Nicole, first time mum, precipitous labour

I woke up on the morning of the 5th of September, 40 weeks pregnant, feeling quite upset and unsettled, as I had been booked in for an induction the following Wednesday due to signs of placental degradation. I felt no signs that my baby’s birth was near. I called my sister, who lives over east, expressing my fears and concerns regarding the booked induction. She told me to go for a walk and to try and relax, as there was still plenty of time for the baby to arrive without the need for intervention. So I took her advice and decided to go shopping. Following my brief shopping expedition I returned home and instead of following my usual lunchtime routine, lunch-Netflix-nap, I decided to lie down and listen to one of my hypnobirthing tracks. Within a minute or so of lying down I started to feel uncomfortable, a potential surge was coming on, so I sat up, then stood and the surge failed to disappear. I called my husband at approximately 3.30pm; who was working in the Perth CBD, and told him that I may have had a surge but was unsure. Since I was 40 weeks pregnant Mike decided to leave work and come home. I got up from my bed and the next thing I felt was a popping like sensation followed by a gush of fluid coloured brownie-pink. I contacted the hospital and explained to them what had occurred, as I was not in distress and unsure of the time between my surges, the nurse told me to call back in an hour. Well, within a matter of 9 mins to be exact I started bleeding. I called the midwife, this time finding it difficult to talk at times; paying more attention to the gap between my surges I realised that they were about 4 minutes apart. The midwife instructed me to come to the hospital as soon as possible. Maintaining my breathing and composure, I managed to pack the car as I waited for my husband to return home from work. He arrived home at 4.26pm and we immediately drove to the hospital, which was about a 30-minute drive away.

For me the car ride was pleasant, I listened to the hypnobirthing tracks, maintaining a sense of calmness the entire trip, I even managed to direct my husband to the hospital.

Mike on the other hand was starting to panic; he was timing my surges, which proceeded to get closer and closer at a rapid rate. Mike contacted the midwife when we were minutes away as I indicated that I felt the urge the baby was coming. At about 5pm we met the midwife at the hospital entry, I sat in the wheel chair and was rushed straight into the delivery suite. My usual obstetrician and midwife were both there; I was examined to be approximately 9cm dilated. There was no time for any drugs, I began to push but the monitoring systems were indicating that the baby was in distress. The medical staff were concerned and required a vacuum to assist with the delivery. The coloured fluid that gushed earlier was in fact my wasters breaking but were coloured as the baby had done a poo in utero. At 5.36pm we welcomed our beautiful and healthy daughter Elkie.

It was all very intense and extremely quick, something that I did not expect, but hypnobirthing gave me a sense of calmness that enabled the birth to go as smooth as possible. I felt amazing and strong and usually I am not a calm person so thank you to Renee for showing us the world of hypnobirthing. I really feel had I not done the Hypnobirthing Australia™ course I would not have been able to be so calm and relaxed about the whole birthing experience.