Birth Stories > Pia's waterbirth story of baby Matthew
Pia's waterbirth story of baby Matthew Raphael
There were a lot of misconceptions and ambiguities that arose from the stories that we have heard from our parent's generation. It appears that many seem to willingly share stories that fell to pieces and seldom would we hear about any happy experiences.
We had no idea of what was to come of us and what to expect being new parents and as for me, a newly expecting mother.
The biggest concern was the fact that we didn't know anything about giving birth....ANYTHING!
Sadly, both Ray and I had no family support, we only had each other.
Attending the Birthing Class, all the misconceptions were clarified and all our concerns were answered.
Julie did not leave a stone unturned, she was straight forward, informative and at times graphic but it made me ready.She helped us understand every step of the birth to know what to expect and all the options available including the EPI-NO. It was one of life's best decisions using the EPI-NO (see below at end of story). At 34 weeks, I began to use it every second day and closer to the birth I used it every night until that night of Raymond's birthday, the day I was due.
At 11pm my water broke. I felt the contractions but they were tolerable just like a tummy ache. At 10 am the next day it became consistent but still manageable.
At 2pm I was already in the birth centre with 3 min intervals of a minute and a half of excruciating pain. Each contraction was a challenge but as Julie said "let it take over you and ride it like a wave" so I did.
At 6.45pm I went in the water. As soon as I stepped in I fell asleep as my body relaxed with the warm water. The short nap was disturbed by a huge contraction and I felt like I had to push.
I focused on my breathing and I allowed my body to do the rest, then baby's head came out, he was posterior. I was surprised because it was too quick, too easy. The next contraction came I tried pushing but nothing happened. Then the third contraction, it was just a split second, before I knew it Raymond had caught our baby and I had him in my arms.
So precious and so perfect.
We believe that the EPI-NO helped. It was my first time giving birth, no drugs or pain relievers were used and I did not tear at all. If anything the birth was a pleasurable experience.
Thank you Julie!
warm wishes,
Pia and Raymond
The Epi-no childbirth trainer pictured below:
For more details on posterior presentation visit: http://www.spinningbabies.com/
Ask Julie about the epi-no if you'd like more details.