Sarah – three births, induction, ectopic pregnancy, healing water birth

Sarah’s journey to motherhood began unexpectedly when she came off birth control thinking she might want to have a baby “in the next few years” and fell pregnant just two weeks later. Though this first pregnancy ended in an early miscarriage, it confirmed her desire to become a mother.

“It really just kind of showed me how ready I was and how much I wanted a baby, so we started planning to conceive again right after that.”

With her first pregnancy, Sarah admits she “knew nothing” about the birth system or her options. She applied for the Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) but didn’t get in, instead seeing the same midwife throughout her pregnancy but not for the birth. When Remy was two days overdue on Christmas Eve, Sarah’s midwife suggested booking an induction for early January. Upset at the thought of being pregnant until the new year, Sarah accepted an earlier induction date for Boxing Day.

“I didn’t know any better. And I was just like, yep, induce me. Sure. I’m so ready to meet my baby.”

The induction led to a cascade of interventions – from cervical tape to breaking her waters, Pitocin, and eventually an epidural when she was only 2cm dilated after hours of intense contractions.

“I went from thinking, I can do this… Within two hours, I was just screaming in pain, essentially. I had no tools to help myself.”

After 24 hours of labour, with her baby’s heart rate repeatedly dropping, Sarah pushed for two hours before an episiotomy and forceps delivery brought Remy into the world.

“I’ll just never forget the feeling of like the obstetrician pulling her out with forceps and me like sliding down the bed. And I was kind of just like, how is that safe for a little fragile baby? It was insane.”

After another early miscarriage, Sarah conceived Navy, her second daughter. This time, she was determined not to be induced and prepared differently by completing a hypnobirthing course. Though Navy also went past her due date, Sarah experienced spontaneous labour at 41+1. She laboured at home using hypnobirthing techniques before heading to the hospital at 6cm dilated.

Despite her hopes for a water birth, she found the bath uncomfortable during labour. When her waters were broken, the contractions intensified dramatically, and Sarah requested an epidural, unaware she was likely in transition. Navy was born posterior after 26 minutes of pushing – a much quicker delivery than her first, with only a small graze requiring no stitches.

“Despite it being really long, painful labour and having the epidural when I wanted to have a water birth, the experience was just so much better than the first one.”

Between her second and third babies, Sarah experienced a traumatic ectopic pregnancy. After an unusual pattern of positive tests, bleeding, and then positive tests again, she was diagnosed with a pregnancy in her right fallopian tube. Despite receiving methotrexate treatment, her tube ruptured days later while she was driving home from an appointment.

“I was driving and then I came into the Harbour Bridge Tunnel, which is a really, really long tunnel. And as I was coming into it, my hands kind of started tingling and they went all tingly all up my arms. And I started like sweating profusely.”

Sarah made it to the hospital where they discovered she was bleeding internally. She underwent emergency surgery where they removed her right fallopian tube and found she had lost 1.2 liters of blood. This experience left her with some PTSD and anxiety about future pregnancies, but doctors reassured her that having one tube would only minimally impact her fertility.

Five months after her surgery, Sarah conceived again. This time, she was determined to have the birth experience she’d always wanted. She chose St. George Hospital for their Active Birth Team who specialised in water births.

“We really, really put in the work with Hugo’s pregnancy to do like as much as I could to prepare, to have an unmedicated birth. I knew my last baby, it was my last chance.”

Sarah and Jad took an in-person birth course, collected tools like birth combs and a TENS machine, and practised spinning babies techniques. Her waters broke at 41 weeks, and contractions began shortly after. After labouring at home with support from Jad, they arrived at the hospital with contractions coming close together.

“I like instantly started crying because I had just been imagining birth in one of these rooms for nine months. And they were so beautiful.”

To Sarah’s surprise, shortly after getting into the birth pool, her body began pushing. Despite being told earlier she was only about 6cm dilated, the midwives encouraged her to follow her body’s lead.

“If your body wants to push, let it do what it wants to do.”

After just 18 minutes of pushing, Sarah caught her baby in the water herself. The couple waited several minutes before checking the sex of their baby, discovering they had a boy. Unlike her previous births, Hugo stayed with Sarah for the golden hour of skin-to-skin contact, and Jad got to cut the cord after it had turned white.

“It was exactly everything as I had dreamed and manifested and worked towards. It was exactly what we got. And I feel so, so grateful, but also so proud of myself. I feel like I really worked hard to have the birth that I wanted… I’m still, he’s two weeks old and I still think about it every day.”

Sarah’s story is a powerful reminder of how preparation, education and the right support can transform the birthing experience. From her first highly medicalised birth to her empowering water birth with Hugo, her journey highlights the importance of finding care providers who support your birth preferences and equipping yourself with knowledge and tools for the birth you desire.