Labour on-line

Joanne checked Anna’s heart rate and the panic started.

180 beats per minute, Anna was distressed. Joanne checked five or six times over ten mins, but still the same. She called her supervisor and the registrar at the maternity hospital and within 20 mins I was in an ambulance, strapped to a stretcher with monster contractions streaking through my body. I started having visions of the operating theatre – how were they going to get my distressed baby out of me, if I was only 6cms dilated?

In the delivery suite, the team arrived but the doctor felt that the heart rate was linked to the size of the contractions and because Anna wasn’t getting any breaks in between, she couldn’t relax.

They were actually going to let me labour – I couldn’t believe it!

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only an hour, I had another examination. I’d reached the stage where I felt I couldn’t cope; I kept grabbing the gas and air and was pulling it down over my face as if my life depended on it.

Surely I had to be in transition? No, I wasn’t, I was still only 8cms dilated. I wanted to push my baby out so much but couldn’t understand why my body was telling me to push, when my cervix wasn’t ready. This was probably the hardest thing of all, having to resist the urge. I got through it by keep the breathing regular; the resistance to the pushing seemed to come better that way.

Then I felt her shift.

Anna moved across my cervix and started her journey into the world. Only Andris was in the room at this point. I shouted that she was coming, I didn’t think anyone had heard me but the midwife came back and I heard her say that she could see Anna’s head appearing.