https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories daily 0.75 2025-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/be6f1626-0b81-4c90-a0e8-5f52de0c5100/concentrated-pregnant-woman-husband-home-husband-wife-sitting-bed-man-hugging-woman-from-back-family-pregnancy-concept.jpg https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories/emily-and-milas-birth-story monthly 0.5 2025-02-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/5fef8c88-1189-4ca7-a8f3-626873dadf28/1000097106.jpeg Birth Stories - Emily - Mila’s Birth Story - Make it stand out Emily with her beautiful baby girl Mila, born at home https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories/nantar-delgado-prado-birth-story-of-bliss monthly 0.5 2023-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/0c0a53e5-3570-40fc-8c6a-5e74237bb904/Father+holding+newborn+baby.JPG Birth Stories - Nantar — Bliss’s Birth Story We arrived at the hospital around 4pm, my midwife wasn’t there yet so other nurses helped me to change and asked me if I wanted to go into the pool. I was feeling withdrawn from what was going on outside me at this point but I thought, once in the pool they will check my dilatation and I will have an idea of where I was with my labour. My midwife arrived and grabbed my hand and I felt a feeling that I cannot describe like a reassurance, a primal woman bond was complete and felt safe. They moved me to the pool and with three pushes our precious darling Bliss was born. That night all three of us were back at home. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/277923f7-885b-4f4a-aaf7-3599aa33e220/Loving+Mother+and+Father+holding+a+new+born+baby.jpg Birth Stories - Nantar — Bliss’s Birth Story - A natural birth in hospital. At age 35 I gave birth to my daughter, my pregnancy was “normal” and we planned to have a natural birth as much as possible and attainable for me. At week 38 she decided it was time to come out. That day I woke with period pains and a bit of blood which didn’t scare me as I had been explained it can be quite normal. I texted my midwife and she said to keep her updated. I was alone at home and had a zoom meeting at midday with my family from Ecuador. While I was chatting with my family I was seated on my swiss ball as I was feeling small surges of contractions coming and bouncing helped me with the sensations. The contractions started to be a bit stronger so I laid down and tried to relax with some meditation music, breathing work and positive affirmations. I also took a hot shower, well many, as I ended up going in and out the shower a few times, the running water helped me to relax. Around 1:30pm I called my husband and told him to come home. I was a bit emotional by then and I didn’t want to be alone. Zac arrived home around 2:30pm I was on the floor trying to deal with the powerful sensations that were coming, the contractions were short and strong and with almost no rest in between. After an hour Zac called the midwife and updated her on how I was doing. At that point I apparently said that I wanted to die, which I don’t recall, but the midwife asked him to take me immediately to the hospital. I recovered a bit of consciousness and helped to pack my bag as I didn't prepare in advance (not ideal). At this point I was really vocal roaring and screaming, I wasn't scared but you just feel the urge to let out all kind of noises. https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories/bridget-and-andys-birthstory-claire monthly 0.5 2023-07-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/405f10fd-5611-48e8-a1b8-af21c3867849/Mum+and+baby+relax+after+a+planned+women-centered+ceasarian+section.JPG Birth Stories - Bridget and Andy — Claire’s Birth Story - Planned Homebirth to Planned C-section - a change in mindset and a new path forward. This is the story of how our plans changed from the home birth that I had so looked forward to, to a planned c-section. My amazing midwife supported me through all the disappointments, the fears and the emotions. She helped us rebuild our plans and enabled us to have the most empowered belly-birth (c-section) possible. Sometimes I felt nervous - this was a totally new environment to me - but I was grateful to be able to make many of the decisions about the way my belly-birth was carried out and to feel part of the birthing process. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/02a0992e-c40f-40b4-ba5c-3498d02967b3/Mum+in+hospital+focus+on+catheter+in+hand.jpg Birth Stories - Bridget and Andy — Claire’s Birth Story The process was very surreal for me. To walk into the hospital feeling healthy and to become a patient straight away was odd. The nurse and training doctor both had issues inserting a cannula but Ange and the anaesthetist came to the rescue. They removed the existing one which had bruised me (that was the only painful thing about the whole day!), and inserted one that was perfect. I was nervous but fascinated as I was wheeled through the hospital into the theatre waiting space. All the staff were caring, kind, and empathetic. We had a short wait and by 1.30pm everything was underway! It all happened very fast and efficiently. I introduced myself to all the staff present and said thanks in advance, blessing the process and this part of our journey with everyone involved. My spinal block was administered without issue, as was the catheter. I made the mistake of turning to look at the needle, and a few tears were shed. The nurse was so supportive and helped keep me focussed. Before I knew it, I couldn’t move my legs by myself to lie down and everything was being done for me. The screen between my head and belly went up and I thought they were going to start without Andy. He was brought in just in time! I held his and Ange’s hands throughout, singing along to our songs and being in awe of what was taking place. Of course I couldn’t feel a thing, but I was told there would be a gushing sound once my amniotic fluid was reached (waters breaking), and I heard this, knowing Claire was about to be lifted out. I looked up and there was this huge baby with curly black hair who made a little bleating sound. Wow, what an experience! She was placed onto my chest within a couple of minutes and Ange got her suckling on my breast straight away. This is where she stayed while we were wheeled into the recovery room, with a little woollen hat on her head. Because of the operation she was placed up around my shoulders. She was so tiny she fitted there perfectly! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/19485bc5-2e2b-4399-ae99-4261a3d82ab0/New+born+baby+focus+on+feet.jpg Birth Stories - Bridget and Andy — Claire’s Birth Story The 32 week scan revealed that the placenta had grown completely over my cervix and there was no option of a home vaginal birth. The sonographer was surprised I hadn’t experienced any bleeding as this is quite common for placenta praevia. I was disappointed, upset and sad. I had really wanted to experience labour and the power of my own body and mind! I had wanted to birth our baby naturally, at home with only Andy, myself and our midwife Ange and her backup midwife. The idea of abdominal surgery and a full theatre team of 10 strangers was really unappealing, along with the post-recovery healing I knew I would have to go through. I was desperate for this not to be the case, but the Sonographer assured me that it was out of my control. The most important thing was that baby was born safe and I would live to parent her. That was hard to hear, but his message was put into perspective as I was a placenta praevia baby with my Mum. It wasn't picked up until she was already in labour with me and haemorrhaging, and we both almost died. There is no evidence that this situation is genetic or runs in the family (I am also the youngest of four, and all of my siblings were vaginal births). With Ange’s help, optimism and professionalism, we accepted that this was the way baby was meant to be born. We were able to consciously embrace the change in our birth plans, and choose to make our baby’s arrival the most special experience we could have. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/cc45f208-cc82-414d-9cd2-778048704f8f/Newborn+baby+cradling+hand.jpg Birth Stories - Bridget and Andy — Claire’s Birth Story We are so grateful for that experience as we gained many valuable insights into how my future stay would be. We familiarised ourselves with the hospital environment and procedures that exist there. (I had not previously had any hospital stays.) We were hopeful to get the surgeon that was our consultant on that night for my belly birth, and we did! I had no further bleeds or complications and we were given the date 30th January for our belly birth. It was another adjustment to knowing baby’s birth date as we were prepared for not knowing this. Baby would be 37 weeks and 6 days. I hadn’t had any breast leaking up until this point, and we were keen to try to get colostrum in case baby needed it after she was born. We ‘milked’ me the night before the operation and it was the weirdest experience. I cried with so much emotion built up over the previous few weeks with appointments to meet the surgeon, anaesthetist, blood test and scan. Ange assured us that even .04 mg would be plenty for baby, and after half an hour of squeezing we got this tiny amount of orange gold, I had had enough. Sleep didn’t come easy, but our hypnobirthing preparation really helped to remain calm, positive and empowered for the upcoming day. https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories/ida-staunstrup-moore-albies-birth-story monthly 0.5 2023-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/0c0a53e5-3570-40fc-8c6a-5e74237bb904/Father+holding+newborn+baby.JPG Birth Stories - Ida Staunstrup Moore — Albie’s Birth Story I wrote affirmations on my kitchen wall and read them out loud with my daughter over breakfast every day: I’m going to have an easy, gentle and relaxing birth I release my birth to my body and baby I put all fear aside and welcome my baby with happiness and joy I’m totally relaxed and at ease about my birth and during my birth I stuck a drawing of baby being born naturally to the toilet wall and a picture of a baby in the womb. I wanted to see the pictures every day, several times to remind myself that I was to have a relaxed and natural birth. I listened to a Rainbow Relaxation recording most days or Jim would read it to me. This is a script developed to help the mother relax when hearing the birth companion’s voice, in this case my husband’s. It goes through the colours of the rainbow relaxing all parts of your body and mind. I used to go to sleep listening to this, subconsciously absorbing that I was relaxed and that my mind, my body and my baby work in completely natural harmony. I wrote down all my fears regarding birth and dealt with them. The hypnobirth course facilitator did a fear release, as part of the course and again via Skype when I was nearing my time :o) My husband and I also talked about each other’s fears and finally dealt with all those things unsaid regarding my daughter’s birth. Several times a week we would practice perineal massage. This sounds really gross. But truly it was a very special time. I had lots of scarring and was unable to relax AT ALL. But with practice I could suddenly relax my perineum and vagina at will. This gave me lots of confidence that I would be able to birth my baby naturally and without tearing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/71e2af2e-b2c4-49f1-96aa-403dc09e1fa8/Mother+smiling+at+baby+after+birth.JPG Birth Stories - Ida Staunstrup Moore — Albie’s Birth Story Jim’s relaxation technique’s worked and I felt really good. I even said...’wow, this hypnobirthing really works’. My midwife then said that my contractions had slowed down and labour had practically stopped! I must have been too relaxed. I got out of the pool and my body took over. The contractions were super strong. I had to get Jim and my friend to carry me to my room, which they’d prepared. They’d made a beautiful nest for me on the floor with a mattress, pillows, blankets and my own duvet. The lights were dimmed. It was like being at home really. I felt confident that I could birth this baby without any intervention. However, my friend told me afterwards that I’d said I didn’t want to go through with it and wanted to die! This is apparently normal for women in transition! I don’t remember it at all. Always tell your birthing woman that she is doing great and can do it. The whole time the amniotic sac had been hanging out and it had kept me calm to touch it in the birth pool. Albie stayed in the sac as he entered the world and I giggled like a crazy person as he crowned and was born. I was so happy. Thrilled. Delirious really. I was also very surprised my baby was a boy. I noticed that another midwife had come in after Albie was born and I noticed her leave. I didn’t hear her speak. Jim told me she’d whispered she obviously wasn’t needed. She’s is apparently known as a loudmouth, but I never heard her speak. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/65a888bf-213b-4d19-95f4-9e5cdb5b3304/Mother+and+father+smiling+at+new+born+baby.jpg Birth Stories - Ida Staunstrup Moore — Albie’s Birth Story - A Homebirth in Hospital - how hypnobirthing helped my family I had a beautiful labour at home with my first child. Unfortunately we had to be transferred to hospital, as her heart rate dropped. It became quite an emergency and we had a lot of intervention, but Amelie was born healthy and happy . Her actual birth was very intense and very challenging in a room full of medical staff. I suffered from post traumatic stress and post natal depression afterwards. It took me a lot of work mentally and physically to recover from her birth. When I fell pregnant again my husband and I knew we wanted a calmer experience of birth. We had a lot of mental scars to heal and I had physical ones too. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/c62eb756-1756-44fa-a52e-9fd0d7947614/Newborn+baby+and+big+sister.JPG Birth Stories - Ida Staunstrup Moore — Albie’s Birth Story To ensure a positive experience for my family, I filed a very detailed birth plan with our local hospital. Maternal mental health added to my medical notes that I wanted and needed a calm birth. My midwife spoke to the staff about our request for a calm, relaxed, intervention free birth. I made a colourful ‘calm birth’ sign to put on the hospital room door. I also arranged for one of my best friend’s to be our support person and ensured that she knew what she was in for. I felt good about my birth. My mother-in-law arrived to look after my daughter a few days before my due date. I suddenly found everything stressful and became grumpy and uptight. I couldn’t sleep. My husband said he would try to make our home life more peaceful again and within two minutes my labour started. https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories/clarissa-benton-lukes-birth-story monthly 0.5 2025-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/a038dfa7-da1d-4ecb-81c5-4706f8a20334/7a87664f3ec586e14ce93d0bc64f43df.jpg Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Patrick’s Birth Story I can hear my husband going in to settle Tessa. I relax, and the next few surges are manageable as long as I focus. If I stop to listen to them, I let out a groan. I can hear Tessa saying “Mummy is having a baby - I can hear her yelling!” and my husband saying “What!” and the stomp, stomp, stomp of footsteps as he comes to check on me. I can't say much, but he knows what to do. Mum and Dad are asleep in the next room, and he wakes them to look after Tessa. I have an overwhelming desire for privacy and quietness. I drag my foam mattress (an old camping mattress recruited into use as a labouring mat) up into the dark lounge and tuck it out of sight behind the sofa where no one will find me. I am all good when I can't hear the family and engulfed by my contractions when I can. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/1748821559957-BOEC7VGHAO2YG0TAYJX5/unsplash-image-qx7ZQwbgm1c.jpg Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Patrick’s Birth Story - Birth of our second child at home For my first birth I did a heap of practical preparation: I learned about dimming the lights and warming the room to increase oxytocin. I learned how toning during contractions would allow my jaw (and also my cervix) to slacken. I did a heaps of reading on natural birth and my husband drew all the acupressure points on me with a sharpie. But, during my first birth, I was all “in my head“. I lacked the skill to take my brain to a place where I was relaxed and peaceful. I wanted to be able to completely trust my body and surrender to the birth process but I couldn’t quite get there. So, the preparation for my second birth was all about “head -space”. Whenever I was in a beautiful place that triggered a feeling of serenity or happiness (basically the beach or a forest for me!), I imagined myself having contractions and tied the two feelings together. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/0c0a53e5-3570-40fc-8c6a-5e74237bb904/Father+holding+newborn+baby.JPG Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Patrick’s Birth Story It was 2 am when I awoke to a violent kick and a snap that felt like a giant elastic band breaking in my belly. Then I felt some trickling and I thought, “Argh, my waters have broken! - Where are the towels?” A good friend once told me to saturate every towel before getting the next one, so I diligently wrapped it around me like a nappy and crawled back into bed. I considered my options. I could wake my husband, but he had work in the morning, and what if it was a false alarm? So, I lay quietly in the dark and tried to get back to sleep. My first contraction arrived 20 minutes later. It was huge! I immediately focused on riding it like a wave, feeling the power of it and transporting my mind into the clouds. I imagined myself in the place where an aircraft takes you, without actually being on board. Clouds below, sky above, and a perpetual pink glow all around. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/cc45f208-cc82-414d-9cd2-778048704f8f/Newborn+baby+cradling+hand.jpg Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Patrick’s Birth Story It was a warm, calm night, and the sky was clear and full of stars. Our picnic table was just the perfect height for leaning on. I was varying my visualisations with each wave of contractions and had explored clouds, flowers, worms in the compost heap, and swimming in Lake Taupo. All of a sudden, a really intense contraction came over me. By now, I had learned enough to realise that I just had to go with it.... There was a weird sensation of something shifting, a landslide in my pelvis. I started to panic - What the @#$%$! What was that???? I don't think I could do another 7 hours of this!? When a cow gives birth to a calf, at the point where she pushes the calf out, she will produce a loud, open-mouthed holler. It comes from deep inside her, welling up and erupting involuntarily as a guttural roar. That was the noise that I heard while my pelvis tilted forward, and my abdomen contracted in an enormous involuntary push. I yelled, “S$#@! He's coming!” I hear my husband yell “F$%^!” and suddenly he is there with towels and talking into his phone. “Comequickly,it'sSarahClarkeshe'scrowning!” And he chucks the phone onto the grass. Then there is a pause, and he says nervously, “You are doing a really good job.” I have the urge to push again, and the head pops out… (NB There are a couple of things the midwife preps you for in the event that she doesn't get there in time. The first one is don't panic! - babies that come fast are doing fine. The second is to check the neck to see if the cord is looped over it.) I can feel my husband checking, and it feels stretchy and sore. There is a pause, and I feel that stretched sore feeling again, so I say, “Please don't check again, it hurts!” The reply comes back: “I'm 3 feet away,” With astonishment I realise that the baby was shaking his head. I push again and feel the slithery, slippy, all-come-out-in-a-rush feeling of a baby being born. Then we all sat in a heap in stunned elation. My husband had Patrick in a full-body hug, and I was naked and crouched on some towels... Eventually, we did an awkward three-person-and-an-umbilical-cord manoeuvre to untangle the cord from my legs and we made it inside. The midwife arrived. She warmed me up and gave me a shot of oxytocin to help the placenta come away. Luke lay on my chest and started his birth crawl. It had been 1 hour and 40 minutes since I woke up. https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories/clarissa-benton-taras monthly 0.5 2025-06-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/19485bc5-2e2b-4399-ae99-4261a3d82ab0/New+born+baby+focus+on+feet.jpg Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Tessa’s Birth Story We set up the room with our belongings, including the birth pool, bedding, pillows, beanbag, birthing ball, computer, speakers, and food for my husband. It was warm and dark in the labour room, the rain was lashing the windows outside, and the midwife had pulled the curtains and closed all the doors. I felt snug and safe with all my things around me. And then it happened - my first real contraction. I realised that all the previous ones had been pretend, weak, puny, or fake. I had wondered if they were the real thing, but there was no mistaking this one. It was like a freight train - the power was intense! I groaned, and my husband and midwife helped me into the pool. After the initial shock of intensity, I was able to settle into my contractions, focusing on each one at a time. During each wave, my husband pressed on the acupressure spots we had marked on my back, and I breathed and moaned and focused intently on the little blue fish on the side of the pool. I could hear Dory from Finding Nemo singing "Just keep swim-ming. Just keep swim-ming." The experience of labour reminded me of when we climbed Taranaki. I remember looking up at the top of the mountain, feeling like it was too far away and thinking, "I can't possibly make it up there." But then, when I looked at a rock just 20 metres away, I thought, "Okay, I can make it to that rock." So that's how we did it. One contraction at a time. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/1689662204772-F8CZO2Y6Q3XE1JNE78X3/Mum+in+hospital+focus+on+catheter+in+hand.jpg Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Tessa’s Birth Story She got me some gas and air, and I drew in two or three long breaths. It felt amazing, all the tension and stress and worry washed away. It felt like getting off a noisy, smelly bus and taking in deep breaths of fresh air in the mountains. I was completely relaxed. When I opened my eyes, she was looking at me quizzically and said, "Generally, you use the gas when you are having a contraction!" I felt a bit embarrassed, but I didn’t really need to use the gas again. I held onto that feeling of relaxation and peace it had given me. Even when she said it was time to use some synthetic oxytocin, I didn’t panic. I remembered how worried my husband had been, and I gave myself up to whatever plan we had got to and let go of my fears and tension and stayed relaxed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/a8e9bd3a-1b32-4efd-8250-1845e5806980/ABT-2.jpg Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Tessa’s Birth Story And then it was all on. She hooked me up to the oxytocin, and I was in transition and ready to push. (Later, she said that not enough syntocin had gone in to warrant the change to transition - that had been all me!) I had a huge sense of purpose in being able to bear down. I felt incredibly powerful and strong, and it felt great to be “doing” something physical. It felt like having a large and very satisfying poo! Between contractions, I was elated and chatting and so happy! Then it was over. Tessa was placed on my belly. I wasn’t sure what to do. The midwife told me about the “birth crawl”. She said that if I waited long enough (about 45 mins to an hour), Tara would eventually make her way up my belly and latch on by herself. I was knackered and happy to wait. So as my midwife placed a few stitches, I watched Tara make her way up my chest, and after lots of head nodding and pawing, she finally latched on. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/4c4293b2-e304-4322-ab51-6526f8a86ae8/P5100187.jpg Birth Stories - Sarah Clarke — Tessa’s Birth Story - 2-Week overdue hospital birth of Tessa I was one week overdue, sitting in my midwife's office, discussing induction and feeling disappointed. I had been so excited to experience natural labour. For me, it was the next adventure after all the fun things I had given up in the past four months. I was happiest climbing mountains or running, and this was going to be my next physical challenge. But all good trips need plan Bs (and Cs and Ds), so we sat in her office that day and mapped out a plan to keep me and my baby safe and give me the best chance of experiencing a natural birth. I tried every trick in the book to bring on labour - sex, acupuncture, homoeopathy, pineapple, hot curry. I even sat on the washing machine when it was on spin cycle! I went for regular scans to ensure that the baby was well and still surrounded by plenty of amniotic fluid. My first contraction came at lunchtime in Countdown, and I was elated as I breathed through the contractions and collected my groceries. I hopped back into the car and adjusted the towels that had been on the seat waiting for my "waters to break" for the last six weeks. I laboured at home for eight hours, and then the contractions petered out, and so, disappointed, I went to bed. My contractions settled into the same frustrating pattern for the next three days. They would start at lunchtime and peter out after 8 pm. I found that if I bounced on my yoga ball to music, I could keep them coming. https://www.activebirthtaranaki.org.nz/birth-stories/michelle-lessing monthly 0.5 2023-04-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/6c555913-f89a-4d46-baeb-59017110731e/received_10155733550321913.jpg Birth Stories - Michelle Lessing — Four Beautiful Girls In 2015, we had baby number three here in New Zealand. It was such a different experience compared to our previous ones in South Africa. We were able to choose the midwife we wanted and she was amazing. When she asked if we wanted a vaginal birth, we were hesitant and explained that it wasn't an option where we were from. But she reassured us that we had a choice here in New Zealand and that we should consider all risks and benefits before making a decision. We left the decision until 20 weeks and then me and my husband felt we were not comfortable with a natural birth and we elected for a caesarean. Caesareans here happen at 39 weeks which is amazing - another week for your baby to be in the womb! For our planned caesarean at Base Hospital we were able to make choices and decisions at every stage: from choosing the midwife right through to taking baby home. Our midwife said, ”What do you want? Let's make this an awesome experience!” We opted to have skin-to-skin on me in the theatre. Hubby got to cut the cord. They never took her away from us: she just went from my chest to his while they stitched me up. Then she came back to me for her birth crawl (where she independently made her way up my chest and latched on) while I was still in recovery. I think she stayed with me, on my chest for two and a half hours without bathing or dressing - we just chilled and she was just there. It was so amazing! I was sore and I couldn't get up but I had lots of time to spend with my baby. Such a different experience with lovely memories. Then we had baby surprise number 4 who was born in 2017. So funny because the day I found out I was pregnant I said to myself, ”I am not having another caesarean!”. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/90d26ddd-b2f2-4618-9ace-ef55749cf310/IMG-20171008-WA0005.jpg Birth Stories - Michelle Lessing — Four Beautiful Girls - Birthing in South Africa and New Zealand I have been asked to talk about the birth stories of my four beautiful girls: The first birth I had in 2008, the last birth I had in 2017. I want to talk about the choices I had during the births, the lack of choices I had, and where I was or was not involved in the decision making. We moved from South Africa to New Zealand in 2014, and we have two South African babies and two New Zealand babies. Each one of them has a different story. I feel so lucky to have come to New Zealand to experience the amazing difference in the midwifery care that we get here compared to South Africa. Before I talk about my Kiwi experiences, though, I want to tell you about my time in South Africa so you can really understand how awesome it is here. I'll start with Ena. She was born in South Africa in March 2008. I went into labour by myself, had typical cramps, and went to the hospital. I wasn't prepared for birth. I didn't have birthing classes, just books and magazines. I did ask for an epidural but it didn’t really work. When the doctor arrived he broke my waters, and before I knew it, I was fully dilated. The doctor said it was pushing time but Ena went into distress because she wasn’t quite in the right position. The doctor decided it was going to be an emergency caesarean. Nobody ever spoke to me or asked me. My husband and I were totally blindsided by all of this. The doctors and nurses made all the decisions. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/a228fa75-809f-402d-b016-6a41c1ee2162/20170930_080057.jpg Birth Stories - Michelle Lessing — Four Beautiful Girls Then we spent a lot of time cuddling. I was exhausted afterwards, and it was only until the next day that I realised how blessed we were. It was amazing to experience so much trust with the midwife and the medical team. (According to my husband though, caesareans are so much easier!) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/63fd4a4e33d0ad031e24bcf0/d05368d7-9d6a-4952-a2e3-d40094411c9a/IMG-20171008-WA0014.jpg Birth Stories - Michelle Lessing — Four Beautiful Girls Then one morning, I had my first cramps, and I was ecstatic. I said, "Tonight we are having a baby!" and we went for a walk. I was in active labour, and I had to walk and stop to get through contractions. I told the kids that the baby would be born tomorrow and warned my mother that the baby was close. 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