The Partners View by Upside Mum
Guest Series

The Partner’s View – Upside Mum

This week on The Partner’s View I’m excited to introduce Emma from Upside Mum, and her husband who provides us with a very dramatic birth story involving Emma being airlifted to hospital when their Son decided to make an early arrival. Emma’s husband tells us of story of being prepared for anything to happen. Have a read below.

What were your thoughts and feelings leading up to the birth of your child?

We were both looking forward to having our first child. We had found out the gender at the 20 week scan to help us decide on names. I wasn’t bothered either way but was happy to find out we were expecting a boy. We had nieces and nephews, so thought we knew what to expect.

As a birth partner, how did you prepare for the birth?

I worked shifts in my job and lived away at the time we were expecting, so Emma went to most ante-natal classes with her mum. I did go to one (the one with the positions and the breathing) and it was more than enough! I made sure we had a plan in place for getting to the hospital when it all kicked off (though it turns out our son had an entirely different plan and arrived early!)

Tell us a little about your partners birth?

It was all a little dramatic. We were on an island off the coast of Scotland when our son decided to make his early arrival. Emma had to be airlifted to hospital on the mainland and I wasn’t allowed to go along. I had to wait for the boat and make my own way. It was quite scary. Emma was upset at having to go alone and was worried I wouldn’t catch up on time and would miss the birth. I was too but couldn’t say, as it wouldn’t have helped things. The wait for the boat seemed liked an eternity and when I reached the mainland I discovered lots of closed roads for the Pope’s visit to Glasgow and had to make a few detours! When I finally arrived at the hospital I was glad that my mother in law had been able to come along to support Emma but alarmed at the dips in our baby’s heart rate. These kept happening and eventually Emma was rushed to theatre for an emergency c-section. I had to gown up and wait outside until I was told I could come in. It felt like ages and I began to wonder if they had forgotten about me. They did come though and I was able to take my camera in and capture some wonderful photographs of the very special moment.

What were you most afraid of during your partner’s birth?

I was really concerned by the heart rate dips. They kept getting worse, more frequent and lasting for longer each time. I wanted them to do the c-section long before they did. I was worried we could lose our baby and just wanted it all to be ok.

What was the best and most positive part of your partners birth?

The best part was holding our boy for the first time and it was even more special that I was allowed to take my camera in to capture the moment. Photography is a hobby of mine and it all added to the experience and gave us lots of treasured photos and memories to keep.

How did you support your partner and baby after the birth?

I was at the hospital from when we were allowed in each morning until kicking out time at night. The days after J’s birth were very fraught and he was really unwell, ending up in intensive care and special care. Emma and I supported each other through this, strangely when one of us was feeling the strain the other was strong enough to keep them going. I don’t know how we managed through those days and cans out the other side!

What advice would you give to a birthing partner?

Keep calm, be prepared and know that babies don’t do what you expect. Be prepared for anything and everything.

A little bit about Emma

“Hi, I’m Emma. This story from my husband is about the birth of our first child J who was diagnosed with ASD aged 3 after a very traumatic birth and being unwell afterwards. I’m also mum to B (4) and W (11 months). We live in Scotland. I’m a primary school teacher and work full time. I started my blog to help me deal with my feelings about what has happened in our life since J’s birth, our experiences and my thoughts. It has changed and evolved a lot since then and whilst it’s still about these things, it also reflects our lives as they are today and includes so much more than just our experiences of autism. I’ve found blogging therapeutic and have enjoyed reading the experiences of others too.”

The Partners View Upside Mum

You can find Emma on her blog, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Pinterest and on Instagram.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. If you would you like to take part in my guest series, then drop me an email at thepramshedblog@gmail.com

Claire x

The Pramshed

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