My positive birth story 🥰 Vaginal breech birth - C section 💕

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:07]Hi everyone. Thank you so much for tuning in to hear my birth story. I've been meaning to record this for well Amelia is 14 weeks now. So probably about 14 weeks. Um I actually kept notes as well all throughout my pregnancy because I knew I really wanted to share my birth story regardless of how the birth went. Um, so I listened to loads of birth stories when I was pregnant and I found it really useful. Um, at first I was scared to listen to birth stories, but listen to positive ones really helped me learn all about birth. Um, I think we know when you're growing up you really picture birth from like movies being really scary, being really painful, blood everywhere. Um, and it does put the fear into you. But over the years, you know, working obviously in own baby. Um and then my previous business, the strong mom club, I was surrounded by women who were going through um birth. I would hear all kinds of birth stories and even during your training as well, learning about pre and postpartum exercise, you'll learn about what happens to the body. Um obviously, so then when you're prescribing exercise, you understand what the body's been through. So over the years I started to learn that there's all different kinds of birth and that actually they don't have to be scary and they're probably going to be painful one way or another but yeah that they can actually be really calm and really beautiful and empowering. So let's go all the way back to when I found out I was pregnant. Um I was obly absolutely over the moon and I couldn't wait for the birth rather than being scared. It was something that really excited me.

[00:01:38]Um, and I thought, you know, this is going to be like this is going to be amazing because it is really magical.

[00:01:44]And I think that's what really made me excited about birth was the fact that, you know, cuz when you are younger, you think, how on earth is a baby ever going to fit out of the vagina? But, um, learning about birth, you realize that it all happens pretty magically. So, you know, when baby's ready to come, the signals get sent from the brain down to the uterus down to your cervix to actually make way for the baby to fit through the birth canal. So, that to me is just absolutely magical. Um, so right from the very beginning, I was really excited about hopefully having a vaginal birth. I knew from the start that I was always going to do hypnoirthing as well.

[00:02:22]So, hypnoirthing, if you don't know what that is, it's not some kind of like hypnosis. um right I'm not going to feel any pain you know I've done my my homework so it's all going to go to plan it's not like that at all for me it was more a education course I found um I found that the more I learn about birth hypno basically prepares you for whatever can happen so there's so many different things that can happen during your birth and the more prepared you are the more you're able to say right okay I've heard about this term whatever the terminology might be it comes up in birth if you're if you've heard about it, you then know about the benefits, the risks, what happens if you do that thing or is there an alternative? Can you do nothing and just wait? So for me, hypnoirthing was a um an education course alongside obviously learning to breathe and be calm, which I've always loved anyway. I've always done yoga and breath work and things like that. So it really interested me to do hypnoirthing.

[00:03:20]Um, I originally thought, right, I'll go to Jelly from Mama Wellbeian with her being local and I know Jelly and but she was on maternity leave, but she gave me a list of hypnoirthing coaches and instructors to go check out. So, I started listening to every podcast under the sun from Claire from the Nurture Nest, Erin Fun and Midw Midwife Pep, who else? Um, oh my god, there was loads.

[00:03:47]Anyway, I listened to every um podcast you could on hypnoirthing. I then found Lindsay from Hypno Birth from Born This Way and she's based in Glasgow and I thought right perfect someone semi-local um and I done her online hypnoirthing course which I found amazing because I knew I was quite motivated about learning about birth. I found that I could do that in my own time. Listen to the the positive mindset tracks every single night. I was just really getting myself prepared. So, I really was looking forward to this birth because I thought I just was picturing it, you know, like I couldn't wait for the maybe the your waters to break or your mucus plug coming away. Like things that I had never really heard much about before.

[00:04:31]All of a sudden, I was starting to look for these in my own journey. I thought right when the contractions start, you know, I had like I had a document on my laptop of what to do when the contractions start. I had a list for Liam and right so right Liam when I phone you and say the contractions are starting here's what you've got to do you've got to feed me make sure I'm drinking water give me a massage keep me calm like he had a full list I had a list and I was just so excited for that birth so the the bulk of this story is actually me navigating being breached so Amelia was breached fullterm now this is quite uncommon so only three to 4% of um babies are breach all the way at full term. Majority maybe flip to head down which syphalic is when the head's down into the um the cervix, the pelvis, one of the two ready to come down. Um and that's a more preferred way for a vaginal birth. And if a baby's breach, that's when bums first or feet first.

[00:05:36]And um it's not the most preferred way to deliver your baby for a vaginal birth. Um, so let's go all the way to try to think of my timeline here. It was the day before my birthday actually.

[00:05:48]Let's say the 9th of December. And I go to my midwife, my local midwife up in Pullman, and she Jelly and she's absolutely amazing. And if anyone knows her, you'll know who I mean. She's like, Michelle, I think your baby's breach.

[00:06:01]She says, "We'll send you for a scan at the hospital to double check." So we go for a scan. And I had been because I had been listening to lots of different birth stories. I listened to them all and they were all really beautiful in their own way. And like I say, it was nice to hear about C-sections, vaginal birth, and water births. You get free births. So that's when people don't have any appointments at all. They just go by feeling. And I was starting to really not understand it all, but but get to grips with everything. And I had thought to myself, I really didn't want to have a C-section. And there was so many different reasons why. And I would I would actually get quite emotional when I thought about it and I would try and explain to Liam like how I really felt about it and I I couldn't I would just get emotional. I think it was a whole whole lot of reasons you know for example my work obviously I've trained like all my life I absolutely love training and I know from working with women in the pre and postpartum that actually your recovery after a section is much longer.

[00:07:02]Um, obviously you're getting cut open to deliver the baby. I was really scared of the the surgery. I've never really been through a big surgery before. I was terrified of it and I was really wanted to experience the labor because I've heard loads of times it's like running a marathon. It's an endurance event. And when it comes to fitness, one thing I'm probably quite good at is endurance.

[00:07:24]Like I thought I've got energy for days.

[00:07:27]like we ran me and Nicole ran 70 kilometers when I was 5 weeks pregnant and I was like if I if I can go through that I thought I can go through this labor um if it's the endurance side of things like I could do that so I was really passionate about want a vaginal birth I wanted to experience the the hormones coming from the brain I wanted the contractions like I had done all my breathing work I just wanted it so much I get a bit emotional and I think about it and I I now this is why for sharing my story as well because I was really didn't want the C-section. I was really passionate about not wanting one and now I've had one. It was it was absolutely fine which I will share more about but I want to share it because if anyone's feeling like how I felt like I've so really didn't want one and to the point I thought oh my god like this is and then I used to tell myself Michelle it doesn't matter like you're so lucky to be having your baby. The birth does not matter. Your baby's going to get here safely. And even though I would tell myself that every single day, I still got so so emotional. So I guess I'm sharing this because I hope if anyone's in my position and they're breach fullterm and they really don't want a C-section, well for one, I'm going to tell you tell you there is options and which we come on to. But also it's not as bad as I thought and you will still have so much connection with your baby.

[00:08:48]I was worried I wouldn't feel the connection to my baby because she hadn't came down the birth canal which is crazy. I know, but I was just so scared of so many reasons and I just it was my very very last option. Um, but it does not matter now and that's why I'm sharing. So, I'm kind of rambling. I probably will ramble. I've told myself I can't start and stop this video. I'm just going to need to go with it.

[00:09:10]Amelia's away for a walk with my mom and dad and I've got about 30 minutes. Um, and I'm just going to It's just my story so I'm just telling it as it is. So, um, right, we, um, we find out we are still breach and I'm about 37 weeks at this point. I'm trying absolutely everything to get Amelia head down, doing, you know, Spinning Baby's website. They'll tell you to look on that if you're breach, you know, you're hanging upside down. Basically trying to get gravity to move baby into this head down position.

[00:09:39]Doing lots of different like hot and cold techniques in the bath. So, putting like a cold pack of peas up at the top so that if the baby doesn't like it, she'll try and move down, trying everything. Um, I actually went for my my scan and the midwife at the time done the scan. She says, "Yep, baby's definitely in breach." She says, "We'll just do a we internal to find where your placenta's lying and because if your placenta moves out the way and then baby moves, you can have your vaginal birth that you want." Anyway, so we're doing the internal and the midwife saying at the time, I'm just trying to move baby's head and obviously she's pushing down here, moving baby's head out the way and I was thinking head down and I think I was so happy that she was head down. I didn't ask any questions. I just lay there silent thinking yes, baby's moved.

[00:10:26]But that was in the space of two seconds. So at the start of that appointment, she was bummed down. Then by the time I'm getting the internal, it was as if she was head down. So I think I knew deep down the baby had moved and I would have felt something. Never felt a thing. Anyway, I go through the to the consultant and the consultant just took the notes from the scan and he says, "Yeah, baby's head down. You can have your vaginal birth." So, and I said, "Are you sure?" Cuz she was breach at the start of the appointment, but obviously they just took the notes from the scan, but I knew she wasn't head down, so she had always been breached.

[00:11:00]But anyway, I'm in the car on the way home. I was whipping out loud like, "Yes, baby. We've done it. Your head down. We're going for this vaginal birth." Then I was terrified at the fact of, "Oh my god, I'm I'm getting what I want here." Anyway, we go back to Jelly and about two weeks later, she says, "Michelle, your notice say that baby's syphalic head down. She's not. She's definitely breached." She's like, "I can feel her through your tummy." And I thought, "Oh, here we go again." because during listening to all my birth stories, I'd started to realize that if your baby's breach, usually a section is your only option. Um, it's considered unsafe. So, we'll go into that part just now because this is where So, I spent the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy absolutely on a minefield of understanding breach. Um, so like I say, only 3 to 4% of babies are breachful term. So, it's so uncommon. So that's why no one really has had to do the research around it. If they're not breached, they wouldn't have to know about it. Or a lot of the time if they tell you, "Right, it's unsafe. You're getting a section." Of course, so many women will say, "Yeah, right. Okay, I'm getting a section." Um, I actually went in for a an ECV. So that's when they try to turn the baby from the outside. And I know friends that have had that done as well, and it's not meant to be a very nice experience. Um, but I I phoned my my friend who's a fellow coach as well, and she was like, "It's not nice." She was like, "But you're like me. If you want to have this vaginal birth, you you'll go through it to try." So, I says, "Right, okay. Let's do this." Um, Liam came in with me and two women doctors came in. And they both said at the time, "I hear your baby's the wrong way around." And from what I had been listening and starting to learn about Breach, I was like, "There's nothing wrong with the way she is. She's just she's not the wrong way around. She's just bummed down." So already I was starting to be like people don't like delivering breach babies. Um and then we tried to turn um and then midwife Kelly who was an absolute angel. She came in.

[00:13:00]She was actually holding my hand and we know each other through um mutual friends. So I think she's got me in social media. So she's seen all the mad runs that I've been doing like the marathons as training runs then a marathon then a 70 km. So the doctors are saying at the time are you okay? And the midwife saying, "You've done harder stuff than this." And that that was making me really emotional. So there's tears streaming down my face. But I was breathing. I was just using my hypno birth and breath to get through this turn. And it was sore. But again, I was like, "This is this is fine." I felt more sorry for my baby. I think that was making me emotional as well. And then Liam actually left during the second turn because I think he said he needed the toilet, but I actually think it was quite horrible to watch. Um, but I would say if I was breached again, would I get a ECV? I don't know because I feel quite bad. I felt bad on baby. I feel like she was just meant to be breached. There's nothing wrong with her being breached.

[00:13:54]So, I don't know if I would try the ECV if I was to be breached again. Um, to be fair, no regrets about trying it because I think if I hadn't tried it, I would always be thinking like, oh, what if what if she had turned? So yeah, if you're in this situation, I wouldn't say the ECV was that sore. I would just say if you wanted to go for it, go for it.

[00:14:14]They did actually tell us obviously there's a small chance that um during your ECV that baby would get to the stress and that you would need to go for a C-section there and then. And in a in a way, I was like, I kind of hope this happens. That was in December and I was like, I'm so ready for the baby to come here now. Um so yeah, I wasn't by this point, I guess I was like, right, I'm not totally against a C-section. and I wasn't I just I just wanted to experience the labor. I cannot even describe how much I just wanted the contractions. I wanted the the full experience. So, sorry I'm totally rambling but I'm just telling everybody as it is. Um so the doctor said they were lovely. The doctor both doctors said sorry she's not turning C-section 12th of January. And I was like all right okay of course like the the doctors I'm going to listen to what the doctors say. And then they just left and that was fine. By the time Liam came back in, I was crying and I think it was just I was I was like, "Right, well, that's it. I'm getting a C-section 12th of January. Everything was set in stone." I'm then starting to think about what about all my preparation. Like I had bought [laughter] I know it's silly, but I'd bought absolutely everything. The um the comb for your hand that you're pushing into your hand to take away the pain from the contractions. I had bought a perneium tool to help reduce the risk of tearing.

[00:15:35]I had got my raspberry leaf tea, my dates. What else did I buy? My TENS machine. I was as prepared as you could be. And that's the good thing I liked about hypno birthing was it wasn't a case of right, you've done your homework, your plan's going to go to plan. I always knew that so many different factors can come into it. But to actually then be told you're getting the C-section and that's it. That was the hard part, I think. So then midwife comes back in. She was like a we guardian angel. I feel like she was just put there like specially if she hadn't been there this whole journey would be totally different. She seen me upset and she says are you okay? And I was like I just really wanted a vaginal birth and she had four kids four vaginal births and she was like she says you do know there's other options like you don't have to settle for a C-section. She was like I do feel like you were just told that's C-section and that's it. You weren't ex didn't really get an explanation. She says go home and research vaginal breach birth. She said, "It can happen. It's absolutely fine.

[00:16:34]It's just uncommon." And I was like, "Is that not unsafe? I've heard it can be a bit unsafe." She was like, "No." She was like, "That's just because that's the first thing that comes up." There was a big study which I'm going to talk about, but um so me and Liam leave that day and I was like, "Oh my god." I thought, "This is just this is actually too much to handle." Like I I had accepted the C-section and I was fine with that. Now I've been given this option of you can have a vaginal birth. You just go and learn about it. So anyway, that was me down a rabbit hole for six weeks. I found Dr. Stu Fishbine, I think his name is, American guy. His full life pretty much is retaching breach. So so many I can't remember when this breach study was. It was obviously good 14 weeks ago now. I was obsessed with it, but and now I've kind of forgotten a lot about it.

[00:17:23]But basically there was a big breach trial. So let's say 50 years ago. It might have been less than that. it might be longer. Um, they've done a study on breach birth.

[00:17:34]Now, they've just said, say for example, 100 people, 50 people you're going for a C-section. Other 50 people you're going for a vaginal breach birth to to why would you ever take part in a study, you know, when you're pregnant? It's just absolutely bizarre. But then the the basically after this study, the results came up that breach birth is unsafe. But there was so many factors that made this this study absolutely flawed. Like the women that got sent for the vaginal birth maybe were high risk and should have had a C-section like birth anyway.

[00:18:04]And they were absolutely panicked because they've been told, "Well, this might be unsafe, but you're going to be taking part in a trial." Um, the doctors that were delivering, they had maybe never done breach before. There was just so many factors that made this study pretty much absolute And that's not me just making this up. This is honestly weeks and weeks of studying and figuring it all out. So there is so many positive breach births. It's completely it's another variation of normal. So midwife will tell you that because midwives want women to experience the birth obviously that they want. And if that's a vaginal birth, they want you to experience that. The the risk is like say for example one in 1,000. The risk that something can happen to baby through a vaginal birth. um when the head's down, when it's bummed down and breach, you're two in 1,000. So that was people will say that the risk is doubled. It's not. It's one in 1,000 or two in 1,000. Very very like minor.

[00:19:01]Every birth causes a risk. There's a huge risk with C-section as well, which I think I was trying to get through to myself and everybody's a huge risk with a C-section. I had to actually stop telling people that I wanted to have vaginal breach birth because their reaction is you can't do that and that's only because this study like say you were to put it at Google it would come up it's unsafe and as I say not many people are breachful per terms so they don't have to do the full research so um this took us up to basically like six weeks before so I had pushed the C-section back from the 12th of January to the um what was my next day I basically pushed it back three times.

[00:19:42]The final eviction date was the 26th of January. So, let's fast forward a little bit. I'm kind of rambling. Um, basically, I started to try to think I started to chat to people. I joined the Breach um UK group on Facebook. There's 5,000 plus women in there. Um, and so many people were talking about their stories. Now, I was really lucky at Fourth Valley. So, I had said to Liam and myself, I said, you know, like if any doctor tells me that this is unsafe, I will 100% go with them. Like, I'm not going to go against the doctors at all. It's the doctor's word. That's what I'm going for. But yes, so the midwife that was there at my ECV appointment, I'd said, "Look, let's get you an appointment with a consultant. Let's talk about this and do your research." She says, "Because if you do your research and find out, oh, like, no, I don't want to have the vaginal birth. I want to have a C-section." She says, "Then at least you feel empowered, like you're making that decision. You'll you'll much prefer it."

[00:20:43]And I was like, "I really like that.

[00:20:44]That sounds good." But the more I learned about it, I was like, "This is fine." I felt like it was meant to be for me because so with when you're breach, they they can't induce you. They can't give you the false hormone oxytocin. A lot of the time when people get started early and the baby's just not ready to come out, that's when you end up in a C-section as well because you basically got started early but the body wasn't ready. So, but with been breached, they cannot induce you anyway.

[00:21:11]Can't give you the hormone, can't give you a sweep, can't um what's the other one? Give you the balloon or anything like that because if they start the body before the cervix is fully opened, that's when complications can happen to the baby. And I just love the fact that my body was just to wait and do its thing. I thought there's no chance I've grown a baby that's too big. Like how's the baby going to get out if we were back in the cave women days? How would the baby get out? So I was very much my body can do this. My baby can do this. I felt like we were meant to meant to deliver um a vaginal breach birth. So I met Dr. Eileen Coupe at the the consultant and she was absolutely amazing. She was just my kind of person.

[00:21:52]She was really laidback, but I could tell she was really intelligent. She was just brilliant. And she says, "Right, okay." She was like, "You've got a couple of options." She says, "We can push the C-section date back, see if baby turns, and we could try another ECV if you want, or you can do a vaginal breach birth." She says, "It would be my least preferred." She was like, "But we'll totally support you." And she was just really positive. I could tell that she was like, "No, if you want to go for it, go for it." Um, so that was my first appointment. I was in like every week just trying to figure this all out. Um, she also she phoned upstairs to the um like the ward and she was like, "Let me see if Jackie is working." Jackie is a midwife who is very pro- vaginal beach birth and we went up to chat to her and she was super busy. But she was like, she came out to talk to us and I just I just basically said to her, I says, "Would you say yes or no to this?" She was like, "Oh yes." She was like, "It's a dying skill." like midwives are not delivering breach anymore because people are just getting told you must get a C-section. They're getting told it's unsafe. She was like it's not. You just need a whoever's delivering it needs to know what they're doing. Basically, you get like it's about seven minutes for when that baby's bum starts coming out.

[00:23:04]You got seven minutes. You don't even touch baby. Mom needs to just be calm.

[00:23:08]Just breathe and let like let the baby come out. Like it's just another variation of normal. And I was like, I'm so ready for this. Like we are doing this. Um, so Jackie put a lot of positive um, you know, words and things into me. I still feel like if she was working that day, I feel like we would have went ahead with the the vaginal birth. Um, then I went in the next week to speak to another midwife, Vanessa.

[00:23:33]She met me. She took me into one of the rooms. She was like, "This would be where you would be at the labor suite.

[00:23:38]It was nice and calm, dark, fairy lights. Talking about the different positions that are good for breach."

[00:23:43]again she was very much like yeah if you want to do this we'll support you so everyone I spoke to along the way was very supportive where this Facebook group that I was part of people all all over the UK they were basically saying like that their healthcare providers will not support them but they were basically doing it anyway so you've got so many options like when it's your birth you can actually you can say no to whatever you want as I had said I kept telling Liam like I'm not going against the doctors like I will do whatever they say but they were supporting me so I kept saying Right, we're just going to keep pushing back this C-section date.

[00:24:18]When my last kind of meeting with Dr. Een Cop, I hope I'm saying her name right. Um, she said, "Right, let's put a last date for your C-section in the diary." My due date was the 15th of January. She says, "You can have the 23rd or the 26th." And I was like, "Oh, I'm never going to make it that far.

[00:24:35]Let's go for the 23rd." So, obviously the 15th of January passes. I actually felt like I started to go backwards. So in December when I went for that ECV um I was so ready to meet a baby then I felt so pregnant. I felt really heavy. I had kind of stopped going to the gym almost at about I think it was like 36 37 weeks caught an awful cold in December. So that kind of for me anyway by January by my due date I was back in the gym. I was like I felt like I was going backwards but I also thought to myself I need to go to the gym because I want to feel strong at this time like this. I was starting to feel quite vulnerable like it was a a huge decision. My mom wasn't sleeping. Liam's mom wasn't sleeping. Liam was having nightmares because everyone was a we bit scared about me want to go for this vaginal birth. And I kept telling everyone I was like it's fine. I was like just nobody nobody knows about it because they've never had to learn about it. If you I was like if you've learned what I've had to learn about vaginal breach birth I was like you would be totally all for it as well. So I was help I was trying to tell everyone as we were going. Liam was really really supportive. He knew how much I wanted the birth that I wanted. Um cuz I thought as well like my mom said to me, she like keep remembering like it's a you and Liam. What do you both want? I think she was worried that he would be worried and he was like no I'm fine like you you sound positive. You not saying you know what you're doing cuz again I didn't but I was yeah I felt like quite empowered that the choices I was choosing.

[00:26:02]So where are we? Absolutely not. Stop talking. Um, then I went back in one day and I we had another meeting with the consultant and I I was in the waiting room and I was so tired and I said to Liam, I says, "I cannot like make this choice. I need them to tell me what I need to do." I think by that point as well, I was ready for them to say, "Go for a C-section. It's safer." I says, "I'm exhausted." I felt a bit like beat.

[00:26:30]Like I thought I'm not I don't know enough about this to go for what I want.

[00:26:36]And Liam started to say he was like think about what you've done. Like think about the heavy long way home that massive challenge and like think about when you wanted to give up. What did you do? And I was like stop. I said don't don't remind me. Like I think I didn't want to feel strong because I was scared that if I felt strong enough to go after what I wanted like what if something happened to baby? It was too big a decision. Anyway, we go in to meet the consultant again. Um, and again, they were just so supportive like, "Yeah, that's fine. Let's push push the C-section date back." So, this must have been on the 20. So, I went in for my pre-op. That was it. Date for the section was the 23rd of January. We went in on the 22nd. It was a Thursday night.

[00:27:16]And that's when I was like, I am totally beat. Like, I I just need to I need them to tell me what to do. But it didn't feel right. I was like, I says, what if I'm laughing at myself? I was like, "What if I take this section on the Friday and then baby was just meant to come on the Saturday?" Like, I need to give it to the 26th because originally I had those two dates to choose from. So, I was like, "What's the difference in just a couple of days?" And I said to them, "Can I possibly have that slot on the Monday?" I think they were all like, "Oh my god, just get this baby out." Um, and two doctors, they said, "Yeah, absolutely." like and one doctor I wish I could remember his name I can't remember his name but he said you've you've gone this far give it your best shot and I thought right so we pushed the section date back to the Monday the 26th of January um we were calling it the last eviction date and I was like right if she doesn't come by the 26th we'll go for the section I will be happy to take the section by that date so now we actually get to the birth story um the so the Sunday morning the 25th of January, Rabbi Burns Day, 7 o'clock in the morning. I'm rolling about in my ball. I was eating my dates. I was watching Emily in Paris. That just totally reminds me of those last few weeks and first weeks of Amelia being born. Um, and I go to No, I got this big like hot flush. Um, I had to run to the toilet. I felt like I needed a number two. And I was like, "Oh my god, I need to go now." And this flush just came from nowhere. And I was like stripping off in the toilet. And I was like once I stopped in toilet I was like I need to lie on the floor because I needed to be cool. Um and then I started to think wait a minute because that's also a sign that labor is starting if you need to go for a number two. It's basically your body like flushing out to make room for everything that's about to happen. And then my waters broke on the toilet. And honestly I was so happy. I was like oh my god baby's coming. Baby is coming. It was just this trickle. And I I remember my best friend Melissa telling me that that's what hers was like. Just this trick trickle of water. You know you're not peeing, but you're like it's as if I'm peeing, but I can't stop it. Um and then Liam was still sleeping and and this was all I wanted. I think I just wanted that moment where labor was starting and we were we were going to have our baby. Um and then I go through and I wake Liam up and um I was like, "What?

[00:29:47]My waters have broke. And then I was standing in the hall and then next minute more waters come out but there's blood in the water.

[00:29:55]Excuse me. There's also mcconium. So mcconium if you don't know what that is that's when baby's done a poo inside you. It's their first poo that comes out and if baby was head down that would be quite dangerous because baby was breach or we bums ready to come out. It's basically getting squished like a a we tub of toothpaste. So the tooth had came out but that was obviously inside me. So it could be quite un well no if she was head down it's unsafe. If she's breached she's it's not unsafe.

[00:30:21]So I phoned triage cuz they they had this big note on my file like Michelle's wanting this breach birth. Like here's what to do to basically make sure that everything's fine. Um so they were like right come in because we want to monitor you with your being breached. Um so we went in and again everything was fine but um every time my waters went again it was pretty disgusting because there's poo inside me. Um but we got put in a little room and then um because obviously when your waters break if your head down you can get like 24 hours before they would start inducing you to bring on baby if baby's not ready to come on their own. But because I was breached they couldn't do that. But they said we'll still give you 24 hours the same as we would if you were head down. So again, they were very supportive. Like I cannot fault forth valley at all. They were so good with me. Um and then Dr. Riley, she was dealing with us and we had been told lots about Dr. Riley, like she's worked over in Africa and things like that.

[00:31:18]Delivered breach babies. So when she was working, I was like, "Yes, like this is going to happen. I'm going to get my birth." Um and then she came in roughly about so 14 hours had passed. Oh yes. So contractions started as well. So I was like I had everything set up the app set up ready to time them but they were very mild. I would I would time them. I would breathe through them with my hypno birth in for about a minute. Then they were seven minutes apart. And I was like that's not bad. I was like once they get to I knew that once they were to get to you know the four minutes apart lasting for a minute roughly um for an hour that's when I would have went into the hospital if I was still at home but because we had to go in early um but they did start to slow down. But I thought, you know, it just kept being calm because I was like, surely they would they wouldn't stop completely, but they they actually kind of did. Anyway, Dr. Reley came in about 14 hours after and she was like, "Look, Michelle," she was like, "I don't think you're going to get to where you need to to be able to deliver this baby. We don't even know if you're, you know, if it was your third baby, right, okay, we'll let you go for the vaginal beach birth, but it's your first baby. We just don't know what's happening." She's like, "You've got a big baby." Um, she was like, "She's going to be roughly about 8 pound 12."

[00:32:29]like that's a lot for delivering breach.

[00:32:32]They were kind of at this point starting to get a bit scared. I would have still kept going I think but at the end of the day if they were if they says I think you should have a section I looked at Liam and we said let's get this baby out and then everything just went really fast. So when people asked me was it an elective section, was it an emergency?

[00:32:50]I'm like it was kind of a bit of both because in a way we had I mean I was like right okay I'm accept I'm electing to have this section but then it just went like that and they were like right baby's distressed we need to get out.

[00:33:03]And now I kind of laugh about it. I'm like I don't think baby was distressed.

[00:33:06]I think everyone else was distressed that I was going to hang on any longer.

[00:33:10]We were already what like 10 days overdue. Although those dates are just they're not accurate at all. I was going to have let myself go two weeks overdue.

[00:33:18]I think maybe had been head down. But yeah, next minute we But then I was really upset. I was definitely upset.

[00:33:25]You know, they're trying to talk to me about putting the anesthesia on. Can't even say that. And somebody's taking my clothes off. It was just like it was just went kind of madness. And then they're wheeling me through. I'm howling and crying because I'm like right I'm getting a section. I'm I remember s looking up at the bright white lights being like I'm not going to be able to drive for six weeks. time I going to train like I'm going to feel my baby coming out. Um but it was absolutely fine and we we had been prepared for a section because they tell you know they tell you get prepared for it make it lovely and play your favorite music. So we had a playlist ready.

[00:34:01]Amelia was born to calm down by Remma. A lovely song that I absolutely love. Um, and I remember, but it was really scary at the start. Like you go from this dark room to all of a sudden this bright white theater and they were talking about like passing the catheter and that's what I was I remember being really scared of the catheter because I had one before when I had an operation in IA. Um, and that was the sorest part.

[00:34:24]This time it was absolutely fine. Um, but yeah, it was just like I felt like something Stranger Things sitting on this bright white operating theater table naked. Liam was he never gets upset. He was upset because I was upset and I think he was just really I think he was worried about me like because of how much I didn't want this. Um and then yeah next minute baby was here.

[00:34:49]Once we put the music on I was like get the music on, get my sheet up because it was just all happening really fast.

[00:34:54]Obviously don't feel anything but you could feel the kind of I felt like my stomach was like open. The one positive I'll take from it. They said it was difficult cuz of my abs. I was like, "I'll take that." Um, but then next minute, beautiful Amelia was here and I kept saying to Liam, "What?" Then he was still upset, but we were squeezing each other's hand and I was like, "She's coming." Like nothing else matters. Like that full last six weeks where I was really stressed, really upset, really like I'm like none of that matters anymore. Beautiful Amelia is coming. Her baby is here. We're finally ready to meet her. Um, and I think that's why I really wanted to share this as if you feel really passionate about what you want your birth to be.

[00:35:37]I don't even want to everybody's really different. So, I don't want to say it'll be fine because I know if you're feeling really upset, I know how you're feeling.

[00:35:44]It was It's not what I wanted, but it's absolutely fine. And she was here. The recoveryy's been absolutely fine. The first week was harder than I thought, but then then the rest of it is much easier than I thought. I do think my strength and fitness has been able to help that. But that's that's pretty much it. If I um would be really lucky enough to have another baby, which I really really hope I can, um I would definitely still try for a vaginal birth. Um it's called a Vback, vaginal birth after section. Um but also I'm so happy and I'm so proud that I've had my section because I think it helps now understand that it's it's really difficult. Um sometimes you'll hear people saying it's an easy way out is absolutely not an easy way out is absolutely huge trauma to the body. Um so as a vaginal birth to think of what you go through with a vaginal birth is absolutely insane. Like every birth is absolutely beautiful, absolutely unique. It's just the most amazing thing in the world. Like I love my scar now. At the start I couldn't look at it for a good while. I think I was scared to see it. I don't know. I just like cuts and things are just like quite scary to me. I now love it. I massage it every day. It's part of me.

[00:37:00]You need to now like if you've got a scar and you feel a bit like that's very common by the way. A lot of women can't touch it. Can't look at it for a year plus. Maybe hate it. They maybe put their bodies down about it like try and welcome it into your body because it is part of your body. It brought your beautiful baby here which is absolutely insane. So I'm going to stop talking.

[00:37:19]That went on so much longer than I thought. I jumped from bit to bit, pillar to post. But that's my birth story. I hope you enjoyed. I would love to hear your feedback, your comments if you've watched it this far. Um, if you're breach, you do have options. You can have a vaginal birth if you want. So many people messaged me, by the way, saying they they were breached, too, and they had a vaginal birth. It's absolutely safe if you're in good hands with a doctor. So, make sure they want to support you as well, which Fourth Valley were fantastic about. Cannot like rave about them enough. They really they made my journey amazing. I'm so glad and grateful for midwife Kelly that was there that day to say you do have options by the way and because then I felt like I didn't just settle for the C-section. I advocated for myself. It was to try and get the birth that I wanted. But actually my birth was absolutely beautiful, absolutely perfect, and I loved every single minute of it. Anyway, thank you guys. See you soon.