My partner was an absolute rockstar in the delivery room

Story by Luisa ( & Jacob)

Calmbirth made all the difference for myself and my partner, and how we navigated the final weeks, labour and birth of our first child!

I was extremely anxious in the lead up to my due date and found myself (rather obsessively) searching for guidance on how to be ‘prepared’ for birth.

I have always been very passionate about having a ‘natural’ birth and was certain that I didn’t want an epidural. Whilst I was strong in my views, I wasn’t so sure of myself and my ability to deliver naturally.

It is so wild that even though women’s bodies are built for birth, it causes us such tremendous fear and worry.

At around 36 weeks pregnant, I dragged my (not so keen) partner along to a two day course at Mittagong with the lovely Denise, as the educator.

By the end of it – I am pretty sure my partner was even more invested in the birth than I was!

There are many reasons why I loved the Calmbirth program: it was really well aligned with my values around natural birth and holistic pain remedies but took an informative/ physiological approach to understanding how birth works.

It gave you useful tools such as breathwork, accupressure and visualisation – these were so important as I spent 3 days labouring at home!

It was as focused on the birth partner’s role as it was on the mother themself – I felt a real shift in my partner’s awareness and involvement in my pregnancy after taking the class and he was an absolute rockstar in the delivery room.

Calmbirth was a safe space to be vulnerable about our fears around birth with other people who are feeling the exact same way. Calmbirth was the reasssurance I needed to head into my birth experience feeling confident and in control.

At 40+6 weeks pregnant, 7.5 hours of active labour and 70 hours after my first contraction started – I delivered my first baby!

Kora Jade Dematos, born on 26th June at 4.23am at Bowral Hospital. Weighing 3.03kg & measuring 48.5cm in length.

She was delivered by natural vaginal delivery with no intervention and only gas and half a shot of morphine to help with the pain.

I didn’t need any stitches and I thrived in the pushing stage of birth (this was ironically, the part I was most scared of). We both loved the birth experience so much that next time, my partner wants to help deliver our baby.

Thank you Denise and the Calmbirth program for playing such an integral role in myself and my partner’s birth experience.