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Welcome to baby Edward...

Carmen's birth story

Hi Katherine,

I have thought about writing to you so many times but of course, the distractions come thick and fast these days! I arrived back in London just a few weeks ago and have very mixed feelings about being here but hope to work my way back to Australia soon.

I gave birth to the most wonderful baby boy - Edward Heathcote. We call him Ned for short. He was 10 days overdue and a big baby - 8.5 pounds (3.85 kilos). He was posterior lying which was my worst nightmare having seen my sister's labour with a posterior baby. You may well know that these labours have trouble getting co-ordinated, are particularly painful and concentrate in the back area. I avoided an induction as long as possible but I had been 2cm dilated for days and going nowhere fast. I held off hoping and hoping he would turn but he didn't...so I had my waters broken at 9am in the morning once he was 10 days over. This was enough to get my labour cracking on but not at a pace that the doctors thought was fast enough and they knew it was because he was posterior. I was thrown early on by a woman in the delivery suite next door who was screaming in a way that left me terrified. As it turned out, she had an 11-pound baby whose shoulders were stuck. The babies head had also started crowning in the lift up to the ward and later she told me it was fear more than anything that made her scream that way. But I didn't know it at the time and it really knocked my confidence. Pete quickly gave me the Walkman and your HypnoBirthing tapes and I listened to them to block out her noise.

In the end, I had the drip and an epidural. And in fact, I had it quite early on. I took the advice of the midwives and my Dr who said as he was still posterior and a big baby that a bit of intervention at that point would probably mean less intervention later on. I tend to think they were right and I don't regret my decision. Once I had the epidural I still felt a bit nervous so I put the HypnoBirthing meditation on again and listened to them all afternoon on repeat! They made me feel calm and the breathing still really helped me feel relaxed.

By 6.30pm, I was fully dilated and Ned was born at 7pm that night. I pushed him out in thirty minutes with no worries at all. What a joy! What a moment!

I feel great about my birth. I had always had an open mind that I would try naturally but if I needed intervention, I wasn't going to beat myself up or feel guilty. I think women can really set themselves up for disappointment. Despite the intervention, I still found HypnoBirthing a huge help. It made me feel prepared and I still used the tips all of the way through my labour to stay calm. I used the breathing during my early contractions before the epidural and used it after the epidural just to stay focused and calm. I only have good memories about my birth. Ned is the calmest, happiest little boy ever and I have nothing but the most overwhelming joy all day every day!

A photo of the little monkey is attached.
Thanks Katherine!
Carmen,

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