The next story in our positive birth stories series comes from Lauren, who shares her experience of the birth of her second child.

Lauren’s Story

My second birth nearly 6 months ago was absolutely incredible!

It all started when I woke up at 2am on my due date with mild contractions that were 3 minutes apart . I went back to sleep and woke up at 6.30am. My contractions were still mild but regular. I walked around the house and kept very relaxed.

At about 10.30am the contractions got painful but still easily manageable and were lasting longer, and were still 3 minutes apart. I called the birthing unit at Coffs Hospital and the midwife said to come in . We arrived at the hospital at 11:30am and I was 6cm dilated. I was so surprised I was already 6cm! I was coping fine through the contractions and kept very relaxed and focused on my breathing throughcontractions.

At 12.55pm the contractions got very intense and close together and I asked for an epidural but it was too late. The midwife recommended I kneel on the bed and lean over the bed head to help the baby turn because she was posterior, and not long after that I had an intense urge to push. The midwife said to push when ever I feel like it and rest in between contractions, which I did . When her head was crowning my waters broke. I was so excited we were about to meet our baby even though I was in extreme pain. Before I knew it our 8lb 10oz baby girl was born at 1.15pm. I felt so proud that I did it with zero pain relief, something I thought I would never be able to do! I was extremely happy with how the birth went, because I felt so strong and empowered.

(I then asked Lauren how her second birth differed to her first, and if she had any tips to share).

My first birth I had no real idea about how to deal with contractions so I was very fearful of them when they got really painful. I mentioned to my midwife when I was pregnant with my 2nd I was scared of labour and she gave me many tips about how to cope and how to think of the pain in a different way. Some of the tips were

– focus on the rests between contractions rather than the contraction.

– don’t fear the contractions because it can make it more painful, so just breathe through them and focus on the rest at the end and the contraction will be gone soon.

– the first and last 10secs aren’t that bad so it’s just the bit in the middle that.s intense then it will start to fade.

– remember why you’re doing it (to have a beautiful baby).

– breathe in strength, breathe out fear!

I remembered every single tip while I was in labour and it helped so, so much!

Want to share your positive birth story?

When I say positive – I mean any birth experience where you felt empowered and supported in your choices.

Your story will be shared in your words, with only spelling and grammatical edits.