Claire | Midwife’s first birth, home to hospital transfer, emergency caesarean

Claire’s story begins with the excitement of falling pregnant on their first try after getting married. As a rotational midwife working between the birthing unit, clinic, and postnatal ward, she had clear ideas about her ideal birth experience. “We are really lucky where at the hospital I work at, they offer home births through the midwifery group practice programme. And so in my mind I was always, I knew which midwife I wanted. I knew who I felt supported by and who I had seen practice and who I knew would take really good care of me.”

Planning for Home Birth

Despite never having witnessed a home birth professionally, Claire was drawn to birthing at home, influenced by her family’s positive experiences. “My dad and my stepmum are quite involved in the home birth world and they had my three younger siblings at home. So I’ve always been familiar with home birth as an option.” She made strategic choices to maintain her low-risk status, including opting out of the GBS swab and using a continuous glucose monitor instead of the standard glucose tolerance test.

The Challenge of Professional Knowledge

One of the most relatable aspects of Claire’s story is how her medical background both helped and hindered her pregnancy experience. Coming from a NICU background, she found it difficult to switch off her clinical mind: “I don’t think I really could. So my previous employment before I became a midwife was as a NICU nurse. So I think being, having come from NICU into the midwifery world, I’ve always come from like a sick model.”

This led to anxiety about normal pregnancy changes, particularly around fetal movements. “I felt like she like clicked over to 12 weeks. Sorry. Clicked over to 20 weeks and suddenly her movements became less like butterfly, more like gas movements… I naturally overthink that.”

Labour Begins

True to her word about attending the Book of Mormon, Claire’s waters broke dramatically outside Paddy’s Markets the day before her due date. “It was a massive gush and I was just, I was walking with my husband and my friends and I was just like, oh my gosh. And I just stopped and it just went everywhere… It was very dramatic. It was very much, they say, it’s not like the movies, but that was very much like the movies.”

The Reality of Labour

What followed was a 27-hour labour that challenged all of Claire’s expectations. Contractions began immediately and were intense from the start: “I went to lie down in bed and it was probably about midnight and straight away started having contractions that were keeping me up. Like I couldn’t not use the tens and die. Couldn’t lie down.”

The labour progressed differently than expected, with Claire experiencing significant pressure sensations early on. “From about 1:00 PM I felt like I was having involuntary pushes and it was that like same pressure, really low pressure, and I was struggling through it.”

Navigating Disappointment and Doubt

One of the most powerful aspects of Claire’s story is her honesty about the mental challenges of labour. When she was found to be only 4cm dilated after hours of intense contractions, she experienced a crisis of confidence: “When they told me I was four centimetres, I was like, take me to hospital. I want an epidural. And they were like, no. Like Mitch especially was like, that’s not what she wants. She’s being silly.”

Her support team’s response demonstrates the importance of having advocates who know your true wishes: “They were really good at like bringing me back into my birth space… from my midwifery brain to be like, think about what you wanna achieve with this birth.”

The Transfer Decision

After extensive position changes, spinning babies techniques, and sterile water injections, Claire reached 9cm but with an asynclitic presentation – baby Maeve was positioned with her head tilted to one side rather than optimally flexed. “My midwife did another VA and found that I was nine centimetres. And that baby was asynclitic, so she felt that side suture rather than her little diamond fontanel that we try and feel.”

The decision to transfer was made collaboratively: “At that point they recommended a transfer into a hospital and I was very much like, yeah that’s fine. I agree that is like we did everything I had been doing.”

Hospital Experience and Caesarean Birth

Claire’s experience highlights the benefits of birthing at a familiar hospital with known staff. The epidural provided immediate relief, but after hours at 9cm with a swollen cervix, a caesarean became necessary. Rather than feeling defeated, Claire embraced the decision: “I said to Mitch, I was like, thank God I don’t have to push again. I was just so tired.”

The caesarean itself was made special by an experienced consultant who allowed Claire to witness Maeve’s birth: “He delivered her head and then got them to drop the drape… they dropped the DRAP when just her head was out and he got the resident to rub my uterus to get a contraction out of it. And as my uterus contracted, she was born.”

Complications and Recovery

Claire experienced significant blood loss during surgery (2.5 litres), requiring blood transfusions. Despite this frightening complication, she maintained her positive outlook and focused on meeting her daughter. Her recovery was supported by excellent hospital care and her partner’s dedication.

Reflections on Birth as a Midwife

Claire’s experience profoundly impacted her professional perspective: “I always thought I’d be a very relaxed labourer and I was not a relaxed labourer. I thought I’d be quiet. I was not quiet. I just have a very, I think it’ll very much change my practice as a midwife, having now been through all of the experiences.”

The Power of Positive Birth Experience

Perhaps most importantly, Claire’s story demonstrates that a positive birth experience isn’t defined by the mode of birth, but by feeling supported, heard, and empowered throughout the process. “I think that’s a reflection of having midwives look after you, that you trust and that midwifery led model of care.”

Her story offers hope and reassurance to anyone whose birth doesn’t go according to plan, showing that with the right support and mindset, any birth can be transformative and empowering.

Claire’s journey from midwife to mother offers invaluable insights into the unpredictable nature of birth and the power of excellent midwifery care in creating positive experiences, regardless of how the story unfolds.