Birth Stories
Share the experiences of our previous pregnancy yoga students as they recount their pregnancies and births. We would love to hear your stories too so please email us if you would like to add them to this page.
Deneah & Frankie
We had a little girl Frankie, and she was not at all massive!! 3695 gms and 52.5 cm, she is long and lean not the huge baby as predicted!!!
I certainly used all that I had learnt at Yoga and Active Birth Class and hubby was amazing he was reminding me of my breathing, rubbing my back and generally just being a great help.
Despite all of this I ended up having an emergency ceasar, which was at the end of a day where there was a surprise at every corner! But it was the case of intervention leading to more
intervention! I had to go on the Synto drip, as my waters broke but I didn't get any contractions... I did that for 5hrs and then lost my concentration due to the pain and the very
intense and constant contractions and had an epidural (that wasn't in my plan!!).... I then got to 10cm really quickly and pushed for 1.5 hrs but she didn't move very much if at all
in that time and the Dr was getting a bit concerned about me and her, so we ended up with an emergency c section at 11.40pm! It didn't go to plan and I was not ever going to have
a caesar(!)... But she is great and I am healthy, so that is all we can ask for . At least I know I have been to 10cm and it might be easier next time! Have had bit of trouble
with my milk etc but that all seems to be working itself out now so we are all good!
Looking forward to starting parents yoga in a few weeks.
Thank you for all of your help, hope see you all soon
Deneah
Danielle
I attended your Saturday morning pregnancy yoga classes and the Monday night class at Loftus I just want to
thank you and everyone at Yoga Space as I believe without your classes I would never have been able to homebirth
my beautiful daughter Matilda (Tilly) I went into prelabour at about 10pm on Sunday established labour started
at about 5pm on Monday and Tilly was born at home in the water at 4.43pm Tuesday. A long time I know - as she
entered the birth canal her hand was alongside her head and as a result she entered at an angle that created
an anterior lip. Therefore as I was contracting she was not moving down but was being rotated into both a
posterior and transverse position. We discovered this at about 8am on the Tuesday morning - how did the
midwife deal with this? She got me onto the bed and told me to do half downward dog for 45 mins and not to
push (which when you want to is quite uncomfortable). As she rocked my hips at the same time Matilda popped
out of the cervix and reentered with her hand in the normal position. From this point (about 10 am on Tuesday)
all we had to do was wait for Tillys head to reshape and move down.
So not only was it a yoga pose that changed Tillys position, but I used many positions you had taught
me through my prelabour and established labour (doing a rocking squat while holding onto a rope was another
great one). My yoga practice not only prepared my body physically but mentally as well. This midwife knew
this and that is why she did not transfer us - anyone else she said she would have. Had I been having my
baby at hospital it would have been a guaranteed cesarean on the Monday morning. However as it turned out
I had a completely intervention free birth.
Thank you again and I look forward to seeing you in the new year when I join up to some more yoga classes.
Emma, Marcel & Astria
Meet our little girl Astria. Born Sunday 14th Sept at 8.12am, weight 3408 grams, length 50cms.
After going to yoga in the morning on Sat I came home and started having contractions at about 2pm. At 5.00pm we went to hospital
and the birthing suite. Here we were left to our own devices and had the night to work through the contractions. A few showers,
some aromatherapy massages and a shot of pethedine, after 4 hours of what is termed 'labour', and 20mins of pushing Astria was born.
We are now home, after 6 days in hospital (to try and establish feeding). This motherhood business is pretty wearing but rewarding
and we love our little girl so much!
Sue & Cameron
Just to let you know Cameron Jack was born at 2.57 on the 23rd September 6 pounds 14. Unfortunately I had to be induced 2 days
before the due date due to low platelets and a calcifying placenta.so painful contractions started pretty quickly and the whole birth
experience was not quite what I had visualized!
I had to resort to an epidural which would have been okay if it had worked but one area in my side didn't respond so I had to be topped
up several times which meant by the time he was born I had lost the ability to move or feels my legs. Although I wasn't able to squat or
kneel as I had practiced I did spend the first 6 hours doing figure of eights on all fours on resting in child's pose whilst using the
breathing techniques I learnt through Yoga which really helped me to focus. I believe practicing yoga has also helped speed up my recovery
and feel my body is getting much stronger already and it has only been 2 weeks.
Just wanted to say a big thank you to Jean and all the other teachers at yoga space as I really enjoyed the pregnancy yoga classes and
thought they were excellent not just for the relaxation and exercise which kept me sane throughout the final trimester but also for the
social aspect which was really great too.
Fiona & Owen
Hi guys, I attended the pregnancy yoga sessions for most of my pregnancy last year and wanted to let you
know I gave birth to a beautiful
baby boy Owen Michael McCallum on December 16th 2009 at the Family Birth Centre, next to King Edward hospital without any intervention or drugs.
I have to say it was a very positive experience, and I really feel that the pregnancy yoga classes helped me. Mainly in keeping me
centered during the pregnancy, giving me my "me time" and Marie was so knowledgeable about labour and giving birth I learnt so much from her.
I really enjoyed the discussions we would have. All in all it went really well, the family birth centre were fantastic
in supporting me having a natural birth and I would really recommend them. Owen means 'well born' and he has been such a brilliant baby
since the day he was born, I really think the positive birth experience has contributed to that.
Amanda, Owen & Taj
I was attending your pregnancy yoga classes on saturdays for most of my pregnancy and then came to a few tues mornings in
jan. Just wanted to let you know that our little boy Taj Wesley Ledwith Ibbotson was born on tues 9th Feb (2 weeks early).
I had been planning on coming to yoga that day. I was planning to have a water birth at the King Edward Birthing Centre,
but had to be transfered to the hospital for the last 2 hours because when my water broke there was a bit of meconium.
The first 10 hours was a combination of in the bath, the shower and different yoga positions, which really helped! I had
no pain relief but a little gas near the end of first stage labour. Taj was born happy and healthy. Thanks for all the
great information and discussions that you include in the yoga classes. I look forward to coming back soon.
Tania
I did the pregnancy yoga course (Jan/Feb to April/May) last year. I have been wanting to write to you for a whole to tell you that I really enjoyed the course. It was a great way to wind down after a busy week at work and just to have "quiet" time for me. Although my pregnancy ended in an emergency caesarean (come in for a routine check they said! - after I had some spotting - only to have been handed my gorgeous baby girl 3 hours later) which was not what I wanted, I found the breathing and concentration techniques practiced in yoga really helped me through the situation. I encourage everyone who is expecting to do the course.
Victoria & James
I went into labour at midnight and he was delivered at 1650 - he ended up laying posteriorly on the day
(having been so active throughout
the pregnancy and moving he hadn't been noted in that position before at my check-ups). Despite various positions and hip rocking tried - and
an obstetrician actually turning him (and promptly turning back) James required the assistance of the vacuum to enter the world. We found attending
the active birth workshop a valuable experience as it enabled us to ask questions and delay some of the intervention we did eventually require
(membranes ruptured, monitoring - due to meconium, syntocin - for failure to progress and an epidural after 13hours after making it through to 7cm).
We have been home from hospital a week now and I can't believe where the time has gone - I guess it flies between each feed and sleeps that we manage
to get.
I look forward to starting the postnatal yoga on Fridays after my 6 week check and bringing James along to join in and meet you all.
Nat & Keira
Thanks Jean, I had just signed up for your next Friday yoga class when I saw your email! Lovely of you to think of me. The birth
went really really well. Bub was three days early (perfect!), labour was 4 ½ hours, all natural and delivered standing up (after starting
on all fours) thanks in large part due to the yoga and tips you and Suzanna gave in your classes (and a great, accommodating obstetrician
and midwife!), will be eternally grateful!! So please pass my thanks on to Suzanna too! Keira arrived in perfect condition (always a huge
joy and relief!) and has been delightful, all pretty tiring with a toddler as well, but feeling very blessed and trying to appreciate it
amidst the lack of sleep! Looking forward to seeing you both next Friday at the first class.
Thanks again for all your support in the lead up to the birth, Nat
Ruth & Joshua
The birth of Joshua was probably the most planned event I have ever participated in. I had a low lying placenta which prevented me from trying a vaginal birth. The day of the birth, we had to be at the hospital for 6am so we ran around like fools to get there on time. Then we waited, and waited and waited some more. At 9:30 or so, they came and took us to the operating theatre where I had the tube inserted into my back for the anesthetic. After that, things moved pretty quickly. I remember how many people were in the theatre - every doctor had at least 1-2 assistants! It only took the doctor 5 minutes or so to cut me open and get Joshua out. He came out crying, the paediatrician checked him over and gave us the ok to keep him with us (some c-section babies have to go to the neonatal unit if their breathing isn't normal). I remember feeling very alone as the doctor stitched me back up as everyone was crowded around the little man. The nurses took us into the recovery room and put Joshua on my chest for a feed. I don't remember much of the next 24 hours because of the drugs. I couldn't walk for 48 hours which was really awful when you are trying to learn to deal with a new baby. After that, I recovered really quickly and was fully healed in a couple of weeks!
Kathryn & Grace
I’d previously practiced yoga during the few years before Grace’s arrival, but not really regularly. I found out about the ante natal course and thought it would be a great idea as I really wanted to have as natural a birth as possible. The classes were fantastic and I really looked forward to them, not just for the yoga, but for the social element. It was great to meet other “mums to be”, including Jean the yoga instructor.
I found the yoga classes very useful. The exercise itself was excellent and I regularly used certain postures at home to help with back ache; upward and downward cat and downward dog… I found the classes very calming and I learnt a lot about breathing techniques and calming techniques. I used these throughout my labour and they were key to my keeping calm and focused.
Grace arrived a week and a half after her due date. On the Monday we had to go to hospital for various checks as she was overdue. These were to make sure she was still alright. Her heartbeat and movement were monitored, but an ultrasound showed the placenta was starting to deteriorate rapidly. After an examination by the doctor at the Birth Centre it was strongly recommended that Grace be induced in the next day or so. I wasn’t keen on this at all as it meant going into the hospital and being given a drip and drugs. Not at all what I’d hoped for Grace’s birth. Previously, the midwives at the birth centre had given me a recipe for castor oil, orange juice and bicarb of soda which could help to start labour. So I took it about 1.30pm on the Monday and by 4.30pm it seemed to have worked (or perhaps it was the internal examination or the fact that I didn’t want to go into hospital that had started labour).
By 7.30pm we were off to the hospital. Things were moving along at a fair pace. I continually used the breathing and relaxation techniques I’d learnt from yoga and really found them invaluable. Throughout the whole labour I stayed calm and focused and I believe that may have had an impact on Grace. Her heartbeat did not change the whole time – she was never in any distress at all, which was very important to me.
I ended up spending 14 hours standing during labour, so the yoga practice definitely helped in that regard as my legs were strong. I stood in a hot shower a lot and also leant forward onto a large gym ball which was placed onto a chair. I really did concentrate on the moment rather than the past or future, concentrating on getting through each contraction. Grace decided to rotate the wrong way round so things took a lot longer and I got very bad backpain and the labour slowed right down. Sometime after midnight the midwife suggested we break my waters to help speed things up. After my waters were broken I was given gas and air to help deal with the stronger contractions.
By 5am things weren’t happening so I had to transfer to the hospital to be checked by the obstetrician there. It appears that Grace’s head was flexed backwards (brow presentation), instead of the normal forwards chin onto chest position. This made her head too wide to get through my pelvis. Over an hour the obstetrician tried several times to move Grace back up and see whether she’d move her head to her chest, but she didn’t. He couldn’t use forceps or suction because of the way her head was placed. The only recommendation was that I have a cesearean. Not what we’d planned for but I was happy to know that I’d done everything I could have done to allow a natural birth…. And Grace was not in any distress and to that point I hadn’t had any drugs (except for the gas and air). Grace was delivered at 7.20am and I saw her actual birth which was absolutely amazing!
I couldn’t recommend the ante natal yoga course enough. Physically and mentally it helped me to prepare and to deal with pregnancy and Grace’s birth. I was warned that nothing ever goes as you expect it in labour and to “Expect the Unexpected” and yoga helped me to prepare for the unexpected.
Suzanne
Just writing to let you know that I have given birth (10 days earlier than expected) to a healthy baby girl, 3.252 kg, at 11:33 am on
2 September.
I really enjoyed the pregnancy yoga classes, keep up the good work.
Many thanks,
Suzanne
Heidi & Maya
Even though we moved back to Scotland when Maya was only 4 months old (she is now 16 months), I still enjoy reading about your adventures and yoga updates. I really do miss Perth and I think very fondly of our time there and my pregnancy, which was made easier and more enjoyable by going to your yoga class. I truly think that my labour was made a lot more bearable with the help of yoga and the breathing techniques we learnt (well that and a sneaky epidural at the very end). Maya Rose Eriksen Mackay was born September 13th 2006 in King Edwards Hospital after 13 hours of labour and I'm very pleased to say I have no harrowing stories to tell.
Here's a photo of Maya, while in Scotland.
Lots of love Heidi Eriksen (pregnancy yoga class from about June till September 2006)