. Normally he sleeps so much longer and once I told him about my cramps, he remained awake.
We had a wonderful morning; making jokes, playing around, and just being genuinely happy and excited. When we finally got up, we decided to prepare our living room for the birth. Well, I was doing the preparation, while my boyfriend was cooking Nigerian food for us. I had everything packed in a ‘birth’ box: candles, himalayan salt lamp, essential oils for our air diffuser, towels, healthy snacks, drinks (raspberry leaf tea and coconut water), and clothes.
I prepared the pool as well, while dealing with stronger surges. I even managed to hoover the house which my sister found pretty impressive. Affirmations, along with nice, calming music filled the background. The time passed pleasantly. I wouldn’t say it was relevant because I was scanning my eyes at the clock from time to time, not because I was impatient, but because I was curious how long labour will last.
In the afternoon when everything was ready and food had been cooked the two of us and my sister burned sage around the house to kill bad bacteria, bad vibes, and welcome our baby into a nice, clean, and positive environment. It was a great experience filled with love and excitement.
Around 3 pm, I experienced surges every 3-4 minutes. I was thinking it must be getting close, but because they weren’t regular and I was feeling quite fatigued, we decided to go for a nap. But the pain kept waking me up, so I decided to go in the pool. I didn’t last long at all as the water was too cold. I opted for a shower/bath. It was at this very moment that I suddenly lost track of time, but it truly was wonderful. Under the shower every surge became easily bearable and I felt glorious just imagining my perfect baby.
However I couldn’t stay there forever. 1.5 hours later I came out and went back downstairs to the living room where everything was ready.
My partner suggested we should go for a walk. My sister suggested the walk should be around the garden. I instantly agreed and we all made our way outside. The weather was lovely and the fresh air.... mmmmm! Anyway, my surges became closer and closer. They were happening and coming every 2 minutes and would last for about 45 seconds. I knew I was going to meet our baby anytime soon. At 8:30 pm my boyfriend decided to call the midwife. I initially wanted to have a free birth because I didn’t trust medical staff, however he wasn’t ready for it and I agreed for him to call them. The midwives arrived around 9:20 pm before I jumped into the pool around 10 pm.
In the pool, I leaned forward on my knees. My partner was in front of me. We held hands and every surge we experienced as one. I was so grateful that my sister was present. I didn’t want my partner to leave, not even for a second. At that stage the time didn’t exist anymore, however deeply inside I wanted to have my baby the same night because firstly, it was my due date and secondly, the date itself is lovely (18.08.18). The most important midwife continually ‘stressed’ that my water broke almost 24 hours ago and if I didn’t give birth before midnight they would need to transfer me to the hospital.
At some point, I felt the unanticipated need to push so I changed position. Now my partner was supporting me from the back.
I don’t remember how long I pushed before the midwife soon said she could see the baby’s hair. I immediately touched the head and this gave me a new level of energy!
At this point, I knew I would push her out soon. The next surge came and I pushed hard, but the head didn’t come out. It almost came out and then went back in a bit. It’s like going two steps forward and then one step back. I thought, I need to push even harder! Even though I knew that pushing wasn’t necessary at all, the next push I was more ready than ever! I pushed, and that was it, my baby’s head was out!
It was such a relief! One more push and our baby was out and ready to see the world! We grabbed her and I quickly looked to see if I had given birth to a boy or a girl. I thought "it was a boy" as I saw something that looked like it could possibly be. I didn’t say anything as I was busy enjoying cuddles with my little one and I was so proud of myself that I had done it! I had successfully given birth!
All of a sudden, the midwife said, “We haven’t checked the sex!”, so she picked the baby up and she said:
“It’s a girl!”
OMG, I was extremely happy! I didn’t quite remember exactly when, but my sister told me that I kept saying "We have Vienna! We have our baby girl!”
Both me and my partner wanted to have a little girl so we decided to call her Vienna long before she was born. Why ‘Vienna’?, because she was made there.
What a wonderful and deep experience birth is! It’s like I held my hands with The Creator!
I could have ended my beautiful story there, but I need to tell you what happened next...
The pool I was in became extremely red. The midwife panicked and called an ambulance. She cut the cord in the meantime, which prevented me having my dream lotus birth. I unfortunately ended up in the hospital as apparently I had lost "lots of blood". The amount of blood I had actually lost was normal for the majority of women in labour (800ml).
My trip to the hospital was unnecessary. I felt like due to me being so stubborn and declining all scans and unnecessary interventions during my pregnancy, the midwife wanted to find something ’wrong’ to limit me from having a perfect pregnancy and birth. After the incident my partner said that the next birth will be without any midwifes whatsoever. We both believe in the power of the mind and healthy food. We know we can do this by ourselves.
For weeks I felt upset and disappointed with myself and the actions of the midwives, but I learned to forgive and let go. I do however have a healthy, clever, and beautiful baby girl so I really couldn’t be any happier.
Vienna
August 18, 2018