Alex and John's Birth Story
 We chose to use a doula to give us reassurance
having our first baby and to provide some back up support at our
hospital delivery – while we tried not to believe the horror
stories about our hospital (all of which proved unfounded in the
end) we didn’t want to take any chances. We were
impressed with Marcia straightaway, from her lovely professional
website to her passion for what she does, we knew that she was
going to be just the right fit for us. By the
time it came to going into labour we felt quite prepared, thanks
to Mars and the huge amount of advice and support she had
already given us – plus the very helpful loan of a birthing
ball. She gave quiet and helpful support to me while I laboured
at home (walking sideways up and down the stairs was fabulous at
getting things moving! And reminding us both to eat something)
and helped us both stay calm when we ended up stuck in a traffic
jam on the way to the hospital. By the time I
got to the hospital I was already 7cm dilated and things
continued to progress well until I got to about 9cm when we had
to make the decision for the midwife to break my waters as they
were stopping things progressing any further. Mars supported us
through this and then helped me use gas and air as the pain got
a lot worse. Having Mars with us was really great because, as I
became more and more deeply into my labour I found that looking
at John and getting support from him was quite a distraction – I
have such an emotional bond with him it just made me want to cry
and say ‘take me home’! So Marcia became an essential support to
me, particularly once I started pushing and John went ‘business’
end and Mars fed me sips of water and kept me going when I
wanted to give up! At just before 1am (24 hours
after I woke up with my first contraction) Frederick Paul was
born although he had his cord wrapped twice round his neck. This
was a scary end to an already exhausting day and Mars was
wonderful as she stayed with me while John went with the doctors
who had to give little Fred oxygen etc. She reassured me, held
my hand (and fed me chocolate!) while we waited for Freddie to
be brought back to me. When John did bring him back in he was a
healthy pink colour and totally gorgeous – panic over.
 Overall Mars was with us for nearly 12 hours of labour and
delivery and she stayed cheerful and supportive throughout. With
her help we ended up with a birth that was totally in line with
our birth plan and I don’t think it would have been like that if
she hadn’t been there. We got through three different midwives
during our time in the delivery suite and while they were all
lovely, having Mars with us provided consistency and
reassurance. From helping get the contractions moving along, to
reassuring us about when to go into hospital and then being
there for me in those final few hours when I was exhausted and
beginning to be overwhelmed by the pain, she provided us with
invaluable care, information, support and love.
Thank you Mars! x
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