“A wave of emotions hit me and charged up my energy level”

Asha was born in the birth centre in the Royal Darwin Hospital. I felt lucky to be able to give birth in this beautiful and spacious room with a big spa and double bed.

At first it was hard to tell when to go to hospital as my surges started on Saturday night lasting all at least 1 minute, but they weren’t consistent enough to go to hospital. 

It was Monday morning at 3am when we went into hospital. The midwife sent us home to progress my labour a bit more, which was totally fine as it’s a lot nicer to be in your own environment.

For the days leading up to the birth I was constantly listening to the Hypnobirthing Australia tracks and breathed through all the surges, stayed as calm as I could and just listened to my body. My partner Ryan never left my side and was there for me from the beginning till the end.

Our house was dark with burning candles and smoking lavender and clary sage in the diffuser. I felt happy and calm knowing every surge was bringing us closer to our baby. I closed my eyes every time I felt a surge coming as it kept me in my own bubble with Ryan close by keeping track of the timings.

At this point I felt tired and dehydrated, but waves of energy kept me awake. I could tell my body was making room for the baby.

We went back to the hospital at 5pm on Monday.

I started using the TENS machine as soon as my labour started on Saturday night, the little electric shocks kept my mind of the surges – it was a life saver, but after arriving in the hospital and falling asleep in between each surge, which were 3 minutes apart at this stage, it felt like I needed something different.

[Monday, 10:30pm]

We planned to have a hot shower or fill up the bath and if the labour still wasn’t moving forward quick enough we planned to go upstairs into the hospital for further treatment.

I decided to start using gas lying on my left side on the bed with Ryan lying next to me. I told the midwife I needed a break and she suggested to have a power nap for 30 min. She left the room and gave us our own space. At this point it felt like it would still take hours and hours until the little one would come into our world and it felt like I couldn’t do it anymore…

After a few minutes lying on my side I started to feel different. I felt calm, exhausted and so in love at the same time. A wave of emotions hit me and charged up my energy level.

As soon as the gas kicked in, my whole body instantly relaxed. I told Ryan I had to push and he knew straight away something was different. He knew it wouldn’t take much longer anymore and reassured I was doing amazing and that our little baby would be lying on my chest soon.

Another surge came along and the urge to push intensified. Ryan looked for the midwife and told her what was going on. She stayed calm which gave me a big sense of relief.

10 minutes later I started bearing the baby down with every surge. It felt like no one had to tell me what to do – my body was taking over. I didn’t rush anything, I let my body do its job.

At this point I knew it wouldn’t take much longer anymore. I opened my eyes and Ryan stared at me with the biggest smile on his face I’d ever seen when the midwife told us she could see our little babies head with a big lock of dark hair.

Dominique & Ryan (Darwin) – Taught by Nicole Jones from Mind, Bump & Birth

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