This is Cherise's Inspirational Birth Story!

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I wanted to share with you my VBAC birth story. The labour with my first daughter resulted in an emergency c-section. The c-section itself was very positive, but due to babies position the labour prior to this was long, and an assisted delivery was also attempted. 

When I got pregnant with my second child I decided I wanted to try for a vaginal delivery. Even though I remained active in my first pregnancy, this time I decided to use my birthing ball more to get and keep baby in the correct position. 

The day before my due date I kept getting mild cramps, but I had been getting these off and on for a few weeks, and usually they’d stop. So I went about my day, nipping into town and even trying out a new steam mop! At around 8pm I started to think I may be going into labour as the surges were more powerful, I used my golden thread breath, bounced on my ball and sprayed my lemongrass room spray. I then decided to lie down to conserve some energy, I think my first labour made me think that it would be a long time to get into established labour again. At 9pm I began timing my contractions and around an hour later I felt like I needed to go to the hospital, so my partner rang up and we set off at 10:30pm. In the car I felt like I could feel the baby pushing down, and I was unable to concentrate on my breathing, I found listening to spa music and saying ‘ahh’ instinctively through the surges helped me to focus. 

In the car park my waters broke and when I arrived at the hopsital the surges seemed very close together. I was taken straight to a triage room, and was shocked when the midwife said I was 9cm dilated! 

By the time I was in the labour room and the midwives had done observations on myself and the baby, my body was started to push and I just trusted my instincts. 

1 hour and 50 minutes after arriving at the hospital and on her due date Willow was born. I didn’t require any stitches or have any tears, which I believe the perineal massage helped with. 

Four hours after Willow was born I was discharged from the hospital, which was a completely different experience to my first labour. I was so surprised at how quick the recovery was. So much easier, especially with having a toddler to look after. Even though my c-section recovery was straight forward, I felt less isolated with being able to drive sooner, and I was out going for short walks within a couple of days this time. 

I truly believe pregnancy yoga, the breathing techniques and trusting my body helped in keeping me calm and experiencing an amazing VBAC!

Thank you again Victoria for the amazing classes