My Birth Story - Part One
[I have split this story across 2 Blog Posts - or you can read this on my Instagram page @alice_kingsnorth]
From emergency C-Section in London to an unmedicated, natural delivery in Peru – despite the odds. This is my Birth Story.
For this story to really make sense, you need a little context about my first birth experience.
So, let’s re-wind to…
MARCH 2021
My eldest arrived at 41+2 weeks via emergency C-section in London. After labouring all day at home, my waters (dramatically) broke in the evening and so we made our way to our local hospital not long after.
To the midwives’ surprise, as I was so calm, I was already 3cm dilated. This was during the ongoing lockdown restrictions and so my husband was told to wait outside with all of our bags, which really made no sense.
After labouring by myself for a while (with just my phone and a cup of water), my husband was allowed to join me with my bags. I was progressing well and relatively calm, but as soon as the midwives expressed their lack of confidence in me, I began to tap out of my power as the self-doubt took over.
* Trigger warning - distressed baby *
This led to very unnecessary internal interventions, which distressed our baby, as his head got twisted in my birth canal. Then suddenly, the nurse couldn’t find his heartbeat at all and so she told my husband to hit the emergency button.
Other staff came running in and my husband was told to just grabbed any essential items and to leave everything else. I remember so clearly the panic that ensured as I was being rushed down the corridor on a bed, into a lift, to the Labour Ward.
During a conversation with my husband recently, he candidly said that he thought he was going to lose one of us. As the staff around him were rushing around, he really had no idea what was going on.
Meanwhile, my contractions had completely stopped. I couldn’t feel a thing. This was when I instinctively tuned into my inner wisdom or what I call our “personal power”. My eyes were closed, my breathing was deep but soft, and I had never felt so calm in my entire life. Really.
I was eventually told that I was already 10cm dilated, but with my body now in “survival” mode, I knew a C-Section was the safest option for us both in that moment.
I am so grateful I had this option, because we were told by the surgeon that our baby’s head was twisted in my birth canal, which could have resulted in other, more complicated issues,
In hindsight, the exact moment I tapped out of my personal power is so clear to me… which is why, I’ve made it my life’s work ever since to learn and teach exactly how we can access our inner power, to create the outcome we want, no matter what’s going on around us.
Although the actual C-Section went smoothly, my entire experience with the midwives was very traumatic and my recovery (both physically and mentally) was really hard. I, therefore, knew I wanted a vaginal birth (VBAC) this second time around, with as little intervention as possible.
MARCH 2023
Having moved to Peru in March 2023, I knew there was a high chance that I’d be having our second baby in Lima… so although my pregnancy was smooth overall (despite the extreme fatigue and all-day sickness during trimester 1), I had to adjust my expectations a little.
I came to learn that 70% of private hospital births are C-Sections, as most women opt for a planned C-Section or are induced by 40 weeks, as this is the typical “cut-off” date given by doctors in Peru. I share more on this inside my brand-new guide, The Powerful Birth Guidebook, which I’ll share more about towards the end!
Given the average baby in the UK arrives 10 days past their due date, including my first baby, I knew I had to stay in my power this time around, if I was to create the natural experience I wanted, especially as the remaining 30% who deliver naturally typically opt for an epidural – so I knew my natural birth was going to be against the odds no matter what!
To truly reclaim my power, there was some important prep I needed to do well before my due date…
4 months pregnant, visiting the Colca Canyon in Peru.
From Trimester 2 onwards, now that I had a lot more energy, it was time to do everything in my power to make sure I was prepared for this baby’s arrival, in the way I intended. The first step was to move past my traumatic birth experience in London – I knew that if I didn’t heal from it, I’d be attached to beliefs and emotions that would simply have me operating from a place of fear, which would have a detrimental impact on my ability to tap into my personal power for this birth. I created my own method of doing this, based on the work I do as a Personal Power Coach, which I’ve decided to share with you, because the ripple effect it had went far beyond what I originally intended -. if your curious to know more about this, click here.
I then got really clear on what I wanted. I’m not talking a “nice to have” list, I’m talking “this is what I want for me and my baby”. I cut out all the fluff – because there are plenty of nice-to-haves you can include for your birth, and I got down to 3 things:
1) I want to wait until my body goes into labour naturally.
2) I want to labour at home for as long as reasonably possible and,
3) I don’t want to any medication/an epidural.
In Peru, you choose your private doctor (online) before any appointment, and they are the ones who deliver your baby, too! I was very grateful I listened to my intuition when choosing because my doctor was open-minded and really lovely… but I didn’t know anything about birthing in Peru or this hospital, until I went to my appointments.
The one big thing we agreed to early on was that I wouldn’t be inducted – my doctor didn’t feel this was a good option, having had a C-Section before (even though it’s definitely possible and common in other countries), whereas I just didn’t want to be forced into labour, full stop.
But I knew my power was really going to be tested around me wanting to into labour naturally and therefore not having any intervention… because in her experience, everyone is either booked in for a C-Section at 40 weeks, or they’re induced.
So, I knew it was my responsibility to educate myself and continue to build my level of self-trust so that I could stay in my power, no matter what limiting beliefs were mentioned… one of the big ones being that - I was increasing the risk of fatality to myself and my baby - which more felt like an overly repeated statement, as it wasn’t backed up with any evidence. Once I shared the evidence I had gathered myself, my doctor felt more at ease in trusting my decisions, and so we agreed to review things again at 41 weeks.
P.S. Being able to have these conversations calmly and confidently, to take the pressure off, is so so important for your own stress levels, to allow your body to go into labour naturally in the first place.
The first place I personally recommend for education is an online hypnobirthing course (it’s ultimately a very important science lesson every pregnant woman should take and really helps you make informed decisions!) And to follow the many positive/ empowering natural birth accounts on Instagram to help you see exactly how our bodies have been perfectly designed to birth our babies!
If you’d love to know more on this and get the full inside scoop of ALL my pre-birth recommendations, as well as my birth preferences plan, tips for the big day and many more natural (+VBAC) birth questions answered, you can check out The Powerful Birth Guidebook here.
And if you want to heal from your previous birth experience/s and let go of the beliefs and emotions that are causing you unnecessary pain and struggle, check out Reclaim Your Birthing Power here for all the details.
As my due date was now fast approaching, it was time to ramp up my personal power in all the ways.
This meant further deepening my level of trust in myself and my body, making relaxation my absolutely priority (if you don’t know why this is so key, ask me!) and taking the necessary actions that were all within my power to help my body prepare for labour.
I therefore booked myself in for 2 acupuncture sessions from 39 weeks (a little earlier than I did last time), I continued to eat 3 Medjool dates a day from 36 weeks, I remained active (chasing my toddler!), rested a lot too, and I booked an at-home massage for the day before my due date.
Well... straight after my massage (with a focus on my feet), my mucus plug began to fall away. My body was telling me it was ready, too. I just had to keep trusting.
I then had a really relaxing Epsom salt bath that night, with lavender spray in the air. I was feeling SUPER relaxed, ready and completely surrendered to the knowing that my baby would come when he was ready. I was at peace with that fact.
By midnight, I began to have irregular contractions, probably every 30 minutes, but I was able to go back to sleep in between. I knew I needed to save as much energy as possible (a lesson I learnt from my first experience!). By the morning (my due date!), my contractions were still coming, but at random intervals - every 15, 30 and 60 mins - so my husband took our toddler out for most of the day so I could completely relax at home.
We decided not to tell any of our family to avoid any pressure or text messages – as well-meaning as they always are, this can really impact the mother’s experience as it allows in other people’s energy, which isn’t always so calming.
By 6pm, my contractions were every 3-4 minutes and I was having to stop, focus and breathe through them. My mucus plug was also continuing to fall out in small pieces so I knew this was it! My husband dropped our toddler off with his mum and phoned our doctor to let her know I was in active labour. She asked how well I was coping with the contractions… as I was managing absolutely fine, she said to give it another two hours and to then phone her back…
My doctor was definitely not expecting me to give birth anytime soon…
Click My Birth Story - Part Two to keep reading!
