Part one

Our second little baba was born mid May 2020, just as we were coming to the end of the first lockdown. We had a beautiful, transformative water birth but the path wasn’t easy, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the unending support of my doula Leslie Altic from Belfast Baby Co. 

After the birth of our first, despite having a positive experience, we vowed we’d hire a doula next time for an extra set of hands. So when we fell pregnant for the second time we engaged Emma and Leslie from the Belfast Baby Co and were delighted with their support. They were always on hand on WhatsApp for guidance, advice, perspective and a very caring listening ear when I had a tough day which turned out to be very much needed!

My pregnancy progressed well until lockdown hit during my third trimester. Suddenly my husband and I were both working full time from home, caring for our toddler and navigating a pandemic. The biggest impact was on our hopes for a home birth which given the pressures on the health system was understandably no longer available to us. As I reached full term, I had given up hope when Leslie sent me the latest guidelines and explained that I could email the Head of Midwifery to see if there would be any changes as the pressure on the system eased. I sent the email and didn’t expect a response but surprisingly a couple of weeks later I got a call from the Head of Community Midwives, home births were being brought back for low risk second time mums. I couldn’t believe my luck, even though I was 38 weeks they were willing to arrange the home birth for me.

I was delighted at the prospect, however a few days later when the midwives arrived to set up, I became unexpectedly tense. In hindsight, no one had been in our home since lockdown began and I felt very responsible for the safety of the people entering my home. Whilst throughout my pregnancy my blood pressure (BP) had been normal, it shot up when they took that day. White coat syndrome for sure, we all thought. Kindly they offered to come back and take it again. But unfortunately, the same thing happened, and they advised I go to EOU for monitoring. I was devastated I didn’t want to go near a hospital, I felt safe at home but I also wanted to heed the advice for me and my baby. I convinced myself I’d relax at the EOU and my BP would normalise. But despite the wonderful people, the EOU was not a relaxing place – bright lights, beeping machines, PPE. My BP climbed and I began to panic. After some time, they prescribed me some medication and a doctor popped her head around the curtain and told me they “wanted to get me started”. I was shocked and didn’t quite understand what she meant. Eventually a kind midwife explained they didn’t want to send me home with an unstable BP and wanted to start an induction. Baba was doing amazingly in my belly with strong movements and heart rate but they were concerned about the BP even though all other readings were perfect.

I was really upset and to be honest, scared of induction, as I felt neither me or baba would cope well with the process. I called Leslie and she calmed me instantly. She explained the risk factors with high BP and my choices that should be available to me in line with current guidance. After some discussion with EOU staff, I decided I wasn’t ready to start induction and agreed to a night on the ward for monitoring and to allow time for my parents to make the 3 hour journey to help us with our toddler.

The night on the ward was helpful and gave me time to get my thoughts together. I relaxed, my BP stabilised, and I got more information on the induction process. I decided I’d go ahead with the pessary but didn’t want to proceed with waters being broken (my waters went naturally just before birth the last time).

The next morning, I had a shower, breakfast and then headed to the induction ward to get the 24-hour pessary fitted. Leslie had made a good suggestion that although my husband wasn’t allowed into the ward, we could meet in the hospital grounds. It gave me so much comfort to see him, get some homemade sandwiches and chocolate. I was doing fine with the pessary, a lot of cramping but all manageable.

However, as the day progressed, panic began to rise again. Labour hadn’t started (I didn’t really expect it too) and there was talk of breaking waters the next day. I didn’t want to do that. That evening I met my husband and Leslie for a social distanced chat near the hospital. I needed another perspective. I felt deep down that me and baba were fine and we’d be better away from the hospital as my BP had stabilised. Leslie listened and helped us come to a plan that we were comfortable with. I would talk to the midwife about discharging the next morning and offer to return for monitoring, my BP was fine and I knew seeing my toddler and being home would help me progress.

When I returned to the ward, I met an angel of a midwife starting shift. She took the time to sit with me and listen to my concerns and my first birth experience (things went very quickly once I passed 3cm). She promised we’d discuss my discharge with the consultant the next morning and even found out who would be working. She also told me that Room 6 (the water birth suite), presently closed for COVID 19 cases had been opened for a woman the previous week.

I was elated, feeling like I had been listened to and was equipped with knowledge of the risks to make an informed choice. I dreamed of going home to cuddle my son and steep myself in my bath and fell fast asleep.

Part two to follow.