Kayla & Luca

Tina came to our house to host our prenatal birthing course at 25 weeks pregnant. The class was very informative, giving my partner and I a clear insight of what labour was all about! Living in another state Tina was always a call away and happy to help me mentally and emotionally throughout my pregnancy.

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19 I could not have Tina with me at the hospital as my doula or use entonox which resulted in me questioning how I would cope. We discussed pain relief options along with the benefits and risks of each and I made the informed decision to hire a tens machine.

I got to 41 weeks then had an induction booked in. Thanks to my Lamaze class for teaching me 'B.R.A.I.N', I looked at my options and made the right decision for me and my baby. The night came and I had an examination. My cervix was still posterior so I had a balloon catheter put in and went home for the night. I came back at 7.30 am Monday morning and had the catheter removed. I was 2 cm dilated and my cervix was ready.

At 8.30 am I had my waters broken and 9.30 am I started the syntocin drip. I started contracting about 10.15 am which started getting really intense by 10.45 am.

I pushed through with no drugs and kept remembering my comfort measure options like breathing, rhythm and ritual and my TENS machine. Things felt like they were progressing very quickly and just as transition hit (8 cms), I got an epidural. After I got the epidural, contractions calmed down straight away and they let me rest until 4 pm. I then started pushing and after 2 hours Luca was born at 6.03 pm.

Thanks to my Lamaze class, I felt empowered in my birth and educated to make the right decisions for us the whole way through.

Despite needing some interventions, I felt supported the whole way through and am thankful to have had such a great prenatal class with Tina. I can hand on heart say it's what helped me cope and make the right decisions for me and my baby.