Anastasia's birth story

Nick and Sophie unpacked my bulging suitcase and set the tone with our music, candles, aromatherapy, and even a mini-buffet of energy foods. It was agony having to sit still to be examined, but I was so confident that I'd be at least 5cm dilated, I kept telling myself that I'd be able to get in the birthing pool any minute. Kneading my swollen stomach, the midwife said, 'uh-oh, your baby is facing backwards, love', confirming my back labour fear. As she checked for dilation she frowned, 'You're not even one centimetre dilated. You're not even in labour. You'll have to leave this labour room and go to the ward.'

I was devastated

I'd now been in severe pain for 18 hours and I wasn't even in labour! The midwife brought up the subject of pethidine which was viewed as something akin to crack cocaine by my NCT teacher. I insisted that I wouldn't accept it. She took Nick and Sophie out of the room and explained to them that pethidine would act as a relaxant and would allowing my cervix to dilate so giving me a chance to sleep. She said that I could be in pre-labour for another 24 hours, with an OP baby, and without some help I would never have the stamina to make it through. They came back and convinced me to accept the jab. We gathered up all of our things out of the labour room and moved to a bed on the ward, which was so humiliating. Within ten minutes I began to vomit violently. 'Ah, yes, pethidine does make some women sick,' said the midwife. For the next three hours I felt like I had drunk 12 shots of tequila the night before. I experienced not one iota of pain relief, and I vomited and dry-heaved the whole time.

No progress

As the pethidine wore off I begged to be measured again and, with great reluctance, another midwife obliged. Half a centimetre dilated. I was in shock. Sophie suggested I get in a bath (you have to be 5cm dilated to get in the birthing pool). As I lay under the hot water, I experienced my first moments of relaxation since admission to hospital 6 hours before. After less than an hour in the bath I was 4cms dilated - officially in labour. I was allowed to move into a labour room and, suddenly, it all seemed manageable.