Zara’s Quick Appearance
2014
First birth
Lived in: Ohaeawai, Far North
WHERE WAS YOUR PLANNED PLACE OF BIRTH?
Kawakawa Hospital
WHERE WAS YOUR ACTUAL PLACE OF BIRTH?
Kawakawa Hospital
ZARA'S BIRTH
Pregnancy
After two and a half years of trying to conceive we were very excited to meet our little Squiddly. I had a very easy pregnancy with no health issues, towards the end of my pregnancy I had sore hips, but that was all.
I had planned on birthing at Kawakawa Hospital as I trusted myself and my team to be able to have a local birth and I felt that if I headed to Whangarei I would stress more.
I was expecting a long arduous labour, being my first child, and had mentally prepared myself for this. Our baby was due on 09/10/14 but did not show. My midwife discussed with me induction and explained the process involved. I chose to not have an induction until two weeks over (although I hoped I wouldn’t have to wait that long)!
On the 15th of October I visited my midwife and had a stretch and sweep, I had had some Braxton hicks contractions by this time, but no other signs of labour. When my midwife performed the S&S I was 1cm dilated and she could manually stretch me to 3cm. I headed home to see if this would help.
Early labor
I had one small contraction at 9.30 that night but nothing else before I went to bed. I woke up at midnight with a contraction and got up to use the bathroom before heading back to bed, I woke up two more times before 3am with contractions, used the bathroom and headed back to bed. At 3am I woke and the contractions were strong enough that I could not get back to sleep. I woke my husband who got up with me and ran me a bath. My mother was staying with us to attend the birth and got up too, thinking it was about 7am. We sent her back to bed and I had a bath while my husband slept.
At 5am I had to get out of the bath as the contractions were strong enough I could no longer sit. I put on a TENS machine to see if it would help (it did). At around 6am I went to the toilet and had bright red blood, I had been told this could happen after the stretch and sweep but I rang my midwife to check it was normal, I was also have very close contractions lasting for about a minute. My on call midwife told me that she was sick and that she would contact the other midwife for me and have her call me back.
At 7am the other midwife rang me and offered to come and check me or to meet me at the hospital in an hour. We decided to meet her at the hospital. But 7.30 I was unable to sit or lie down and we decided to make a move to the hospital, I think at this point I had hit the transition phase, as I did not want my husband to leave my side and felt very scared of what was happening to me.
The ride from Ohaeawai to Kawakawa was very intense, everytime I had a contraction I had to lift myself out of my chair because of the pain in my tailbone. In all the excitement we hadn’t yet rung the midwife to tell her we were on the way to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital and the hospital midwife took us to a delivery suite. She started the pool running as I wanted to labour in the pool. She took my temperature and tried to get me to sit down so she could take my blood pressure. She offered me gas to help me sit down but after one puff I felt sick and decided I couldn’t use it. She opted to leave my blood pressure for my midwife when she arrived.
I felt like I needed to use the toilet so went and sat on the toilet, almost instantly I felt the need to push and my husband pushed the call button as the hospital midwife had left the room. She came back in along with our student midwife (our actual midwife was still en route from Opua). The hospital midwife wanted me to sit so she could check how dilated I was before she let me push, but I couldn’t sit down. After much coaching I managed to sit long enough for our student midwife to check me and I was fully dilated.
I started to push standing up leaning on the bed, after some time I knelt on the bed and continued to push. As the baby’s head came down I felt intense pain around the front of my pubic area and just had to push through it.
My midwife had arrived by this stage and informed me that my baby was going to be born still in her waters (caul). My mother was offered the chance to deliver the baby while my husband supported me at the front of the bed. Once the baby was born my mother was able to rip open the amniotic water sac and let her out. I quickly delivered the placenta soon after.
Our baby was born at 9.40am, one hour and 40 minutes after we arrived at the hospital, my husband cut the cord. I was given an injection to help my placenta clamp down as it did not appear to be reducing. They discovered my bladder was full and in the way so sent me to the toilet to try and empty it. I couldn’t so they tried to insert a catheter but the pain was too much for me. I had a shower and managed to empty my bladder, which allowed my uterus to clamp down properly.
After the birth I stayed in the hospital for two days to establish breast feeding, the midwives were so helpful and lovely the whole time I was there.
Things you would do the same?
I am glad I trusted my team and my body, I had a stress free birth and would happily do it again. Stayed in hospital long enough to get feeding established. Had my mother and my husband with me.
Things you would do differently?
I loved my labour, it was quick and relatively easy. I would have loved to have laboured in the pool had it been longer, but as it was I didn’t use it.
What advice would you recommend to other Northland mums / families?
Trust your team and your support people. Trust your body and believe that things will be okay. If you have a good team they will recognise of something is not right and will act quickly enough for everyone concerned.
