When I was pregnant with my nearly-four year old, I spent a lot of time avoiding thinking about the impending labour. I watched the odd One Born Every Minute and tootled along to a couple of hospital antenatal classes, but my main plan was to just “go with it”. I resisted listening to horror stories about other peoples’ labours and continued to live merrily naive and convinced that it would all be OK.

And it was all OK. I had a fairly quick labour and didn’t need any intervention. But it hurt. Lots. I don’t think I was prepared for quite how much it would hurt.

Photo credit: Caroline Gue at CP Photography

This time around I’m going into it with my eyes open. It might sound silly, as I’m not even 20 weeks yet, but I’ve already started to think about the birth and make some decisions. People tell me all labours are different and my experience last time won’t necessarily be the same again, but my midwife also tells me to be prepared for a “speedy delivery”, just in case.  Continue reading »