Positive Calm Hypnobirthing Experience
Katie’s GentleBirth using the Winner Flow Device
Jill's due date was January 24th (a Sunday) and by the following weekend, I was very eager for her arrival.
We asked Nana to take Nina (age 2.5) for the weekend, thinking that having her safely and happily elsewhere might prompt things to start. Sure enough, Saturday midnight brought an onset of light contractions. We set up the living room, inflated the pool and then decided to try to get some rest. I fell asleep easily and when we woke up the next morning nothing was happening. That was so frustrating and knowing Nina was due back that evening, I felt under pressure and just generally miserable.
Nana kept Nina for one more night to see if we might get some more action but nothing stirred that night or the next morning.
Nina came home Monday lunchtime Feb 1st. I was so delighted to see her and felt super emotional. We had a lovely afternoon and went for a walk around the block around 4pm to see Nina's 'castle'. The way home involved various games of chase which got me moving faster than I had for weeks.
Around 6pm I started to feel light surges again. I made dinner and after Bobby put Nina to bed at 7.30 the urges ramped up and I started to need to stop whatever I was doing and breathe through them. At 8 I rang Angela as they were 4 or 5 minutes apart and lasting a minute at a time. She said she'd leave right away and would see us in an hour. We were so excited that this was finally happening!
In the meantime, I started filling the pool and we got out the TENS machine and figured out how to work it. I found it really effective as pain relief. I listened to the GentleBirth affirmations track once and also had several of them on the wall of the living room for inspiration. I think that from practising so frequently in the run up to labor, they were also just ingrained in me and I felt nothing but positive for what was to come.
Angela arrived at 9 pm and recommended I start using the Winner Flow along with the TENS. The Winner Flow was a new device Angela had recommended to us during our prenatal care. TBH it sounded a bit strange but since it only cost a tenner and Angela sung its praises so much I thought it was worth a try. I had no expectations of it doing much for me.
How wrong I was! It was more effective and I actually now think had a bigger part to play in how gentle and calm Jill's birth turned out to be than any other comfort measure else, even the birth pool.
I loved how it gave a focus to my breathing and was a solid 'action' to take. I had done a lot of GentleBirth practice and Hypnobirthing too, and this was a great addition to that practice. Looking back, I'm honestly not sure if focusing on my breathing without the Winner Flow in the second stage of labour would have been possible for me.
Anyway, half an hour after Angela arrived, she asked if I'd like a VE. I consented and was delighted to be told I was 7 cm dilated. This was around 9.30 pm so I started to be hopeful of a Feb 1st baby. St Brigid is the Patron Saint of midwives and brewing which both seemed particularly fitting for us. Feb 1st is also the first day of Spring and with the miserable long winter we'd just had, it would be symbolic for a new baby to herald brighter days to come.
During the time from 8pm to 11pm, I was walking around, with Catastrophe playing on the TV for an oxytocin hit. We were constantly filling and heating pots of water for the pool which gave us something to do. When a contraction would come, I'd whack up the TENS, stick the Winner Flow in my mouth and lean over an armchair for support. In my last labour, I needed Bobby beside me applying counter pressure, but with the TENS and Winner Flow this time, I didn't need or want him beside me at this stage. He was kept busy organising hot water and snacks and drinks for me anyway! He also whipped up some pancakes for the next morning.
At around 11pm, Angela suggested I get in the pool. I had to take off the TENS which I was a bit nervous about but the water was definitely also a big relief. I relaxed in there in between surges, watching Catastrophe still. The stages changed and became more intense around 11.30 but still felt manageable with the Winner Flow and warm water of the pool. At quarter to midnight, I remember lamenting that a Feb 1st baby wasn't going to happen at this point.
But soon afterwards I started feeling a need to bear down and Angela coached me to down breathe. She also changed the resistance on the Winner Flow to its lowest setting, meaning out breaths were longer and took more concentration. I was on my knees leaning over the edge of the pool. I had a minute or two of self doubt around now and told Bobby I wasn't sure about any of this. As if we had a choice at that point!
When the head was ready to be born, I did have to push as well as breathe long breaths out through the winner flow. It was so hard to follow through on those big pushes as i knew it was going to be momentarily very uncomfortable. But Angela and Bobby's encouragement really helped and her head was born. She has her hand up beside her face, as she had for most scans! Last time round, there was far more pushing to get Nina's head out and it didn't feel as effective or controlled as this did.
A few minutes later on another surge, I pushed hard a couple more times and her body emerged into the water. It was 11.53pm. Angela and Alannah scooped her up and suctioned her nasal passages and gave her a little rub with a towel. They then handed her back to me for skin to skin. They commented on how big she was but I thought she looked tiny. She rooted down towards my breast and latched on and off while we relaxed in the pool for about 15 minutes. I then started having more contractions and the placenta was coming. I stood up and Angela placed a bowl underneath me. The contractions were quite intense and I was so annoyed at this, after having done so much hard work already! After a few minutes the placenta came out with a push but missed the bowl and just splashed into the pool. We then cut the cord and Jill and I got out of the pool and moved to the sofa. Bobby and Alannah started to empty the pool and tidy up a bit.
Jill continued to suckle there on the sofa and Angela checked my perineum. Considering she was bigger than Nina and came out with her hand beside her face we were expecting tears but there were none at all and was 8lb 8oz.
NIna had been 7lbs 7oz and I’d had a second degree tear on her so I really think the combination of water and more controlled pushing with the help of the Winner Flow were what made the difference. (We had a pool for Nina's birth too but in the end I didn't want to be in there for some reason).
At about 12.30am, Angela got a call that another of her clients was in active labour an hour away so she needed to leave. The second midwife stayed on with us and performed the baby checks and tucked us up in bed before leaving at around 3am. We couldn't believe that NIna had stayed asleep in her bed all this time. On a regular night, she could wake to come into our bed any time between midnight and 6 am so we were really lucky that night that she had a great sleep despite any commotion or unusual noise in the house.
The next morning, she woke at around 7 am and came into us. She was over the moon to meet her new little sister and took her arrival very well. We all snuggled in bed for an hour or so before getting up to enjoy pancakes and Frozen on the sofa.
It was start to finish an incredibly positive and calm experience, even more so than Nina's homebirth. I think Angela was the perfect fit for us and her guidance was invaluable. We'll always be grateful to her.
2 weeks on, Jill is thriving and is a really chill baby. We are delighted with our two girls and hope they'll be the best of buddies!
