The Hour

Giving birth for the first time can be a stressful experience and a lot of new mums to be can be fearful of what to expect during labour.

The Hour followed pregnant Laurene Mathers as she prepared for the birth of her first baby. Laurene and her partner Graham got all the new baby clothes washed and organised. At almost 39 weeks gone, Laurene’s waters broke on Saturday 18 June in the early hours of the morning, and by half past eight at night her contractions were becoming more painful. She said:

“I went to the hospital this morning and got assessed and I was only half a centimetre dilated. I’m starting to get contractions quite sore now but I can see this being a really, really long labour. It’s been quite an emotional day and I’ve cried quite a lot because I’m scared but I’m just really, really tired now and it’s just a waiting game.”

At 3am, more than 48 hours after her waters broke, Laurene and her husband Graham went to the hospital. By 10am Laurene was almost fully dilated. Graham said:

“I’m just trying to live off some caffeine, anything that’s going to get me through because it has been 38 hours now with no sleep and I just want to make sure that Laurene is okay. The hardest thing is feeling helpless, I just need to keep reassuring Laurene and letting her know that she’s doing a really, really good job.”

Both Graham and Laurene’s mums waited at the hospital for Laurene to give birth, and by 12 noon laurene was ready to start pushing. Her mum Jackie said:

“She refused the epidural and they’ve withheld the diamorphine for now so she’s wide awake, so she’s doing it all on gas and air, she’s doing well.”

After being in labour for almost 42 hours Laurene gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Cameron, on Sunday 19 June. It was the best Father’s Day present Graham could have asked for. He said:

“He [Cameron] put his mum through hell for 24 hours but he was well worth the wait when he turned up. He’s an absolute cracker.”

BABIES EVERYWHERE

• Follow Laurene as she throws a baby shower
• Antenatal classes can help expectant parents to relax