Two completely different births, one five weeks early and one planned down to the day. Alex works for a small legal firm and has two little boys under three, and she's on the pod today to share both.
Her first labour crept up on her. She lost her mucus plug, then spent a day unsure whether her waters had actually gone, baking wedding cupcakes and packing up the house because she genuinely didn't believe she was in labour at thirty five weeks. By the time she reached hospital, a doctor examined her and told her flatly that her cervix was completely closed. Two hours later she was eight centimetres and pushing. Her son was born weighing six pounds six ounces, and what followed was eleven days in hospital for jaundice and a really difficult start to breastfeeding, until a retired health visitor finally showed her and her partner what they'd been missing.
Second time around, Alex went in with a plan. After reading about the ARRIVE trial, she and her partner chose a planned induction at thirty nine weeks so they'd have family lined up for childcare and he could be with her the whole way through. It still didn't go entirely to script. Her midwife wanted to start a hormone drip after two hours and Alex said no. Labour then stalled on an anterior lip, her baby's heart rate dipped, and an obstetrician stepped in with a ventouse. He was born six minutes later, weighing eight pounds eight ounces, with no tearing at all.
In this episode we talk about:
- What a precipitous, premature labour can actually feel like when you don't realise you're in it
- The ARRIVE trial and why Alex chose a planned induction at thirty nine weeks
- Saying no to a hormone drip and trusting her own body
- What an anterior lip is and how it led to a ventouse delivery
- Getting breastfeeding support right the second time, including tongue tie that never caused an issue
The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care.