OBSP S2 E10 Home Free Birth Second Baby

In episode ten of the second series of Our Birth Stories Podcast, we meet Megan and hear about the birth of her second baby in a birth pool in her home. Megan thought about the possibility of a free birth (without any medical attendance) during her pregnancy but kept an open mind and didn’t make the decision until during labour when she felt safe and confident. She also talks about transferring to the hospital for stitches after the birth and about what helped her with planning for and experiencing a gentle and undisturbed postnatal recovery.

Topics covered in this episode include pregnancy after a previous traumatic birth, doula support, low-lying placenta, pregnancy as a trained hypnobirthing teacher, baby in back-to-back position in late pregnancy, thinking about an unassisted birth, “nesting”, slow and gentle start to labour, keeping eating to keep up your energy, TENS machine, active labour, birth ball, birth pool, making the decision to free birth during labour, using a mirror to know what your body is doing and work with it, calling midwives after your baby is born, transfer to hospital for stitches, two weeks of quiet recovery with no visitors etc, having your mum come and stay to care for you postnatally, having a postnatal plan and expectations clearly communicated before baby arrives. 

Megan is available as a hypnobirthing teacher again now so if you’re looking for a course check out her website here. https://southseabirthing.wixsite.com/my-site-1 

If a free birth is something that might be of interest to you this course may also be of interest.

https://birth-joy.teachable.com/p/unassisted-birth-and-what-to-do-if-you-labour-rapidly-or-your-baby-arrives-suddenly

If you would like to know more about what degrees of tear means and what to expect in terms of your care if you experience a perineal tear this is a good place to start reading.

https://www.nhsinform.scot/ready-steady-baby/labour-and-birth/assisted-birth/perineal-tears-and-episiotomy

There is also a blog post on our website all about your perineum.

https://www.informedpregnancybirthandbeyond.org/post/10-things-you-need-to-know-aboutyour-perineum-and-pelvic-floor

If you’re thinking of making plans about your postnatal care and especially how to care for yourself while also caring for a new baby this blog post might be a good place to start.

https://www.informedpregnancybirthandbeyond.org/post/normal-for-a-new-parent