סיפור הלידה של האנה
As soon as I found out I was pregnant I knew I wanted to have a natural birth
at home and that I would need a doula that would fit with my views of birth. From our first meeting with Libby we knew she would be the perfect choice for us
At our initial meeting Libby questioned us to help her understand what our expectations were and what we would need her to do during the birth. Afterwards we met with Libby 3 times. One time she met with me and my husband in our home to discuss the labour and natural pain relief options. 2 other meetings were in her home where she gave me a reiki and massage treatment. The reiki session was amazing and I was sure I could use it to help me to get to a relaxed place in the birth.
The day of the birth my contractions started at 4.30 in the afternoon and once we called Libby to let her know the contractions were 4 minutes apart she arrived promptly at our home. I had imagined that during the beginning stage of the labour I would be able to get our home ready for the birth – however the labour moved very fast and in a very short space of time the contractions became very painful and close together and I wasn't able to do anything. Instead Libby helped my husband to clear a space in our salon for the pool and set up candles and burned lavender oil to create a wonderful atmosphere. She also set up the bedroom with a mattress protector and old sheets on the bed. Libby told me I should rest between contractions to save my energy as I was pacing the house back and forth. Having someone firmly tell me what I needed to do was great as I really didn't know what to do with myself. I was refusing to time my contractions (maybe because I was a bit afraid) but Libby asked me to just shout out when they started and finished so she could time them for me. At this stage they were happening every 2 minutes so she insisted my husband call the midwife to come to our home straight away as my labour had progressed so fast.
I moved to the bedroom and climbed onto the bed and rested on my hands and knees. Libby took the physio ball and put it on the bed and told me to rest my head on it (a great idea as I was starting to get really tired!) I rocked myself back and forth during the contractions and Libby used reiki and massage to help me through them as well as reminding me to breathe.
At 8.30 my waters broke and although the midwife had still not arrived (and without any conscious decision my body had already started pushing the baby out) Libby stayed totally calm and if she felt any panic that the baby would arrive before the midwife she didn't show it!
Soon after the midwife got to the house and during the next 2 hours Libby gave me her hand to hold, rubbed my back, brought me cold drinks and cold towels to keep me cool.
At 10.20 pm my baby girl was born – about 6 hours from when I felt my first contraction!
I was so glad to have the support of someone so calm and reassuring during the birth. She helped provide practical support to both me and to my husband and she helped to make my birth so positive. I'm very grateful for everything she did for me before and after the birth and would strongly recommend her as a doula to my friends.