Katie and Albert Gunstone

Katie and Albert Gunstone – Birth story
Albert Gunstone – Born 3.2.2021
The prospect of giving birth in the height of a global pandemic was extremely daunting when hospitals were at their busiest and homebirths weren’t an option but with the help of Jade, my hypnobirthing instructor, I can honestly say that at no point was I scared, panicked or without control of my birth and it was the best experience of my life.
Our hypnobirthing sessions were mainly on zoom because in Jan and Feb 2021 we were in full lockdown again because of Covid-19. Our sessions with Jade were so informative, educational and fun! We learned so much that I got really into hypnobirthing through reading loads, putting time aside to listen to my daily affirmations and review all that we learned from Jade.
On the 1st February my husband and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary with a lovely meal at home reminiscing about how incredible the day was. The following day I relaxed as much as possible and then did a 3 mile slow walk around my village which I did most days to relieve the back pain I was experiencing in late pregnancy. Unbeknown to me at 10:30pm that night (38+6 weeks) I went into labour as my surges started. I couldn’t sleep as I had a lot of cramping like sensations that kept me awake which I just thought were Braxton hicks that everyone kept telling me about! I then spent the night watching some easy TV and bouncing on my ball staying at chilled as possible (thinking I won’t wake my husband up yet as I’m not sure it is labour). As morning came I lost my mucus plug so assumed I was now in labour and got my husband to start timing the surges. At this point they were still a good 3-4 minutes apart so we got the tens machine on which mentally distracted me really well from the discomfort of the surges. A couple of hours later my surges were a lot closer together and we were on our way to hospital as per my husband’s encouragement due to the time in between them having decreased. At this point everything felt really calm, I felt in control and the surges really weren’t as bad as some people say! I thought I was in early labour still when we arrived to hospital for but to my surprise after being examined I was 7.5-8cm dilated! I was absolutely delighted as one of my main fears was that my husband would be sent home due to Covid-19 restrictions until I was in late stages of labour. He wasn’t going anywhere now so I kept the tens machine on to distract me when my surges came and kept the positive energy going to keep the oxytocin flowing.
In the birthing suite I had my affirmations playing the whole time which reminded me my body could do this and then I slowly got into the birth pool which was lovely. I was in there for a couple of hours but it seemed to slow me down slightly as my waters still hadn’t gone 2 hours later. I got out the pool and finally had my first intervention which was my wonderful midwife breaking my waters. The release of them felt amazing and shortly after I was 10cm dilated and trying to breathe my baby out. At this point my surges were really strong and very intense so having the affirmations going really helped me to stay calm and in control. All the way through labour I felt my midwife respected all my birth preferences and gently guided me at each stage towards the next step. Although I had a bit of a panic at the last minute that I couldn’t do it in the end, with the re-assurance and encouragement from my husband and midwife about 30 minutes later after a toilet stop my little boy was born safely on the toilet floor! I was up on the bed with my baby in my arms feeling complete elation moments after.
They then examined me and I had the smallest internal tear of which my midwife advised I didn’t need stitches for in the hope it would heal better naturally of which it did. That was it I had done it and what a feeling that was!
I can honestly say that although labour is definitely not pain free it’s the most incredible thing you will ever experience in your life. I would do it again in a heartbeat and cannot thank my hypnobirthing instructor enough as I felt so empowered and in control during my labour and this is why I think it was so calm. My husband commented after that I was so calm, relaxed and in control the whole time and that it was incredible to see.
Have faith in yourself ladies, you will have the birth you dream of x