Hilary's waters went at home the day before Sonny's due date. As she had tested Strep B positive, her midwife asked her to come into the hospital to be induced immediately. Sonny's labour was incredibly intense and Hilary found little to no relief in between contractions. She recalls that her husband only left her side for a one minute toilet break during the 8.5 hour labour, and even that was duly noted as being too long. Despite practicing yoga and active birth techniques from Juju Sundin's book 'Birth Skills' , Hilary found the pain overwhelming and cried out for a c-section after 5 hours. She then attempted Gas and Air which she loved. She discusses her birth plan (which stated to offer no pain relief) and doesn't recommend detailing your birth plan in this way - she wishes she had been offered Gas and Air earlier. Sonny was mal positioned and Hilary was on all fours for part of her birth, trying to turn him into a better position for delivery. She ended up delivering on her back, which was not what she had envisioned for herself. After 35 minutes of pushing, Sonny arrived. These beautiful images are the very few she has of her labour, which she'd hoped to have been able to document in more detail (being a photographer). Hilary looks forward to a second attempt at putting Juju Sundin's techniques in an unmedicated birth if she decides to try for a second baby. If you'd like my FREE guide on perineal massage click If you'd like my FREE 5-minute breathing exercise click Follow us on Instagram to keep the conversation going. To learn more about The Birth Class my online childbirth education course head to the shop Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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