This is the lovely Laura soon after the birth of her gorgeous baby boy.
Laura had endured a long and uncomfortable induction with her first birth so was keen to avoid a repeat of this when she went overdue with her second baby. Thankfully my course gave her the confidence to trust her instincts and make the right decisions for her and her second baby.
You see, the key to a positive birth is not a drug-free water birth. It's about feeling informed, supported and empowered.
Laura explains this best so here's her story written a week after birth:
After an emergency cesarean with my first child following a failed 4 day induction, a second cesarean was always a likely outcome for me. The doctors were happy to let us try for a VBAC and in the end an elective cesarean date was set for 41 weeks, giving him a chance to come naturally but not pushing it too far.
When I was offered sweeps at 39 and 40 weeks, Rose's class gave me the knowledge and strength to decline. I decided to trust my body and my baby. The difficulties I had
with my first birth were because we were trying to force it to do something it wasn't ready for and I didn't want to go down that route again. If I was ready, he'd come on his own - he didn't!
An elective cesarean is a very different experience to an emergency one. I felt so much better; both mentally and physically prepared for what was going to happen. And they were able to accommodate so many of our preferences such as delayed cord clamping, skin to skin and the anaesthesist even had a amazing camera on a stick which meant we could watch him being born! (you don't get the best view when you're lying down if they just lower the screen).
I used the calming breath to stay calm and still during the spinal injections and even my husband faffing with picking a birth playlist didn't distract me from my calm head space!
A week on and I've had mastitis and again have found the calming breath helps when feeding through the painful boob. I've also been messaging the other mums from our course, it's really nice to have a group of friends who are also up at 3 am feeding - I didn't expect to have that with a second child.
Thank you Rose x"
Laura, took my Mindful Movement Mum-only course in December 2019 as she prepared for the birth of her second baby