"I had gone from 4cm to 10cm in less than an hour"

So at 41 weeks +13 I finally agreed to being induced. I was so against it as in my head it would lead to me having to be put on the drip again which I desperately didn’t want.

We had a really good talk with the consultant about the options after I was examined and told that my cervix was where is should be if I wasn’t pregnant so there was little chance I would go into labour naturally in the next couple of days. J was so confident in asking questions and not just accepting basic answers. He was my advocate as I was so disappointed that my water birth was slipping away, I couldn’t really take in a lot of information. If he hadn’t come to our sessions I don’t think he would’ve had the confidence or the knowledge to the ask the questions he did. We asked for time alone to discuss and decided that the best chance for me to have the birth I wanted was to accept the induction but say I was going home rather than be admitted, which they agreed to. We came home and had a really chilled night. Thankfully I got a good nights sleep and was happy when I started to get pains at around 11am. I was due to go back into hospital at 1.30pm for a second pessary but knew I wouldn’t need this. I started to use the Freya app and by 1pm it was saying I was in established labour. I was using my breathing techniques and keeping active, I called the hospital and they asked me to come back as arranged to be examined.

I went to hospital at 1.30pm and went onto the labour ward to wait to be seen by a doctor. My midwives were wonderful and when I asked them for mats and a ball they were really helpful. I made it clear I wanted to be active and didn’t want to be on the bed. They allowed me to be monitored whilst standing throughout. I carried on with my breathing and constantly rotated my hips. At 4pm a doctor came to examine me and told me I was 4cm dilated, but as I wasn’t ‘behaving’ in a way he would expect of a woman in active labour (as I was managing the contractions with my breathing!!) he wanted me to go on to the induction bay to be monitored and I’d be seen again in 4 hours! When he left I told the midwife that I didn’t think the doctor was right and that I needed to go and sit on the toilet for a while before we left the ward. Things then started to change! I couldn’t get off the toilet as the pressure was so intense. I stayed there for a while and I could feel myself starting to push without actively trying. The midwife knew something had changed because of the noises I was making and told me I had to try to get on the bed to be examined, and true enough I had gone from 4cm to 10cm in less than an hour. I told them I couldn’t stay on the bed and they made the floor comfortable with mats, pads and towels. I gave birth to my 9lb 2oz beautiful boy at 5.40pm on all fours on the floor with my ‘team’ all on the floor with me. I didn’t get my water birth yet again, but I remember every minute as I used only gas and air. We both felt so in control and that was thanks to all we’d learnt in our sessions with you. I knew what my body was doing and why, and I knew when to listen and when not to listen to the advice being given to me. Thank you for everything Elle. I felt like a Boss B! Kate xx