My first child was a hospital birth.
He was posterior, with his spine to my spine and not in the correct position for labour to commence properly. I was told to rest plenty so I would have lots of energy for when labour really kicked in.
I stayed at home for as long as possible, breathing through my contractions. I took a few puffs on my asthma inhaler so that I would be able to take big breaths. My waters broke at home but my contractions slowed down so I had to go to the hospital and be induced.
I was stuck on my back on the bed. I couldn't move like I needed to so I had pethidine and the gas while screaming for an epidural. They wouldn't give me an epidural because I was dilating too quickly.
I pushed hard for two hours with a bored midwife standing at my rear end and getting grumpy at me for not pushing hard enough.
Eventually she turned to the student midwife and said: "This baby is the wrong way round. She's never going to push it out." That was the first I'd heard that he was posterior.
I was taken into theatre, given a spinal block, an episiotomy, and then told they would quickly try the forceps but it was going to be a c-section.
The forceps worked and out came my beautiful little 7lb 1oz healthy boy.
I was quite afraid of another labour after that so when I got pregnant again and went to a different midwife I told her my fears.
I learnt that there were ways of turning the baby during pregnancy and labour so they were the right way around, and none of those involved me being on my back and not moving.
I learnt that I shouldn't take my asthma inhaler during labour as the drugs in it slow down contractions. I also learnt that I should trust my body's way of dealing with pain by moving and staying upright during contractions.
After much deliberation I decided on a home birth for my second. I didn't want to go near the hospital again after my first experience. It was also over an hour's drive away and the angle of seats in cars encourages babies to turn posterior so I wanted to avoid that.
Home birth joy
My second son was born at home after a five-hour established labour. He was posterior again but I managed to turn him during labour and he came out with only three pushes, weighing 7lb 11oz.
I was on a high. I'd done it all by myself with no help from anyone. I didn't need any pain relief because I was able to move as I needed to.
I have had another three children at home - 6lb 15oz, 8lb 10oz and 9lb 7oz. Every single one of my five children has been posterior. The last three turned only as I was pushing, but they all came out the right way.
It appears that my body is designed for babies to spin the wrong way. I have no back pain, which most people have with posterior babies.
Although the reason for me ending up with a terrible intervention-filled labour the first time around was because he was posterior, I have managed to deal with this problem at home naturally without going down the spiral of pain relief and intervention.
There is nothing like having your baby at home, then going back to bed with your baby and a cup of tea to relax.
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