Every woman’s birth story is different but one thing is for sure, once a new mum tells her birth story, all the other mums in the room will want to join in and share their own unique experience of giving birth. It is after all one of the most exciting, exhilarating and unforgettable adventures of a lifetime.
Here Alicia tells us how her little darling came into the world and she shares her advice and the things she used to help get her through.
“My labour started on a Monday evening with my waters breaking. I laboured all day Tuesday, Tuesday evening and Wednesday all day. I had a long labour!
During labour I used different ways of coping with the pain. I moved around as much as I could and I used movement to help with contractions (dancing...very slow swaying) to calm music from a playlist I made. I was also very grateful for the TENS machine. I was blown away by how distracting the TENS was from the pain and how amazing it felt. The boost button became my best friend.
Every once in a while I disconnected from TENS to take a hot shower, which then made the TENS more effective once coming back to it.
For me the show breathing worked really well. I also used meditation and focussed on each contraction, imagining climbing up a mountain and down the other side when the pain subsided.
Altogether I was in labour 36 hours with two sleepless nights. My midwife was really encouraging and pleased with how I coped. It’s amazing what you can do when you focus and believe in the natural process of giving birth. I loved the point our Antenatal instructor brought up that having a baby is not a medical emergency. Trying to go natural is the best way to approach it, but medicine & C-sections are available if the labour does become a medical emergency, and the professionals will guide you to the right choices.
I’d definitely recommend a TENS machine as one of the ways to cope with labour pain. My labour was really long, so having lots of distractions and ways to cope was important.
Our baby girl was finally delivered at 4:10pm on a Wednesday, and we’re so thankful for the help of the TENS machine, our midwife and the staff at Christchurch Woman’s Hospital.”
-Alicia (and baby Bennett)