“I was up and about straight away- no pain relief, no intervention, it was really awesome!”

Birth Story of Frankie

Guess what? Our little girl, Frankie Amor Harfield, arrived 5 weeks early at 1145pm on Wednesday night. It was a huge surprise and I was totally unprepared, I literally had nothing with me except for my IPhone!

I had been having practice surges last week and not feeling that well and went to the hospital Saturday morning because I thought I might have a uti, they tested my urine and gave me some antibiotics and all seemed fine. I finished my antibiotics on Tuesday and got home from having my hair done and late that afternoon I started getting more practice surges and feeling unwell. I went to bed at about 830 and started timing my practice surges, which at this stage were becoming a little uncomfortable and quite regular, I had spoken to Michael who was in Mackay and he’d told me to go to the hospital if the got to less than 5 minutes apart, they probably wouldn’t do anything but I should just get it checked out. By 11pm they were less than 5 minutes apart and off I went to the hospital, with my phone (no wallet no anything else). They monitored me and decided to give me some medication to slow the surges to give me time to have steroid injections to make bub’s lungs ready if she really decided it was time to come, they did an internal exam which showed my cervix was closed but a little shortened, then put me in an Ambulance to Mackay. I got to mackay about 3 am and the monitored me kept up the meds and gave me another steroid injection 12 hours later, my surges were still coming around every 10-15 minutes but only felt like mild period cramps ” so around 230 in the afternoon we decide to go home to Michael’s apartment and see what happened, we planned to head home to Proserpine the following afternoon if everything settled down, so I told mum I didn’t need her to bring anything down for me and got some cheap clean clothes and toiletries from kmart.

Well that afternoon the surges started getting stronger and closer together ” at this stage I still didn’t think I was actually in labour, I sat up and ate a curry for dinner and a big muffin for dessert in between surges! At about 8pm we were trying to decide whether or not we should come to the hospital to get ‘checked out’ again as the surges where making me feel unwell and were about 3 minutes apart… I must admit when I walked through the main doors of the hospital I had to sit in a chair and I said to Michael if I am not in labour now then I think I want an epidural when I am! I really thought I was being a big whinger! I got to the ward and they did an internal… I was 9cm dilated! I couldn’t believe it and that’s when I knew that I would be fine and didn’t need any pain relief… I was almost there and I didn’t even know I had started! 3 hours and 45 minutes after getting to hospital our baby girl was born. I did not have a hospital bag, a wallet our birthing scripts and Michael and I had only practiced a few times together, but I had been using my breathing and blue satin ribbons visualisation all afternoon and look where it had gotten me!!! Luckily I had put the Hypnobirthing CDs onto my iPhone and I used the affirmations during the final stages of labour.

I had mentioned to my obstetrician about Hypnobirthing and had my birth preference sheet ready to take to my 36 week appointment and to drop off at the hospital… Unfortunately it wasn’t to be and that night at the hospital there was 5 births on the go, so I have to admit I ended up pushing the baby out under encouragement of everyone in the room, and it’s the only thing I felt a little disappointed about, but it was just one of those situations where it happened, I ended up with a couple of stitches but Frankie still came out screaming healthily and eyes wide open at 2.55kg and I was up and about straight away- no pain relief, no intervention, it was really awesome!

I can’t thank you enough for giving me the tools that allowed me to birth my daughter naturally, we are both doing so well. She is still in the nursery because she is so tiny but will hopefully be out of the humidity crib by tomorrow morning. She is just so precious.

Hopefully my next birth (if I’m lucky enough) will be a little more prepared and it can be even more awesome… Although if my daughter has taught me anything already it is being prepared isn’t always necessary!

Karlee, Airlie Beach / Mackay, Queensland