Ottilie (Tillie) Grace drew her first breath at 8pm on Sunday 21^st June at the Family Birth Centre (FBC) in Subiaco and brought much joy into four peoples lives - Joanna, Michael, Granny and Grandad.  And she is beautiful - of course! 

After a wonderful night’s sleep my contractions started about 6.50 am on Sunday.  By 9.35 am I was in the lovely big bath at the FBC and feeling that this natural birth thing was going to be a breeze. By my first internal exam at 10.35am  I was fully effaced and 2 cms dilated - not bad going.  By 2 p.m. the fore waters broke and I felt  we were progressing well.  But then a lot of blood appeared and upon examination, my midwife, Janine discovered that under the pressure of baby’s head, part of my cervix had swollen and was bleeding badly. I was 6-7cms dilated but we needed to get the pressure off the swollen part, so horror of horrors, I had to lie down.  I used the gas and air at this point as the contractions were ten times more painful when lying down. It made things just about bearable and helped me to feel rested in between contractions as I was feeling pretty tired.  The baby was doing okay though.

That part of my labour was a bit of a blur, thanks to the gas/air.  I remember Janine manipulating my cervix internally during contractions, which was excruciating.  And there was this really weird scene where Janine put this condom/needle thing on her forefinger and broke the membranes in front of the baby’s head. I seemed to be watching all this from outside of my body.  However, I became quite distressed as I felt the waters seeping out of me onto the bed.  I screamed at my mum to cover me up.

Soon after, I was able to get up and felt most comfortable sitting on the toilet.  By now I was feeling very spaced out - partly because of the gas/air and partly because I was in transition.  I felt the urge to push but Janine could still feel a stubborn bit of cervix that wouldn’t budge.  I was very tired and agitated - though Tillie was doing fine.  I was relying quite heavily on the gas/air during contractions and feeling pretty out of it. 

Finally came the contraction where Janine was able to push the last lip of cervix aside and then WOW, what an endorphin rush.  For the first time in the day I felt something actually move inside me.  I could feel the baby’s head pass through into the birth canal and it felt amazing.  For a few moments all was right in the world.  Everyone was glowing - me, Mum, Michael.  I felt invincible.  I could see my reflection in the bathroom mirror - my pupils were completely dilated, I was on such a high. I remember Janine asking me how I liked that rush.  My reply was “better than that crap”, with a nod to the gas tank!

From then on I found renewed vigour and an undeniable urge to push.  I was in a squatting position, with Michael providing the support.  Janine offered sound advice and I used the yoga techniques I had practiced to ground myself between contractions.  At 7.54 p.m., after about half an hour of pushing, baby’s head crowned.  Her head was born at 7.58, and Tillie in full at 8pm with the next contraction.

Those last 6 minutes passed in a daze for me. I was so determined to push, I was hardly aware she’d been born until Janine put this silky, slippery, warm mass in my arms.  I was truly surprised.  Tillie immediately began breathing and emptying her lungs, but she didn’t cry.  When she fretted, we sang ‘Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle’ (which Mike and I had sung to her all through the pregnancy) and she recognized it and was calmed.  That was so rewarding!

Later, as the midwives were weighing and measuring the baby and the placenta, I felt really odd - as though I ought to be concerned about where she was, but all I could think of was food.  I was ravenous.  I ate my dinner and the lunch they had left in the room earlier!  And a bag full of chocolates and about 3 cups of tea.  Once my hunger was satiated I felt on a high, in a daze and a bit lost.  I soon had Tillie back in my arms though and she began to suckle.

I was very surprised and a bit disappointed when Janine told me I had a second degree tear and would need stitches. After all I’d been through it seemed such an insult to have to suffer more pain and use that gas/air again.  It was funny though, after the initial discomfort of the anesthetic injection, the gas really kicked in - I did Darth Vader impressions whilst wearing the gas mask (“Search your feelings, Luke”) and tried to persuade Michael to try some as it would be his last chance!  The stitching took about 90 minutes.  In that time Michael held Tillie and she sat there wide awake, cooing and smiling at him. 

So, that’s our story of how Tillie came into the world.  I feel very proud and satisfied that we did it without major drugs or other interventions. We gave her the best possible start in life.  And although it was the hardest work I’ve ever done, it was definitely worth it. I would recommend a natural birth to every expectant mother.