Hi Everyone,Today I'm sharing my experience of labouring in the water with my now 6 year old son Jay since we're on the waterbirth theme...
Throughout my entire pregnancy with Jay I felt connected to water...we lived 15 minutes walk from the beach and I used to drop Alexandra, our elder daughter at school in the morning and walk along the cliffs above the beach religiously. I felt it relaxed me and gave me extra energy to be exposed to so much fresh air and wind.
When the afternoon came that he let me know he was on the way, I felt a twinge and things moved fairly quickly. I labored at home for a couple of hours, I just needed to be alone to centre myself and my breathing. Then Peter, my husband, loaded Alexandra into the car and we headed for the beach. I felt that walking helped while I managed labor movements.
I found peace again by being outdoors near water and we stayed there for quite a while until I said This is it, it's getting close and we headed to the birth centre. I laboured in the birthing pool, and Peter put on Prominotory Waves, a CD I had been using throughout the pregnancy and read a water visualisation from Gentle Birth Choices that I had been meditating to also throughout the pregnancy. The labour was fairly fast and I felt absolutely calm...it was a surprise to me because I wasn't at all calm for my first birth experience...must have been all that healing work and preparation I'd been doing. Anyway...I got an urge at the last minute to birth outside of the birthing pool...still don't know why but that must have been what Jay needed. He was born in the sac after just a few hours of labor and without a sound.....my beautiful boy.
Sonia, our mid-wife was absolutely amazing and an inspiration to me...she just appeared when needed and left us to it when we were doing fine....perfect. And Peter...my rock x
Jay, Peter, Alexandra (then 8 years old) and I all slept together that night in a massive bed in the birth centre and went home the next day at lunchtime.
Cynthia Marston
