Birth Three
Fiona was a friend of a friend who had actually heard about
Robins birth (above) and how I had assisted her to birth her
baby and how she didn’t tear and had a9lb9oz baby etc.
This really intrigued Fiona and she rang me to make an appointment
over a cup of tea! It was at our first meeting that I felt
very connected and comfortable as we had many similarities
in our lives.
Fiona came along to my Aqua Ante Natal classes as well as
my home Ante Natal educational classes where our friendship
developed very quickly over a short space of time. It was
in fact, only six weeks from the time we met to the time Fiona
gave birth, and in that time she had a complete shift in understanding
and concept about birth and birthing.
Fiona decided to block out all of the negative outside influences,
and listen to positive birthing stories and soon after realized
that she could birth naturally if she wanted to make that
decision. Over the next couple of weeks she did a lot of mental
preparation with me through meditation, visualization and
relaxation and physical preparation through aqua classes and
fitball classes.
Fiona went into labour naturally on her due date at about
four in the morning. At 7am she rang me to let me know today
was the day. Like all the births that I attend I always go
over to see a client in the early stages of labour to “check
in” with them, and they with me. It is a connecting
visit where I can see where their mind and body are at and
how they are opening. I usually stay for one to two hours
then I leave so as not to bring on what I call “Performance
Anxiety”. This is where a woman in labour feels like
she is being watched and observed.
Fiona was contracting really well from 7.30am when I arrived
till when I left at 9am. I went home to leave her get on with
her labour in the peace and quiet of her home. At 11.00am
Fiona called to say her contractions had stopped and I suggested
that she get some rest, possibly sleep so she had lots of
reserve for when she starts contracting again. I also said
that nature had been really kind and enabled her to have a
really great warm up and to feel first hand how contractions
feel. On that note she took off to attend her pre-booked reflexology
session to help her relax and rest.
At 2.00pm a call came from Fiona’s partner saying her
waters had broken all over the house and her contractions
were really, really strong now. With that I knew it was the
real thing and I headed over to their house. “Boy was
their waters all over the house”. I have never seen
a woman lose such a great amount of amniotic fluid before
it was literally in every room in the house. I gave everyone
a hit of Rescue remedy to calm everyone down; me included
then I proceeded to clean up while Fiona was in the shower
leaking more fluid.
After Fiona’s partner and I had cleaned up we assisted
Fiona to the lounge room where she laboured on the floor,
the fitball, the lounge and then on her bed till 10.00pm that
evening when she felt she needed to transfer to the hospital.
On this particular night Perth was experiencing one of the
worst storms that had ever hit and lights were out all over
the place due to severe lightning, thunder and heavy rain.
They say that women often birth in strong stormy weather,
well on this night it was true to form. Fiona’s partner
and I experienced one of the best lightning shows we have
ever seen while Fiona was oblivious to the whole thing. She
laboured away in the car looking out the back window on our
journey across Perth to the hospital.
Upon arrival it was suggested that Fiona go into the hot
tub and labour and she did so for the next four hours. After
the birth she said she wished she could have stayed in the
tub longer than half an hour. With that I looked at her and
said, “Fiona you were in the tub for four hours”
she couldn’t believe it. Birth hormones affect time
in a distorted way, so much so that what may seem like 1 hour
can actually be two or three hours.
After four hours in the tub Fiona started to feel the urge
to push and felt like she needed to get out of the water and
get gravity working for her. As her Doula I ran around to
the room and prepared it with a mattress on the floor, with
a big beanbag and pillows on top to lean over if she wanted
and dim lights and music. I also found her dressing gown and
socks for her feet, as I knew she would feel cold in the room
after being in the hot water for such a long time. For the
next couple of hours I continually gave her rescue remedy
and suggested some positive birthing affirmations to say as
I massaged her back with essential oils.
On the floor is where Fiona stayed for the next three hours,
panting and avoiding the urge to push and waiting for an Anterior
lip to move so she could push her baby out smoothly. (An Anterior
lip is a swelling of the tissue around the neck of the cervix,
which should never be pushed against as it can cause damage
to the tissue) Finally with another internal the Midwife managed
to flick the tissue out of the way and Fiona was at last able
to push. As a doula during those last three hours I continually
supported both physically, emotionally and mentally and above
all else stayed positive to help Fiona keep strong and not
lose sight of the pushing stage and meeting her baby.
Fiona had the most amazing stamina and strength as she pushed
out a very big first baby who weighed 9pounds 9oz. I was again
so honored to be able to have been a part of this fantastic
experience and in awe of the female body and its ability to
birth. Fiona softly and gently worked with each contraction
by pushing her baby down and out little by little with no
pain killer. She couldn’t wait to tell all her friends
about her amazing experience and so she should, as she really
succeeded in giving birth naturally through sheer belief in
herself and her body and through absolute determination.
Fiona thoughts about having a Doula.
Our Doula Gaby Targett:-
- Helped make the whole experience a pleasurable one by
giving us support and encouragement.
- Was the person we chose to attend the birth to explain
the technical and medical jargon in the hospital.
- Assisted us to stay at home as long as possible before
heading off to hospital. Having a doula allowed us to relax
and do this.
- Offered us alternatives to chemical pain relief, eg:
massage, hot tub, breathing and relaxation techniques etc.
(This was one of the reasons why I had Gaby- because having
a natural childbirth was important to me)
Andrew’s (Fiona’s husband) points about having
a Doula.
- Having an extra person with experience in the room offered
us (Fiona and I) to work as a 3 way team.
- Having a Doula meant it turned two people who didn’t
know what they were doing into an effective 3 way support
network who trusted what was going on.
- The Doula to us was an additive to the experience rather
than an alternative to what is offered in the hospital today
- I truly believe having Gaby attend our birth allowed
me to relax and therefore focus on breathing through the
contractions and relax. As a result I didn’t feel
‘pain’ and I didn’t once feel as though
I needed pain relief/treatment. Andrew and I felt being
able to focus just on the birth and not worry about other
issues was the key to having a positive birth experience
in a hospital setting.
As you can see from these three birth stories the role of
a Doula varies considerably depending on the length of the
birth and how easy or hard the birth is at the time. I often
find that it is hard to define what it is that I do as a Doula,
however I understand that it is a lot more than just attending
a birth and supporting a couple during the labour and birth.
When people ask me why I choose to assist women during childbirth
I always reply, because I love birth and I feel passionate
about women being able to experience a positive birth. Seeing
women give birth in an empowered and positive way, and seeing
the look on their faces when they hold their baby in their
arms for the first time is the most rewarding and inspiring
experience that a support person can have. Birth is so special
and unique and seeing that little head appear from deep within
the body is an absolute honor and privilege to be a part of.
I am very lucky that I am able to be of service to women who
want and need support during the most important event in their
and of course their baby’s life. |