Mummy H Says: “Looking back, everything about my experience of an IV drip induction busted all myths about what that type of birth has to look like – I had feelings in my legs, my active labour was fast, the energy was positive and exciting, and did not lead to a more painful experience. I do put so much of it down to my mindset and mantra around control, which didn’t mean being a control freak, but rather not letting the curveballs sway me, and finding the inner strength to listen to my body in spite of interventions.”
The reason I attended Hypnobirthing with Claire was because I often get anxious when things are out of my control, and my birth story certainly was that. Thankfully, I had a toolkit of techniques and a great outlook after attending the course which resulted in a positive birth story involving induction via IV drip.
Three days into my induction process (and ten days overdue), I was worrying my calm vibes were starting to dwindle – my classical music playlist was drowned out by a busy induction ward of labouring women and pondering partners. I’d been on my back in bed for three days and on very little sleep. I began to think “I don’t know if I’m cut out for this today” – and to top it off, my boss emailed me announcing there’d be redundancies in work. Not the happy positive mindset one would like before pushing out a watermelon.
But I kept remembering what I’d learnt in Hypnobirthing and that mindset was everything. All these circumstances didn’t need to mean the birth had to unravel. There was a certain level of control I could keep – I could set the tone, I could find my voice to state my preferences, I could find the strength for birth. Any time I felt nerves or panic I repeated the mantra “I’m in control”.
Finally I was told the news that time was up – they’d given me all types of induction with no change to dilation, and it was time to break my waters as soon as I reached 2cm and start the process via IV drip. Once taken to the delivery room in the consultant unit I was pleasantly surprised that it was nothing like the clinical, scary space people make out to believe. There was low dim lighting and enough space not to feel cramped.
With my mantra around control humming in my head, my first declaration as I was briefed by my midwife and anaesthetist was that I didn’t want an epidural put in when they started the drip, which is typically done in the same procedure as the acceleration of intensity is too fast for most. I could see my husband smack the palm of his hand and shake his head as I made my difficult request. But their agreement gave me a kick of energy – I AM in control. The first hour I managed to breathe through the rising intensity of surges with up breathing, and adding an up and down movement with my hand to visualise my breathe. After another hour using gas and air I finally accepted the epidural, but felt happy and proud I had tolerated the surges for so long without.
After the epidural “plug in”, contrary to the norm, with every surge my instinct was to open and close my legs on my side, Jane Fonda style. Because you typically lose feeling in your legs after the procedure my midwife suggested we inserted a catheter before I lost any more. But when she opened my legs to put it in, I heard her squeal “oh! A head!”. Very quickly the energy in the room shifted from “get Comfy we could be here some time” to “get ready to push”.
I immediately asked my husband to change the playlist from classical covers to my favourite musical theatre song which is a big of a disco banger (“so much better” from legally blonde the musical, if anyone wants inspiration!) and twenty minutes of guided pushing later, my legs pushed into the ribs of two incredibly strong midwives, she arrived. Our daughter cartwheeled in after keeping us waiting until that last minute. From ten days overdue and three days in hospital, Labour ended after just four hours.
Looking back, everything about my experience of an IV drip induction busted all myths about what that type of birth has to look like – I had feelings in my legs, my active labour was fast, the energy was positive and exciting, and did not lead to a more painful experience. I do put so much of it down to my mindset and mantra around control, which didn’t mean being a control freak, but rather not letting the curveballs sway me, and finding the inner strength to listen to my body in spite of interventions.
