BIRTH
FROM MIDWIFE TO
MOTHER
After having her own baby , May Bourne , the founder of Positive Birth Jersey , shares her experience so far .
I
had been working as a midwife for nearly ten years when we decided that the time was right for us to have our own baby . I knew from the start that , if all was well , I would plan to give birth at home with the support of my community midwifery colleagues . I was lucky enough to have a really enjoyable pregnancy , and I stayed active .
My experience as a midwife and Hypnobirthing teacher led me to have complete confidence in my body , the process of normal physiological labour and the midwives who would be supporting me . I knew how important the environment was , and I knew that for me , being in hospital would instantly have a negative impact on my mindset and how relaxed I felt . There is also a huge amount of evidence to show that home birth is very safe , and the chance of intervention is much lower for those giving birth at home
( The Birth Place Study , 2011 ). I did feel quite a lot of pressure because of my job , but I was incredibly excited to have my own birth experience after years of supporting so many women as a midwife .
I had been having strong but painless Braxton Hicks (' practice contractions ') for about two weeks . On the morning of Wednesday 2nd March , I woke up and noticed that I was having what I assumed to be Braxton Hicks tightenings – I had never had them during the day ( only in the evening ), so I thought my body might be gearing up towards labour in the next few days . I decided to use up the leftover pancake batter from the day before ( Pancake Day !), and my mum cooked me 5 ( yes , 5 !) lemon and sugar pancakes for breakfast . I went out for the day for tea , cake and shopping , stopping off for dinner from M & S on the way home at about 4.30pm .
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