Pregnancy & Baby 

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Josa's birth story

Josa Young has kept a diary of her pregnancy for iVillage. She and her husband, Thoby, have two children: Maud, 12, and Archie, eight. Number three is due - it's B day

With a strange sense of unreality, I dressed and packed a bag to take to hospital. I had, somewhere along the line, consented to induction at 40 weeks, on the grounds that my age (42) made this a 'high risk' pregnancy. The theory is that the placenta can start to degenerate after 40 weeks if you're over 40. My other two babies were very late, as were all my mother's and my sister's, so I assume it's normal in my family to have a gestation like an elephant. None of this washed with Professor Bennet - indeed another consultant suggested 38 weeks as a good option. I'm glad I had the courage to resist that. The baby would be really premature by my reckoning.

When we arrived, we were shown into a four-bed ward

Various women were groaning behind curtains. Risi, my one-to-one midwife, arrived and examined me to see whether anything had started up. It hadn't. My cervix was firmly shut. She inserted the first suppository of Prostin - prostoglandin, the hormone that signals the start of labour. It caused mild contractions and Thoby and I dozed and read behind curtains all day. That evening, the mild contractions died away and I slept. The next morning, Risi arrived exhausted from an all-nighter. She suggested more Prostin, when she came back on at lunchtime.

The contractions were stronger in the afternoon

I walked about and counted my way through them. Disappointingly, my cervix remained closed for business. Risi came back on and decided to take me up to the labour ward at around 5pm and break my waters to get things going. Because I wasn't ready for labour, 'Nature's enema' had not kicked in. In natural circumstances, you get diarrhoea for a couple of days before labour begins, to clear the bowel and make more room for the baby to emerge. I requested an enema, but they don't give them any more, and I was given very effective glycerine suppositories.

Thoby went to settle Maud with the neighbours. I'm glad he wasn't there when my waters were broken. I made an uncharacteristic fuss, and cried and moaned. Contractions became more painful immediately and I found it soothing to sit in the bath running the warm shower over my back.

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