She had planned a home birth. She had done hypnobirthing. She had her playlists ready. And then the NHS called and said there were no midwives available.

Most women would have panicked. Faye walked into that hospital, held her ground against a doctor pushing for induction, and had the birth she always wanted anyway. Just not where she planned it.

Faye is a mum of two who had her first baby in Vancouver via induction and epidural, meaning she had never experienced the NHS maternity system, or what spontaneous labour actually felt like. Second time around she wanted something completely different. What she got was a labour that tested every bit of that preparation, a midwife swap mid-shift that changed the entire energy of the room, and a baby who arrived so fast that nobody saw the postpartum haemorrhage coming.

In this episode we talk about:

• What it is actually like to navigate the NHS for the first time as a second time mum
• How meconium in your waters affects your birth options and what the doctors will ask of you
• Why the energy of the person in your birth room matters more than you think
• What spontaneous labour feels like compared to an induced labour
• How Faye went from 6cm to pushing in under half an hour
• What a postpartum haemorrhage actually looks and feels like from the inside

This episode is for anyone who has had to let go of the birth they planned and trust that their body will find its own way. Faye did not get her home birth. But she got something she never expected either.

The stories shared on British Birthing Stories are real, personal experiences from real women. I am not a medical professional and this podcast is not a substitute for medical advice. Every pregnancy and birth is different, and I always encourage you to speak to your midwife or doctor about your own individual care.

British Birthing Stories shares real, unfiltered stories of childbirth in the UK, from pregnancy and labour to postpartum recovery.

These stories reflect personal experiences and should not be taken as or replace medical advice. Always seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional.

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