Pregnancy & Birth
My Birth Story
Katie Ash shares her experience of giving birth to baby Ciaran. She reflects on the difficulties she experienced in pregnancy and the benefits of not having a birth plan!
"After a bleed early in my pregnancy, I was extremely worried..."
I remember visiting Chelsea and Westminster Hospital at around 30 weeks pregnant and thinking ‘Oh my goodness - that is going to be me soon’. On the labour ward there was a lot of activity – from a busy reception, to men wandering round looking a bit lost and everyone seemed a little bit on edge, not least us and the rest of the group we were touring the hospital with.
As we crossed the corridor to the midwife-led unit, I immediately felt a sense of absolute calm and felt as though we were visiting a lovely hotel or spa (my experience of these luxuries is perhaps limited so I appreciate that it may not feel that way to everyone reading this!). I came away from the visit thinking ‘I desperately hope I am in a position to give birth in the midwife-led unit’.
At around 14 weeks into my pregnancy, I was seen by a consultant at Chelsea and Westminster’s premature baby clinic as a few years ago I had a very bad smear result and ended up having a cone biopsy procedure. This considerably shortened the length of my cervix and therefore put me ‘at risk’ of having a late miscarriage or a premature delivery, something which I wasn’t aware of prior to conceiving.
After a bleed early in my pregnancy, I was extremely worried for the entire first trimester. Just when I thought I could begin to enjoy my pregnancy, I was told at the 14 week appointment that I was not to walk for more than five to ten minutes at a time, I couldn’t do any exercise at all and I would be signed off work if I wasn’t able to organise a better commute for myself. Plus, I would have to be scanned at the hospital every week or two to make sure my cervix was okay. I left that appointment baffled and scared.
My pregnancy became extremely worrying and having been a very active and sporty person, I suddenly became someone who did nothing, and it was miserable. I kept reminding myself that there are people out there who are a lot worse off and who are hospitalised for many months of their pregnancy, but I was living with the fear that I may walk one step too far and put our baby at risk.
Fast-forward to the final weeks of my pregnancy – AND I HAD DONE IT! I was massively uncomfortable and had fairly frequent and very painful Braxton Hicks contractions, but I was so happy that I had finally reached a point where the baby could be born and he/she would be okay.
I think the Braxton Hicks contractions fooled me. I was 38 weeks pregnant and I remember thinking that I didn’t feel quite right but I wasn’t in pain, just more discomfort. The afternoon of Friday the 11th December, after having quite a lot of watery discharge, I called the maternity unit and ended up going in to