My Home Birth Story Part 1: A Positive and Empowering Home Birth BBA (born before arrival of midwife)

As you will know if you’ve read my other posts I have a wee tradition of sharing my own birth stories on each of the kids birthdays. Today is not a birthday but I have felt compelled to share the story of Iris’ birth after a conversation over the weekend. I have deliberately split the birth story into two parts because this is how I have had to separate it out in my own mind to be able to process the whole experience. But also to allow you to choose if you want to read the ‘not so nice’ part of the story.

So this is part one - the good bit! Not just good - amazing, empowering, incredible! 

After my second and third babies being born at home I was keen for another home birth and planned this from the start. I had a very straightforward pregnancy and no issues whatsoever and was fully supported with my plans. The only difference in my care this time was that we now have a dedicated homebirth team in the area which I was really excited about. I had a lovely midwife called Holly who did all of my appointments at home. I had practiced hypnobirthing to varying degrees with babies two and three and again I threw myself into this, preparing in the best way I knew how, working on keeping calm in the process and trusting my body. I found towards the end there wasn’t the same pressure as I had experienced before to consider induction of labour and/or monitoring that I had experienced previously. Whether this was because Holly was specifically dedicated to homebirth and I guess then by default a bit more pro physiological birth or just the fact I had been very clear on my views from the start I am not sure - but I did find it really positive that nobody was stressing about it. 

At 40+10 I had a few niggles before going to bed and I said to my husband I thought it would happen tonight. I woke with definite but manageable contractions around 2am and ran a bath. I got out of the bath at 2.40 and called the midwife - Holly was on annual leave so I knew it wasn’t going to be her attending but I was still feeling positive. I used a TENS machine for a little while and paced around the living room. Then I suddenly felt the urge to squat down in front of the sofa. At that moment my waters went and were shortly followed by babies head and then really quickly after her wee body was caught by daddy.

Iris Ellen Millar was born at 4am and oh my goodness she was the most perfect little thing ever. I don’t know what I expected her to look like but we both said she looked completely different than we had imagined. She was and is so beautiful. 

BBA (born before arrival of midwife) had not been my plan but I had prepared myself for it being a possibility and so I didn’t feel panicked at all about the midwife not being there. I can’t say the same for my husband but he did an amazing job of catching her and passing her to me and then looking after both of us until the midwife arrived.

We sat there just looking at her and in complete and utter awe of what we had just experienced. I felt so proud of myself and my body for just knowing what to do. I was absolutely elated and as I mentioned above I felt really empowered and like superwoman. 

The midwife arrived around half an hour after Iris was born, you can read about what happened next in the next blog post - that part is not so positive but I feel it is important to share.