In today’s episode, I interview myself and share the birth story of my second son Kit. After having a previous C-section with my eldest son, Finn, I knew that I desperately wanted a VBAC birth with Kit. I did everything I could to prepare for Kit's birth, such as listening to lots of birth stories, downloading a hypnobirthing course, which was Pop That Mama's Birth Box, and making sure that I just did as much research as I could into how I could make this possible. I spoke with a consultant midwife and was able to start my labour on the midwife-led unit, but then eventually had to transfer to the main labour ward as my labour just progressed really slowly. Towards the end of labour, I had to have an episiotomy and forceps delivery, and Kit struggled to breathe once he was born, so he was sent away to NICU, and I had a postpartum haemorrhage and blood transfusion, which was really difficult at the time, but I am so grateful for everything that I'd done ahead of the birth, which meant that I was able to really cope and manage what was going on during my labour and birth.
I share what it's like experiencing not having the birth you'd hoped for and being separated from your baby after birth. I also talk really openly about what it was like not experiencing love and struggling to bond with your baby and what it's like having a baby in NICU even for a short stay. I hope this helps other women out there. And ultimately, it was this birth that made me really want to start this podcast to help other women learn how to advocate for themselves because even though the birth that I experienced was quite traumatic to me, it wasn't actually that bad. And I guess that's because I felt so prepared. And as you'll hear if you listen to this birth story, I really advocated for myself the entire way through and I knew exactly what I was signing up for throughout that entire labor in terms of my interventions. So I hope that this is helpful and I can't wait to hear what you think.
Please note that this episode shares my personal experience and is not intended as medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth journey is unique, so if you have any concerns about your own health or pregnancy, please speak with a qualified medical professional.
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