It was absolute bliss to get into the pool. It did not stop the pain, but my tummy didn’t weigh anything, and it seemed to just make things a bit more bearable. Margaret had checked my backside for that line that goes up as you labour while I was still…

Having that mindset of fully declaring yourself and your body to the power we as women achieve when birthing is something I firmly believe helped me.  To birth successfully without fear, you must be fearless. You must embrace the pain…

Our midwife said that often the early contractions can be the hardest to deal with as your hormones have not kicked in yet. She recommended I try tensing everything up on one contraction to see how important it was to stay relaxed, but I never did that…

During this hour in bed I used breathing from the hypnobirthing classes we’d attended and from the Birth Skills book I’d read, and also wheat packs, which were LIFESAVERS! I had only put them in the homebirth kit that day and I am so glad I did…

She told me to go and have a bath and see if the contractions stopped. First, I rang my mum and dad to let them know that I thought I was in labour (mum was 5 hours away) then off I went. Shortly after getting in the bath the contractions intensified…

The baby was moving so much, I thought that maybe something was wrong. At 4 o’clock I got up to go to the toilet, for what felt like the hundredth time and as I went, I heard a pop and there was a huge gush of water. I still wasn’t sure that this was anything…

I was craving a walk on the beach, and felt desperate to feel the ocean, but knew I needed to wait for Jase to get home. I took my Swiss ball onto the deck and began to dance to my favourite trance music in the sunshine. The surges increased in intensity…

Firstly, I decided to have a home birth after witnessing the terrible birth of my nephew in hospital. A change of shift and many indecisions later he was born. I knew then I deserved something better, my own midwife, who would stay with me…

I am nervous to approach you, it’s hard to see you in pain so vulnerable. I notice the strain in your face as pain sets in I can only imagine how intense the feeling must be. Your scruffed up bun is frizzy in places from the humidity of the warm water…

I was in a deeply relaxed state, only vaguely aware of the people in the room and just so focused on my body and it opening up to allow our daughter to be born. As I laboured in the pool, I was having beautiful dreams and my body felt so powerful but so relaxed…

I had 3 previous water births, and 2 of them were home births. I was pregnant with my 4th child and felt I had a clear sense of what I wanted from birth, based in a belief in the importance of birth as being something sacred, private, and deeply powerful…

I didn’t want to swear so much during labour this time and had practiced things like “oopppeennn” during early labour, but I soon dropped that and opted for “come on baby”. It was nice and long and I could drag it out and focus on the baby…