When I set out on my
Daisy Birth adventure I didn't initially start off with home birth in mind
although this is what I'd said I'd always wanted after the birth of my first
son. In fact we were all set for a water birth at our local Midwifery Led Unit
as with three boys at home I thought home birth would be difficult. I have an
11 year old and my partner two older teenage boys. We then watched a programme
called 'All or Nothing' about birthing your own way and it reignited my
thoughts on home birth. Me and my partner looked at each other and we both knew
straight away that we wanted a home birth so in a rush at 36 weeks I rang my
Midwife with the change of plan.
My first son was born
at 38 weeks so when this date came and went and 40 weeks came and went we
started to feel the pressure of getting our water home birth on time.
Ten days overdue
having tried all the usual attempts to naturally start I decided I'd have a go
at stretching my psoas muscle, a) as my back and hips ached in bed and b) to
see if I could make a bit more room in my pelvis for my baby to descend. I'd
learned about the psoas in Daisy classes, how we can carry a lot of tension in
this muscle, it made sense to try and lengthen it. So I spent the afternoon
doing gentle antenatal psoas exercises. I felt really relaxed afterwards and
like I'd released some tension and tightness. That night as I was falling to
sleep I felt my waters go and within five minutes I'd had my first contraction.
During the birth I
used the Daisy breathing techniques I'd learned, I listened to my body and I
used water and relaxation to stay calm and focused. I birthed for 3 hrs and 44
minutes which was amazing. My birth was exactly what I'd wanted, it was calm,
relaxed, natural and free from any drugs. It was only afterwards when I
reminisced about birthing in water that I thought 'Wow I caught my own
baby!'
Me and my partner
were a team, we planned together and talked about how he would support me in
great detail beforehand. He wasn't an observer but an active part and he kept
me calm and focused. Daisy gave us the skills to achieve this. As my labour
progressed I realised that the intensity I was feeling wasn't getting worse
just more frequent and I knew I could handle it so I was able to let go and breathe.
Within an hour of the
midwives leaving we were all in bed sleeping.
Daisy is a gift and
all mums should have this knowledge. I can't thank Daisy and my Daisy teacher
enough for the skills taught. I knew my body could do it I just needed to learn
the skills and understand properly how my body worked in labour to achieve a
natural home water birth.
Since my first son
was born in 2004 I've been passionate about working with woman. I really believe
that women should be given more practical skills to help birthing as theory is
only any good if it’s cemented in practice. All women deserve the best
opportunities. Although home birth was my choice Daisy provides such fantastic
skills and techniques that it can be used in any birthing situation and indeed
in life to help bring about positive outcomes.
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