Birth Story: Sam's Version

By Sam on 23 September, 2017

At three I woke up because Aimee was awake.

"Are you alright?"

"I’m fantastic! I’ve just had some contractions."

"How many?"

"Five."

I told her I loved her. I packed our bags and organised snacks and drinks.

"Go back to sleep" she told me.

"I don’t think I’ll be able to"

The contractions kept coming. They were not bad so I decided to sleep. When I woke up she was still contracting. The haze of sleep had cleared and I felt excited. We smiled at each other and held each other. Our child was coming.

The morning was calm. The house was quiet. There was little sign of the labour except for Aimee’s occasional change in breathing. She kept the pain inside her to keep the atmosphere calm, but I could see the pain.

At around eight: "My mum’s on the way."

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

"Not yet. We’ll see how I feel when Mum gets here."

Kate showed up and talked to Aimee about not much. We drank tea and tried to keep things calm.

Aimee spoke less. She breathed more heavily.

"I think I want to go the hospital"

It took time to stand up. We carried the bags to the car. Aimee walked slowly, she had four contractions on the stairs.

The labour became hard in the car. I tried to avoid the bumps but the road was bad. I spoke to myself quietly to focus my mind on the driving.

I followed the signs to emergency. I got the bags out of the car and we checked in. The people at the desk were busy so the receptionist sent us to the labour ward on our own.

The corridors were long and labyrinthine but Aimee refused a wheelchair. Walking pained her but she was determined.

At the labour ward they checked us in and did an exam.

"Four centimetres. Good Timing. You have time to park the car."

When I got back, she was in the shower. She stayed there for a while, struggling. The heat soothed her back. The midwife had another patient so she left us with her student after she started the bath.

"Don’t get in the bath if I’m not here. I need to check the temperature."

It took a long time for her to come back. Aimee was ready for the bath. The hot water soothed her and helped her get into comfortable positions.

Our student midwife arrived. The practice was busy so we were left with the two students.

Aimee laboured in the bath for hours. The girls checked her blood pressure and the baby’s heart rate regularly. The labour got harder. She began to have the first doubts but quickly dispelled them.

"I can do this!"

I said:

"You can do this."

"I love you."

I tried to move where I could be closer. But Aimee shouted for me to stay across the bath.

"I need to look at you."

The practice called in another midwife, Bev. Bev got Aimee out of the bath to check her progress. It was hard for her to get out of the water. Eight centimetres. Two to go. She went into the shower again for a while and then back into the bath.

The contractions began to become long and slow. Her deep moans began to become harsh screams. Each time the sound changed or her breathing became uneven I looked her in the eye and breathed with her. I was proud of the focus I was able to give her. It was one small thing I could do while she did so much.

Aimee lay down. She struggled to keep her eyes open.

"I’m so tired. I just want to sleep."

"We’ll see our baby soon. I know you can do this. I love you."

She lay there and I worried. The position was not helping the labour and we were now twelve hours in. The midwifery students were not concerned but Bev was not present. Bev occasionally came back into the room and was not worried.

"If you want, we can check your progress. If you’re ready, we can start to push."

"Do I need to get out of the bath?"

"We can try doing it in there."

It was time to push. The midwives explained the new procedure.

"Stop breathing out. The push should be quiet. Put all of your energy into pushing, like you’re pushing out a poo. There should be two or three big pushes in each contraction. You need to get the baby around the S-bend. As the baby exits you will start to feel burning."

Everyone was focused. The midwives placed a mirror on the bottom of the bath to see the progress. Several rounds of contractions passed this way.

"Can you feel the burning?"

"Yes."

The midwives and I could see the head in the mirror. Bev told Aimee to put her hand where she could feel the head so she could feel her own progress. Two more contractions.

We could see the head without the mirror. The hair was caked together. The head looked like a lumpy rock.

"We can see the head. It’s out. One more should do it."

The student placed her hand under to catch the baby. They didn’t want it to come out too fast. They wanted to be able to lift it out of the water at the right time.

"One more. Just get the head out."

They pulled the baby from the water. It was grey and for a few moments quiet. Then it made sound. The baby cried out, shocked at being dragged into the world. It began to fill with colour.

"What is it Sam? Just move the cord."

I tried to push the cord too gently and couldn’t see but I saw a bulge on either side.

"It’s a boy. Hello Ruben."

They got Aimee out of the bath and onto the bed. She had the baby in her arms. The cord was thick and pulsed for a long time.

"Do you want to double check the sex?"

They pulled the cord aside and told me of my mistake.

"A girl! Sorry, Poppy. We love you."