Birthing Story: Ramona Rose Nasser

By 1am on the 2nd of June, I got out of bed, knowing that I was in labour. I began losing my mucus plug and my surges were half an hour apart. I took myself out to the lounge room where I rested between surges and utilised my birth ball. I was about to embark on the journey that would enable me to finally meet my baby girl.

At 7:30am, my midwife came over to examine me, and informed me that I would need to go to the hospital at some stage that day. I felt completely calm and at ease at home, in fact, I started nesting. I listened to my hypnobirthing tracks and reflected on what I had learnt from the beautiful Alana; I was ready to meet my baby.

 

By 3:30pm, my surges were 5 minutes apart, so we drove 45 minutes to Mareeba Hospital. I was determined to not

let the car trip break me out of my birthing trance. I listened to Rainbow Mist and birthing affirmations along the way., while focusing on my breathing. Once I arrived at the hospital, my legs began to shake, so my midwife took me straight to the birthing suite, where she had prepared the room beautifully; she had illuminated the room with electric tealight candles, prepared multiple birth stations and had a diffuser going. We plugged in our playlist and got comfortable. Being at ease, my surges instantly amplified. I moved around as much as possible, shaking my hips to allow my body to open. After being examined, it was confirmed that I was only 3 mm dilated, even though my surges were 3 minutes apart. My waters also seemed to be intact. Trying not to get disheartened, my partner did light touch massages and worked his magic on my pressure points. I was fortunate enough to receive Bowen Therapy from another midwife, however, each time she touched me, my surges would intensify and as one ended, another would begin. We slow danced a lot during this time.

Hopping into water was a relief. Our midwife let my husband, Brendan attend to me, and only interacted with me to give me encouragement and affirmations. She noted that I had appeared to be losing my membrane still. The Positive Birthing course allowed Brendan to feel confident in assisting me. He offered me coconut water and used our anchor touch when he knew I was surging. I felt calm and safe during this time. I transitioned very quickly; Brendan recalls being able to see our baby pushing down, and the shape of my belly changing with each surge. I was surprised how my body knew to bear down and my breathing naturally changed to accommodate to this phase of birthing. During the surges, I reminded myself to relax my jaw to allow things to soften.

 

I trusted my body and felt so calm that I was the only one in the room who realised that I was crowning 45 minutes after transitioning. Once her head was out, I even had a laugh and said that it had felt like an intense Chinese burn. With the following surge, at 9:17pm, I had birthed our sweet baby girl. A training midwife assisted me to pull her out of the water, up onto my chest. It was such a euphoric feeling. I was extremely confused at first glance, as she didn’t quite look right. She was born with a veil over her head; born in the caul. This happens only in 1 in 80,000 births.

 

Things did go slightly pear-shaped afterwards, as I began to postpartum haemorrhage. I was too busy bonding with Ramona, smelling her head to stimulate dopamine, to notice what was going on around me. The medical team allowed me to do delayed clamping, even though they simultaneously had to attend to my health.

I had such a calm and beautiful birthing experience. I often reflect on our decision to do the Positive Birthing course with Alana and how it provided us with the tools to be able to have such a special experience. It wasn’t until days later that I comprehended the complications that I had gone through postpartum. I believe that that was because of the trusting bond I shared with my midwife, and the positive birthing experience that I had had.

Thank you, darling Alana!