by Keelar

Created on: September 03, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

I think my birth story is quite positive, especially since it was my first pregnancy.

After having what many would call a relatively easy pregnancy, i.e. no morning sickness or piling on 4 stone in weight, I finally & surprisingly gave birth to my baby girl at 38 weeks.

Throughout my pregnancy I had carried very neatly, which meant that people thought I was having an easy time, but I also suffered with a lot of back and leg pains, especially during the third trimester, so when my maternity leave started I was really looking forward to putting my feet up for 4 weeks or more (I was told that first babies were always late and I should expect to be giving birth a couple of weeks after my due date). So I spent my days pottering around the house preparing the baby things, watching favourite DVDs, reading up on being a mother, just generally trying to relax as much as possible.

Then one cold Tuesday afternoon I was just settling down to watch Bridget Jones' Diary (I was really starting to enjoy my maternity leave!), when I started getting really bad back pain. I didn't particularly think anything of it because I'd suffered with back pain on and off for a couple of months. But this pain seemed to be a lot worse and I couldn't get myself into a comfy position to ease the pain, so I was thinking it must be those practise contractions - Braxton Hicks - so off I went and got myself some paracetamol and laid on the bed.

I think I slept on and off for a couple of hours, but the pains were still there in all their glory when I woke up. I went back downstairs and bounced around on a birthing ball which my sister in law had leant me - in the past this had really eased any back troubles I'd had, but not this time, the pain just seemed to get worse and worse and it was just a constant flow of agony. By this time it was about 4pm and I realised I'd had nothing to eat since breakfast, so I tried to eat something but I just couldn't, and I spent the next hour on my hands and knees with my head buried in the sofa wondering what the hell was going on and when was this pain going to stop? I was after all only 38 weeks pregnant so I couldn't possibly be in labour!

By 6pm I was back upstairs on the bed when my husband returned home from work to find the house in darkness. He rushed upstairs to find me rolling around on the bed clutching my stomach and moaning, it had finally dawned on me that this baby might be on its way. I told my husband I thought I was in labour. He didn't believe me

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