Samantha had a pregnancy most women only dream of. Not a hint of morning sickness, in she had hardly any pregnancy symptoms. She even joked that her labour was going to be payback for a cruisy nine months.
And she was right on the money.
After planning for a natural labour, Samantha’s water broke early. And little did she know her baby wasn’t coming head first. At the very last moment, the midwives realised they were looking at a tiny foot crowning, and the birth plan was swiftly changed.
A smooth pregnancy, until …
Samantha and her partner Koray always planned on marrying and having babies. So in the spring of 2019 the couple married and began trying to start a family, falling pregnant quickly.
“My whole pregnancy went by pretty smoothly having hardly any pregnancy symptoms, not even vomiting once and because of that I had even joked about having a hard labour, surely one can not be THAT lucky to have a good run of pregnancy as well as a quick labour!” Samantha told Mum’s Grapevine.
It seems Samantha’s mother’s intuition was kicking in early, because at 38 weeks her water broke at 4am.
“My initial thoughts were f*** I just changed the bedsheets the other night then followed by holy s*** my water just broke and this is happening!
“I was shocked but overall more excited because it meant getting to meet my baby two weeks early and I was ready for natural birth and all the empowering stuff that came with it. Throughout the morning I stayed calm, downloaded labour songs, practiced my breathing, organised my newborn baby photoshoot date and even did my hair so that I can look somewhat decent for when I give birth. I notified the midwifes and they told me everything sounds great and I should stay home, relax and save my energy for the marathon at night for when I go into active labour.”
By midday Samantha’s contractions were getting more uncomfortable, coming around 15 to 20 minutes apart. At 5pm they were unbearable, so she asked Koray to call the midwives. They encouraged Samantha to continue labouring at home a while longer, ‘as they believed I’m still in pre-labour and there’s still a while to go’.
“They wanted us to come into to the hospital around 9pm but by 7pm I could not take the pain anymore and just wanted the baby out so we drove to the hospital. We were moved to a temporary room until my birth suite became available and waited for my midwife to arrive. By the time my midwife arrived at 7:30pm my contractions got so bad I forgot all about breathing and all the birth skill techniques I read about. All I wanted to do was scream but suffered in silence as I was told to just slowly breathe through the surges!
“At 9pm they decided it was time to induce me and give me antibiotic as I had refused Group B Strep testing. My cervix was checked at around the same time and that’s when they realised I was fully dilated and what the midwife felt was a foot instead of a head!”
A scar to be proud of
It was action stations as Samantha felt the urge to push but the medical team did everything to keep bub from being born. Her baby was in a footling breech position, something nobody knew until the final moments of labour.
“At that moment I was ready to push but could not as it was unsafe to deliver the baby vaginally and the baby’s heart rate dropped a few times. I was rushed into the theatre room for an emergency caesarean while a doctor kept her fingers up my cervix so that the babies foot or cord wouldn’t fall through. It was the most overwhelming and vulnerable feeling seeing so many strange faces but I knew they all would play a role in saving my baby and me. I was put under anaesthetic and the last thing I saw was a blue sheet going up before meeting my baby boy.”
Samantha says while it wasn’t the birth she was preparing for, it’s the birth she was meant to have. And she now draws strength from seeing the scar that safely delivered her baby.
“Never did I imagine I would have to endure labour pain only to end up getting a caesarean but I am so, so grateful for the quick action of the doctors and nurses and proud of the c-section scar I now carry because it reminds me of my strength and safe delivery of my baby into this world.”
More birth stories from the Grapeviner community…
- Birth Story: Four sisters share pregnancy joy
- Birth Story: ‘My water broke at 20 weeks’
- Birth Story: ‘I gave birth to a toddler’
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(Images: Bella Rouge Photography)
