From Glencoe to Home: A Glasgow Home Birth. Her Point of View
Birth Photography Scotland
If you’ve read the previous birth stories, you know that I always write birth stories from my perspective as a birth photographer with all the consent in place. However, Rebekah also would like to share her point of view from her very own story! So sit back, enjoy, while you can read Rebekah’s own words right here:
‘‘The day I went into labor (actual labor this time), I woke up at 4:30 a.m. to contractions. But like, not the kind where I was convinced they were “real.” I was still caught in that space between hope and cynicism about whether this time it would actually progress.
As the morning continued, so did the contractions. In my stubbornness and superstition, I refused to start timing them until they increased in intensity. So instead, I stayed in my pajamas and dedicated my attention to brain-rot my way through cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies as a necessary form of distraction.
By noon, they started to pick up and become a little more intense. Since our living room was already vibing with Dexter, all we needed to do was begin to fill the pool. We were forewarned about the length of time it would take to fill and it needed to be filled with lukewarm water first, so I wanted that process started, at the very least.
My husband, James, attached the connectors to the hose and started to fill the pool. About 5 minutes in, I heard a loud “UGH” followed by my toddler’s “What happened?” In an effort to prevent water from leaking from the tap connector, my husband made a small adjustment, which led to water now being sprayed about our (carpeted) living room floor.
We emptied out and used every.single.towel in our flat to sop up the floor - including the towels designated for our home birth. The dehumidifier was thrown on and our hand weights and kettle bells became necessary allies in our plight to absorb water. My pregnancy hormones threw me into a panic attack and I sent my mom to the laundromat to wash our towels because our washer/dryer notoriously takes 6+ hours for a single load (have I mentioned lately how much I hate doing laundry in our flat?) and I refused to be wrapped up in a new store-bought towel without it being washed. I could literally feel my skin crawling with the thought of all the germs and what not that could be on them - irrational, probably, but tell that to a laboring pregnant woman.
In the midst of all of this, guess what suddenly stopped? You betcha. The contractions. I sobbed. 5 minutes later, my midwife called to check up on me. She was already planning a home visit anyway and told me we could talk about/plan for an induction when she arrived.
6 pm she visited. She checked my cervix and did another membrane sweep. We then discussed induction methods. I really wanted to avoid a pharmaceutical induction at all costs. I was still 2-3cm dilated and almost fully effaced, so we agreed to artificial rupture of membranes and would re-evaluate pending progression of labor. She said she’d call in the morning to book the induction for Friday. I felt immediate relief. We had a plan and my mom would still be in Glasgow for the birth, so my son would be in safe, loving hands. As much as I wanted my home birth, I wanted my children to be safe much more.
Breathing a little easier, we all ate dinner together and then I went for a long, hot, relaxing shower. Around 7:00pm, as I stepped out of the shower, I felt a release of water and looked down to see pink tinged water on my bathroom floor. My water broke! Freaking finally!! I had been praying for this for weeks.
I called maternity assessment at 7:15pn and was on hold for 20 minutes before finally talking to someone. They said to call back when labor progressed. Check mark that box.
In the meantime, we got my son set up to watch The Grinch on our projector, and the three of us sat down for one last family movie night as a family of three.
Halfway through, around 9:30pm, the contractions picked up and I started actually timing them. I texted our birth photographer, Marieke, and moved into the living room. I asked James to continue filling up the pool with hot water this time because (again) it takes FOREVER to fill the pool.
At 9:45pm, with contractions about 2 minutes apart and lasting a minute long, I called maternity assessment again to bring in the midwives. (I was on hold again for about 10 minutes).
In the meantime, I started to cycle through my relaxation methods for birth. A little ASMR video here, some deep relaxing hypnobirthing music there, etc. Ultimately what worked for me were acupressure orbs and my husband. We completed a KGH Hypnobirthing course beforehand (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and used those methods throughout labor.
One of the key components of hypobirthing that we used was re-focusing attention from the contraction/discomfort onto something else. For me, it was James lightly touching my arms and whispering affirmations to me. In his embrace, I was able to relax (as much as you can in active labor) and breathe through each wave. His voice and his love carried my spirit and kept me grounded and fully present. It truly made a huge difference in my labor this time around versus with my son.
The midwives arrived around 10:30-10:45pm. One was a home birth midwife and the other a community (hospital based) midwife. They listened to baby’s heartbeat and took my blood pressure. Every 15 minutes, they would listen to baby’s heartbeat until I was in second stage and it was every 5 minutes.
I had to wait until the pool was heated up to temperature (37C) and at the fill line.
By the time that happened, the contractions were really picking up and it was uncomfortable to walk or even move. I’m pretty sure I said “this sucks” on more than one occasion.
After one quick trip to the bathroom, I returned to our living room to see the pool was finally ready.
When I tell you the immediate relief I felt getting in the pool, please know there is nothing I can say to accurately describe it unless you’ve been there. It was relaxation to the nth degree. The American healthcare system is truly doing people a disservice by not allowing water births (I was told I could labor, but not give birth in the pool for my son). If you ever have the opportunity for a water birth, DO IT.
I don’t know the timing of everything, but do know that I started to get a slight urge to push. I told my midwife and she said to “lean into it” and listen to my body. Which was totally weird to me because when I gave birth the first time, I was told not to push because they didn’t want me to have an edematous cervix. So I had that playing in the back of my mind for a minute before I decided to just truly trust my body.
I pushed when I felt the urge and slowly my daughter’s head became visible. At some point the midwife saw a spot of blood and needed me out of the pool, but I was in the middle of a contraction and pushing at the same time and literally could not move.
So she told me “push like a demon” and in that one big push, her head emerged. I was coached to do a few little pushes and pant in between. Two of those passed and I was told to “push like a demon” one more time and then I would have to reach down and grab her. Now we fully intended for James to catch her, so this change of plan completely threw me for a moment. Keeping my butt in the water and pushing on the edge of the pool like a mermaid on a rock in the ocean, I gave one final big push and my daughter came into the world wrapped in the amniotic sac at 1 o’clock in the morning.
Locking eyes with my husband and holding our daughter, it was surreal. It was powerful. It was one of the most incredible experiences and it happened in my home. I don’t think women are given enough credit when it comes to strength. It’s diminished and downplayed. The sheer power and strength I felt can be matched only by the overwhelming love and adoration I had in holding my baby girl in my arms for the first time.
The midwife helped remove the membrane and we heard our daughter’s cry as she made her grand entrance earth side.
A few minutes later, I stepped out of the pool and was guided to the couch to deliver the placenta.
They removed my tank top and wrapped us in towels (the ones, thank God, that my mom had washed earlier in the day).
As I sat there, the midwives kept pushing on my abdomen and started to calmly discuss giving me ergometrine to stimulate uterine contractions. I preferred an active third stage, so readily agreed. It was then followed shortly by offering oxytocin - another drug to stimulate uterine contractions. They kept asking how I was feeling (pretty freaking great). I felt a huge pressure release from my belly and asked if that was the placenta (nope, it was a huge clot).
As the home birth midwife came and checked things out she irrigated, stopped, and said, “right, so I think your uterus followed your placenta and is inverted. It’s not something I can manage here, so will mean a hospital transfer and they’ll likely need to repair in theater.” Oof. So quickly our home birth progressed to something with a bit more flair.
Less than 10 minutes later, EMS arrived. I got a line in my hand, a Foley catheter, and a dose of TXA (thromboxane) to cover for possible postpartum hemorrhage.
They put me in an ambulance along with my husband and daughter. 8 minutes later, we were in the hospital.
I transferred to the bed and awaited evaluation from the consultant on-call. My vitals (observations) remained stable the entire time.
A hefty dose of nitrous oxide and a thorough exam later, my uterus was declared fully intact, not inverted, and the only anomaly was a swollen cervix. Once again, I had zero tearing (thanks to all the pelvic floor PT I did with my first pregnancy and continued throughout this one!) Blood loss was 600cc.
Due to the foley (bladder catheter), I was required to stay until noon - a few hours of having it in place to make sure everything is still hemodynamically stable followed by a trial of void.
Before transferring to the ward, we got to hang out on the labor floor for a few hours. I got my notorious “tea and toast” and took a shower. Honestly, the most uncomfortable thing was the damn catheter.
At 6 am, my catheter was pulled and I changed into actual pants. Then, I was transferred to the maternity floor and my husband was kicked out. This was the worst part. For two hours I was by myself with our daughter. It was…not fun. I loved getting the time with her, but just wished my husband could have been there too. It was too soon for us to be separated.
At 8 o’clock, visiting hours started and my husband came shortly after. The rest of the day was filled with proving I could pee, followed by all the newborn tests (hearing, examination, etc.) and the Rhogam/Anti-D shot. We were discharged at 4pm.
We weren’t expecting the hospital transfer, but I got my home birth! And the silver linings, we got all the tests/exams/injections done that we would have had to schedule outpatient appointments for anyway, so it all worked out!
Would I do it again? Absolutely. Giving birth is power. Full stop. It’s also tender, vulnerable and one of the greatest moments of my life.
A heartfelt thank you to Rebekah and James for trusting me to document the story of their daughter’s arrival.
You can follow Rebekah on her own social media channels right here: @Rebekaknellie
To read Rebekah’s point of view, click here(to follow)
-While many beautiful moments were documented, only a selection is shared here out of respect for the family's privacy and consent.-
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