I’m posting this on here as I know there are a lot of American stories. Not many British ones. Here is my birth story. I live in the Midlands and my birth didn’t go exactly how I had planned it. I hope this helps other mothers out there.

On 27th February I went for my 39 week midwife appointment. I went to the toilet to do a urine sample and felt that my pantyliner was more wet than usual. I told my midwife that it was wet, so she rang up the hospital I was delivering at and told me to go straight there.

When I arrived at the hospital, the midwife took my pantyliner to check its pH. She confirmed that my waters were leaking and I’d have to be booked in for an induction tomorrow. (28th feb was my due date anyway!).

So Thursday 28th Feb arrived. I rang the hospital at 7:30 and asked when I should come in. They told me to come in for 10:30.

I arrived at 10:40 - fashionably late - and was given a bed. Introduced to my midwife Xena who was so lovely. She gave me 1 dose of the gel pessary to start my induction at 12pm. I was told I couldn’t have more than 1 gel pessary as my waters had already been leaking. As she put the pessary in she also did a membrane sweep. At this point I was 1cm dilated.

From 12-4pm, I spent the time walking up and down the hospital corridors trying to encourage labour to start.

At 4pm, she checked me again. I still was not fully effaced.

At 6pm, Xena told me she would have to artificially rupture my waters to get things going. My husband and I were sent to a delivery room and I was given gas and air before the procedure started. I remember feeling like I was floating. In the distance I saw Xena with a blue plastic piece of equipment which looked like a knitting needle. As I was high on gas and air, she started breaking my waters. I remember feeling this gush of liquid and screaming ‘I’ve wet myself!’.

At 7pm I was getting strong contractions but I was not getting anywhere. Xena had finished her shift so now I had 2 more amazing midwives, Sally and Tia. At 9pm, I was offered a pethidine injection so I took it! This helped me sleep a bit through my contractions.

At 1am, the midwives went on their break so I had Naomi, who informed me that we need to start the oxytocin drip to progress my labour to decrease the risk of infection. I told Naomi that if they start the drip I want the epidural too.

Come 1:30, Farooq my anaesthetist arrived. I was inhaling gas and air as he put my epidural in (amazing) and gave me this green shiny button to press ever half an hour to release the epidural! My oxytocin drip was also put in and my contractions were strong! But I did not feel a thing!!

At 4:30am I was checked again, by a consultant (Lanka) who told me that I am only 9cm dilated. However, baby’s heart rate was dropping...

Whilst being strongly monitored by a team of SIX medical staff, I was told I would need assisted delivery.

Forceps would need to be used.

At 5:45am I was quickly prepped for theatre as baby’s heart rate was dropping with each contraction. I was panicking and also delirious at the same time as they gave me a full spinal block and a catheter. I had to sign a paper which wrote that if I could not give birth I allow a c-section.

At 6am I was told to push, and with 2 strong contractions, an episiotomy cut and forceps my baby boy was born at 6:15am on 1st March. I was so drugged up I couldn’t even speak properly. My speech was slurred. He was shown quickly to me as the cord was around his neck and taken to the table. He had a lot of mucus in his body so he did not cry straight away! I was crying and panicking at this point.

The next 15-20 minutes felt like a lifetime as I was being sewn back up. My head was all over the place and I just wanted to be with my husband and son.

I was then transferred to another ward where my male midwife Panos, tried to latch my son onto my boob. He had been so affected by those drugs that he was lethargic. After taking my colostrum from a syringe, Panos asked if I allowed my baby to be bottle fed to avoid low blood sugar. To which I agreed with a heavy heart. As he fed my baby I felt like a failure.

The neo-natal nurse Julie came in, and she started asking if my family had any genetic abnormalities. To which I replied no, but panicking at the same time thinking is there anything wrong with my baby!

As a precaution, my baby was put on penicillin to avoid any infection from the prolonged rupture of my waters. We stayed in hospital for 48 hours, where, with the support from the midwives, I was able to learn how to breastfeed, change his nappies and be more confident as a mother.

We came home on the 3rd of March and haven’t looked at formula or a bottle since! I just pray my baby has not been affected by his birth mentally and physically. The heath visitor is happy with him as he is now 7 weeks. I hope this development continues.

Any questions please feel free to ask!