Ellie's Home Birth Story 27th November 2006

The wail was primal, it was from somewhere else. I could feel it but I couldn't hear it, it was coming from me.  I had just been told my baby, my newborn, not yet a week old baby had to go back to hospital again as her jaundice levels had shot up.  We had only just returned home and were settling cosily back to home life. Let me start at the beginning.

Natural, earth-mother, secure, safe and home, these were the thoughts I had for my birth and my baby.  Due on the 21st December, we had a whole month to organise the house, to 'nest' and to be completely satisfied that our home was going to be the best environment to bring our baby into this world.  But of course nature works its wondrous ways and decided that our baby was arriving sooner.  Barry & I had had a house warming party the night before, the house was looking amazing, it was cosy, it was comforting, it was warmed by all our family and friends, who joked about how big I was and how earth mother I looked and how ready to drop, till well after midnight.  

We did a quick tidy up and went to bed at 3am, feeling happy and contented that we had hosted a wonderful and fun house warming party. In actual fact it turned out to be a baby warming party…the next morning at 10am, I woke up and 'woooosh' my waters broke, I stood up and was still leaking. Not believing that I could have wet myself, I woke Barry and told him. He seemed quite calm about it and said shall we phone the hospital – his stock response for the past few months to any ache or twinge! I, of course, took myself off to the toilet, still quite calm and not quite sure if this was happening. Next came the mucous plug... with slight tinges of blood, nothing worrying there either.  This all seemed a bit textbook to me, I know the plug can go and there can be delays, I know the waters can break and still nothing can happen. But for waters first, then plug... next would be contractions I thought... wouldn't that be hilarious!! Wouldn't that be real? But I was only 36+3, I wasn't ready, the house wasn't ready, the pool wasn't ready.  If it hadn't been for me pushing to get various things over the past few months, we would have had nothing.

I telephoned my sister (who was a midwife) and told her what had happened, for the next hour or so, I tried to explain what was happening, the consistency of mucus, the amount of blood, the amount of leakage. She asked me if I was having any pain. Pain? I thought as in back pain or ... oh hang on what was that... that felt tight across the bottom of my belly. I shall call these tightenings, not contractions, they can't be contractions, it just feels a bit tight.

I checked the baby's heartbeat and my temperature and my heartbeat in case of infection. This I did hourly from about 11am till 6pm. All was within normal ranges. I charted my 'tightenings' which were every 5-10mins for maximum a minute at a time. All the while I was talking to my sister on the phone letting her know the readings and confirming that things were still ok. By now it was pretty clear that this was not false labour and Barry had taken himself off to B&Q to sort out the pipes for the birth pool and Mothercare to get a floating temp gauge. He managed to take a wrong turn on the way home and ended up on the motorway to London. He was most upset and ended up over an hour late coming back. 

I meanwhile was permanently ensconced on our porta-potti as the baby was permanently ensconced on my bladder. That porta-potti turned out to be best thing we got for this labour. Every time I tried to move about I need to pee! It was so frustrating... .all my pre-natal yoga moves and aqua-natal practice was going to waste, I couldn't be in any other position except sat on the potti slumped forward on a big cushion propped on a chair!! But boy was I pleased I didn't have to traipse upstairs. In between peeing and 'tightenings', I fashioned myself a wee nest in the living room beside the heater with cushions and towels. I had a gathering of candles, light boxes and oil burners, which I had been collecting over the past weeks, and I laid them out in the back room where the pool was going to be. The pool which was still deflated, still empty but had at least been taken out its box (it needs to 'breathe' for 2hours before use, something we thankfully found out the week before).

During this time, I began calling my tightenings by their full and proper title. Contractions. When did that happen? Barry noticed it first and pointed it out to me. This was it I thought this is real. The pool was inflating and Barry was fixing taps onto hoses and hoses onto walls and I was still on my potti!

By 6pm, the pool was filling and things seemed to be going smoothly. Barry and I were timing contractions, which by now were longer and stronger. I called the hospital and told them I was in labour and they needed to send someone out. They tried to persuade me to come in to the hospital (because it was before 37 weeks), but I stood my ground and they said they would get back to me. How good of them, I thought!

Then disaster... .Barry forgot to turn off the tap in the pool and had it been running cold water for ages. The pool was almost half full, of cold water. This is when I began to panic, become upset and think this is not going to happen, whilst writhing on my 'nest'. This is when Barry started to panic inwardly, frantically empty the pool bucket by bucket and boil the kettle. All the while telling me things will be perfect, it's not a problem and he can fix it. And fix it he did. Phoning our best friend, who went to the supermarket and bought 4 kettles, he set to work boiling kettles and pots in order to refill the pool, whilst trying to be with me and help me through my contractions.

At 9pm the doorbell went and in walked the midwives. They said their obligatory 'we think you should go to the hospital' speech and, realising it wasn't going to happen, settled in for the duration.

(Note from Angela at Home Birth UK: Miriam's sister reports that Miriam actually responded "Thanks for your opinion; you will find me at home", which I think is an excellent way of dealing with the situation! The same midwife later told Miriam "You are too early in gestation for a waterbirth", to which she responded "Thanks for your opinion; you will find me in the pool".)

I obtained timings and figures later from my midwife as during the rest of the evening, I lost all concept of time and space. I was checked at 9.20pm and found to be 3cm dilated, cervix almost effaced and V+ 0-1.

For the next hour, I remained on my 'nest' and was mainly on my hands and knees, grasping Barry's hand and making incredible noises. I found that if I made moaning and groaning noises it helped the pain, so I did this for all I was worth. There was no high pitched screaming, just low guttural moaning, grunting and baying noises.

The pool was finally ready for me at 10.30pm and I was straight in there. Being the organised person I am, I had the previous day, sorted out what music I wanted for my labour. I opted for the drum and rain music and with my glowing light boxes and candles, the room was amazingly peaceful. I for one was not!!!!

This stage was the hardest, I was told not to push and it would increase my risk of tearing and so I had to blow out my contractions instead of pushing. Barry was incredible at this point and almost fainted himself with panting!! Every time I said I can't do this he was there saying I can. Every time I needed him to give me strength he was right there passing it to me.

At 00.30am I had strong rectal pressure and the midwives asked me to come out as I had been in the pool for two hours. They checked me and found I was fully dilated, V+0+1. They tried to ask me to stay out of the water as they were not comfortable with me giving birth in the water, saying don't you care about your baby, I politely declined, called her mean and 'ran' straight back in to the pool!!

I asked how long this next stage was going to be and when she told me it could be an hour I thought NOOOOoo way. So very soon after I felt a slight bulge and excitedly guided Barry's hand to touch it. He was astounded, I was astounded. It was amazing.

Then at 1.05am with one almighty push, the widest eyes I have ever made with the most astonished feeling I have ever felt, Ellie Rebecca slipped gently into the water. I remember seeing her in the water and my mind stopped. Everything literally stopped. For that split moment, nothing mattered, nothing moved, time was immobile. I gently scooped her up and cradled her in my arms. I blew gently into her face, she raised her eyebrows at me and gasped her first ever breath. In that moment Barry and I gasped our first ever breath too. I was so overawed I didn't even think to find out if she was a boy or girl. She lay peacefully in my arms until the cord stopped pulsating and was clamped by daddy Barry as he has now become.
I came out of the pool and thankfully delivered my placenta by 1.18am with no fuss whatsoever, the midwife gently pulled and out it came. Ellie weighed 6lb 11oz and had Apgar scores of 9/1 and 10/5. I had estimated blood loss 250ml, no tears.

Our first night in our own bed with Ellie Rebecca in between us was magical. We just could not believe what we had created.

Unfortunately, being early, Ellie had trouble feeding and became jaundiced, and we had to go to hospital the following day and we then spent the next week and half in and out of hospital with her having light treatment. As is the way in my life, it was one extreme to the other. All that I hoped and wished for with her birth was now the complete opposite. She was in a hospital environment, she was having blood taken, she had to feed every three hours because of the fear of dehydration and the all important skin to skin contact was drastically reduced. We were taken care of wonderfully in the hospital and we made the best of it was we could, letting Ellie know we were there for her all the way. Soon she was allowed home and the fun of babies begins

Thoughts on Gestational Diabetes Experience

Its so fucking much to process at the moment its crazy....having meeting with IM tomorrow to suss out each others comfort zones for making a home birth happen... although occasionally I think FUCK IT induce and caesarean...thats how crazy it can get!!!

Numbers are down, nhs appeased off insulin for another week or so, making decision on scan in 2weeks re worth the risk of notoriously off sizing chart and more stress...pinning waay too much hope on going early like last two but know thats not a definite....

I'm having to work out the whole food thing in a short space of time to get my numbers under control so i can help my birth happen with the least interventions and complications and fuck me its not easy!! Been off refined sugar for nearly two months now and still get major craving every so often, like tonight.

I've been sending Maia's birth video to my sister for her advice and holy crap, I kind of wish I hadn't watched it just now. It took me 2yrs to write her birth story, thats how hard it was to process!!

"I've seen the future, and this all works out reasonably well." Almost Famous



Meltdowns - sporadic and usually between sisters
Losing the Plot - minimal
Breastfeeding - buying pipette bottles for colostrum

Maia's Birth Story and how I am now more informed

It has been over two years and I am finally deciding I can write Maia's birth story, aside from the obvious no time, energy and brain power to formulate my thoughts, there was also the trauma of the actual event to process.  The pregnancy went by really fast with a 1yr old in tow and my due date was suddenly really near.  My first was born at 36+3, so we were ready for an early home birth. We'd started perineum massage and I started my raspberry tincture which in hindsight, I think these are possibly what induced braxton hicks but they were quite painful and so knowing I was early with my first, we went down to the hospital for investigations.  Next time, I am going nowhere, I am better informed.

Whilst having an internal to check for dilation after some particularly painful contractions  (I was on a monitor) and I was before 36weeks,  they swabbed WITHOUT my consent for GBS. This caused a whole world of problems and hassle for me and my preferred home birth.  REMEMBER LADIES: If you do have an internal check, make sure you SAY NO to a swab.  Next time, I say no thanks, I am better informed.

The midwives immediately started telling me I would have to take antibiotics during labour and so I could not have my homebirth as planned.  We of course having been through a homebirth with our first knew that NHS word is not gospel and we had to do our own research.  So after extensively researching all areas of GBS,  we decided the risk was minimal and that we would not be having antibiotics during labour and a home birth would be the safer option for us.  We informed the midwife team and could feel the weight of disapproval instantly.  We were told in many different ways how we would be putting our baby at risk, we could kill our baby etc.  We even had a drive by leafleting whereby someone, possibly a midwife, drove by in a dark car, dropped a leaflet through our letterbox with NHS guidelines and information about the dangers of GBS in labour and with a handwritten message urging us to think about our unborn child (because we hadn't done that so far obviously).

We then were 'ordered' to a meeting with the consultant to discuss our options.  We had already had experience of the consultants with our first birth and knew we had to be prepared for their doom and gloom and worst case scenario outlook.  I was already feeling pressure and stress from the constant hassle so decided not to go to the meeting and let my husband go alone. It turned out to be a lecture on the risks and possible deathly situation we were putting our baby in.  We formulated a strong letter indicating our wishes and that we had decided on a home birth and prepared it to give to our midwife at the next meeting.

By this time I was really started to feel anxiety from the mounting harrassement, that coupled with the knowledge of the hassle we got after my last birth I just knew in my head that I was not ready to give birth.  

Of course my baby had other ideas and so at at 37+4 during a rousing and resonating organ rendition for my husbands graduation , Maia turned around in my tummy and made her way down!

That evening at 10.30pm, just as hubby was about to go for graduation drinks (his first night out in a looong time)  my waters broke.  

I did not realise that Maia had turned and so my labour did not progress that well and was causing me a lot of back pain.  The midwives arrived around 4am and let me labour in peace.  After 6hours my contractions were slowing and they wanted me out of the hot tub. At this time, I was in a lot of back pain and did not know what was going on.  As I lay on my makeshift bed, the midwife examined me and it became clear that the problem was a back to back baby.  I tried side stair climbing, and as Ellie was awake by this point, we tried breastfeeding to see if it would restart the contractions.  I sensed the urgency and trepidation in the room from the midwives and this in turn caused me to be fearful and anxious, which of course made my contractions slow even more.  After 12 hours, in my tired, emotional and vulnerable state the midwives persuaded me to transfer to the hospital.  The ambulance ride was HELL on a gurney.  The driver was driving like a loony, possibly due to my screaming because the road was SO bumpy and twisty or the driver was driving like a loony.  Next time,  I know back to back birthing is possible, I am better informed. 

Once inside the hospital I was subjected to a whole new level of pressure and fear whereby I was threatened with caesarean.  Being the obstinate and strong woman that I am I determined myself into position, standing over the bed, legs slightly bent and pledged to have this baby without medical intervention.  By now, Maia was making her presence known and then retreating back into the safety of my womb as if to say "What? Where's my homebirth, where is my subtle light and warm pool?".    

By this time I was convinced I could not do it, she was not coming out and could not believe she kept going back inside. I was obviously in transition by this point as I was beyond my coping yet still I carried on. I moved onto the floor and onto my knees.

Before 12pm, Maia's head emerged, but only the top part and there she sat, stuck.  Behind me I heard a midwife threaten me with the fact that the Dr's were outside the door right now and if I did not deliver this baby, they were coming in to get it out.  Wow...that's encouraging, thanks for that...a great dose of fear in my last final pushes, just what I needed.

At 12.05am Maia finally made her emergence into the world.  She was not breathing and they whipped her away into the incubator to resuscitate her.  In hindsight and if I had had my wits about me (!), I would have insisted that this could have been done with the umbilical chord still attached.  Instead, they severed the chord so abruptly that I actually felt the disconnection physically and mentally.  It was an horrific feeling and minutes later there was a massive gush of blood onto the floor and I almost fainted.  Next time, I will be better informed on the possibilities of still being attached whilst resuscitating. I am sure it's possible.

Maia was resuscitated and with no problems and I insisted she was given back to me straight away. They left me alone and the bonding began.

We insisted that we leave the hospital that day and went home to begin our babymoon.  However due to Maia being stuck, their fear over GBS and over cautionary midwife who looked at a birthmark and though it was a bruise,  they insisted we go back into hospital for Maia to be checked.  Whilst there, they discovered her billyrubin levels (jaundice) were through the roof and so she had to stay for light therapy.  Unbelievably they wanted me to go to the ward, on a different floor, and leave Maia in the SCBU.  HA!!! Just how uninformed did they think I was???   I refused and was given a chair in her room where I refused to allow her off me the whole time we were there.  They organised one of the new lightjackets, so I could hold her and she could get treatment at the same time.  She slept on me whilst I slept on this armchair/bed for a week and a half.  Much to my disappointment I allowed Maia to have antibiotics again through fear and intimidation which I am convinced contributed to her stomach problems and intolerances, but that is another story.  The staff in the hospital were polite and professionally nice to the 'wierd' mum and I gave them a print-out of some Continuum Concept/Attachment Parenting information just so they understood my intention.


Once home, the fun began and my informed mind keeps growing thanks to my amazingly informed FB friends!

(Please note these links are not exclusive) 




IF RESULTS ARE POSITIVE
Propolus can be taken daily, either in capsules or tincture, 3 to 4
times daily.

Echinacea root (Augustofloria) can be taken either as a tea or 
tincure, 3 times daily. To make the tea, use 1 oz of the root to 1
pint of boiling water and steep for 6 to 8 hours. Echinacea root is
specific to staph and strep infections. It stimulates the body's
defense mechanisms as well. A strong tea may also be diluted and used 
as a douche. When douching in pregnancy, extra care must be taken to
avoid forcing water up into the uterus, causing infection and other
problems.

Safe Douching During Pregnancy
Fill douche bag with cooled tea, attach cleaned vaginal tip. 
Hang bag 10 inches or less from the floor.
Lay in the bathtub and gently insert the nozzle into the vagina no
more than half way in.
Very gently release the hose clamp and allow tea to run in and out of
the vagina, do NOT attempt to retain water in the vagina in pregnancy. 
When finished, clean the equipment thoroughly.
Douching should never be attempted if there is any question that
cervical dilation, placenta previa or prematurely ruptured membranes
are present.


Using Essential Oils 
It's imparative that the oils are of highest quality.
Put the following in a Double "O" gelatin or vegetable capsule:
5 drops Lemon Essential oil
3 drops Oregano Essential oil
5 drops Mountain Savory Essential oil 
Take one capsule 3 times daily.


Additionally do the following:
Soak an ORGANIC tampon or sea sponge in...
15 drops Lemon Essential oil
9 drops Oregeno Essential oil
15 drops Mountain Savory Essential oil 
1 tsp carrier (V-6) oil (see below) or any of the 6 listed below
Leave soaked tampon in overnight. Insist on being retested. Do this
daily for the last six weeks of pregnancy.

V-6 Vegetable Mixing Oil:
V-6 Mixing Oil combines food-grade vegetable oils for mixing with
essential oils to create blends, formulas and massage oils. Grape seed
oil, wheat germ oil and vitamin E are nurturing to the skin as natural
antioxidants. V-6 is also excellent for cooking and making salad 
dressings. Blendi 15-30 drops of an essential oil to 1 oz. mixing oil.
V-6 is good for mixing massage oils, creating your own blends and
formulas, for cooking and making salad dressings, etc. The ingredients
of V-6 Mixing Oil are sesame seed oil, grape seed oil, almond oil,
wheat germ oil, sunflower seed oil and vitamin E.

Take 500 mg Vitamin C every 4 waking hours.
1 acidophilus (4 billion micro-organisms or higher) capsule every 4 
waking hours.
 vitamin C and acidophilus daily for the last six weeks.

Insert an small ORGANIC tampon, or cotton ball, whichever is more
comfortable, soaked in a combination of 10 drops of tea tree essential 
oil and Olive oil. Leave the tampon in for 4 hours each day for 6
days.

GARLIC
cut or crush a whole, peeled garlic clove and sew a string through for
easier retrieval (crushed works better but is more difficult to insert 
and retrieve). insert overnight and repeat for 8 nights around week
36. the garlic cannot get lost as it cannot enter into through the
cervix but sometimes it gets hidden between the vaginal wall and the
cervix. you can usually taste the garlic once it is inserted so as 
long as you can taste it, it's still there. if the skin in your vagina
is damaged in anyway, the garlic will produce a stiinging sensation,
which is uncomfortable but won't do any harm, so i guess it depends 
how much it stings!


More suggestions for GBS:
EHB by NF Formulas given over a 10 day period (6 caps per day) (E.H.B.
by NF Formulas, Inc.), and Tea tree oil vaginal suppositories 3 to 4 x
daily for that time (see above). This mom was re-tested at two weeks 
after positive culture (3 to 4 days after last EHB taken), two weeks
after that (2 1/2 weeks after first positive culture), and on one
occasion was tested again 2 1/2 weeks later (5 weeks after positive
culture) because of a prolonged ROM with no labor. 

Then insist on retesting to see if the GBS has gone away. Midwives
have seen heavy colonization completely cleared with these treatments,
although there is no scientific study to support it.

Another midwife had a case of a mom's GBS culture at 36 weeks yielded 
a result of 2+ colonization, which was the same at 38 weeks. She had
her take 500mg Vitamin C every 4 waking hours, 1 EHB (NF Formulas)
capsule every 4 waking hours, Propolis 4x daily, and she inserted a
tampon soaked in 2% Tea Tree oil solution (2% Tea Tree essential oil, 
98% Olive oil). She left the tampon in for 4 hours each day for 6
days. Culture at 39 weeks was negative for GBS. She had a long labor,
a high leak for 72 hours, then a rapid active phase and 2nd stage,
healthy baby, normal placenta, and normal recovery. The midwife has 
become a believer in Tea Tree oil for a variety of infections, though
in this case she believes it acted synergistically with the other
natural therapies the mother used. She has used it as a spray on
throat infections, as well as for vaginal yeast, trichomonas, and 
gardnerella, all with great success. Not much is seen about Tea Tree
oil in midwifery literature, but it may well be worth a try for other
GBS+ moms who are averse to standard antibiotic therapy.


Another recommendation for GBS: 
1. Boost Vitamin C in your diet, such as eating 2 grapefruit per day.
Other good sources of Vit C: red peppers, oranges, kiwi fruit.

2. Drink a cup of Echinacea tea or take 2 capsules of echinacea every day

3. Get extra sleep before midnight. Slow down your schedule. Take it
easy and eat well. Follow a nutritious Pregnancy Diet.

4. Take 3 teaspoons of Colloidal Silver per day. Take it between
meals. Hold the liquid in your mouth a few minutes before swallowing. 
Colloidal Silver can be purchased in most health food stores. It is
silver suspended in water. It is antibiotic in nature and safe in
pregnancy.

5. Plan ahead for extra warmth after the birth for both you and baby. 
Hot water bottles, heating pads, hot packs, big towels dried in a hot
dryer during the pushing phase--will all help you and baby keep extra
toasty after birth and reduce stress. Have a friend or family member
assigned to be in charge of the "Mother/baby warmth team".

6. The colostrum from your breasts is the best antibiotic treatment
your baby could ever get. The colostrum is very important for your
baby. Breastfeeding your baby is the best thing you can do to keep 
your baby healthy since you pass on your immunities to your baby
through the breastmilk.

7. Other good prevention tips: Keep vaginal exams to a minimum--0 is
best. Do not permit artificial rupture of the membranes. After the 
membranes have broke, keep vaginal exams to a minimum, again 0 is best
if possible. If not possible, use extreme care and sterile technique
if an exam is absolutely necessary. Any exam has the possibility of
introducing GBS into the cervix of the mother if she has a positive
GBS test result. Do not allow children of other families to visit the
new baby for the first 3 weeks. Keep your older kids healthy so they
are not sneezing and coughing on new baby.