Otis Marlow Hannaford
4th June 2022
Born at 38-ish weeks
Dumfries & Galloway Royal Infirmary
Spontaneous Labour
Pain Relief
Staying Calm
I first went into labour around 3pm and knew I wanted to stay at home where I felt calm and comfortable. From the hypnobirthing course, I knew I needed to remain as relaxed as possible and achieved this through my environment, and techniques I had learned on the course. I was 7 and a half cm dilated by the time I went into the hospital.
Strength
In the hospital I had gas and air and eventually went for an injection of diamorphine. It wasn’t on my original birth plan but I was open minded and it really helped me relax further. Towards the end of my labour the doctors wanted to use forceps or the vacuum to help Otis out as well as giving me an episiotomy. I said yes to whatever they needed to do but I then found the strength to birth Otis naturally within the next 10 minutes. I had been at the hospital for around 6 hours in total.
Reflections
I reflected back once I had time to process everything and I feel so empowered and joyful about my birth story. I genuinely feel being relaxed, in control and having an open mind really helped me have a positive, speedy birth.
