Paul says:
“Heather – your advice and direction in relation to standing up for what we wanted, rather than following what the specialist said we needed to do was invaluable.
Imagine, happily coasting along with an obstetrician, who suddenly at 36 weeks tells us that we are having a C section in two weeks – WHY!!!
My wife was too old, they said.
Well – she had been 40 all through the introductory sessions and all other visits when we had given our thoughts on birthing and birth plans to him. No medical reason given –just she was too old suddenly to do what she had been told was going to be fine up till then.
Being so incensed and so very motivated to birth naturally, we found your www.easybabies.com.au site. This meant that you spent a long time encouraging us to explore our options, and we found that the Mater Public system thought we were being quite reasonable wanting to be natural and vaginal, so we swapped care at that late stage.
Prior to my wife going into labour, I gave her massages to the sacrum and buttocks, as outlined “What Dads Can Do” birthing DVD. This was a very useful way to prepare for the birth. She wasn’t so happy to start with, but the explanations that it was readying her for opening and for managing pain, and for trusting me to be able to administer assistance meant that we spent a lot more time together touching and talking than we perhaps otherwise would have.
As she went overdue – he is her first baby – the hospital system allowed us the extra few weeks that Charlie needed to be a healthier and more content baby when he emerged. He ended up being a month more inside his mum than if the specialist had had his way with him. (No medical reason – just his mum was 40).
Although the labour was induced Tori did not take any pain relief, nor were chemicals applied as the cervix had already begun to dilate. This happened as we were informed and the midwives were more laidback in their approach to birthing – they saw it as being quite normal to go over the forty week cycle.
Although they did eventually induce the birth, having done all that preparation work was invaluable in assisting me to give the support that she required in the birth of our son, Charlie. I applied the pressure at the points that you indicated and this appeared to give her great relief during the contractions.
I would like to say, that being able to offer an alternative to pain relief as well as acting as an advocate for my wife when she is not in a position to help herself, allowed me to realise the positive role I could play in the birth of our child.
So once again I would like to say thankyou for assisting me to support my wife birth our son.”