What does it feel like to go back into labour knowing everything that went wrong the first time — and come out the other side feeling like you got your birth back? In this episode of British Birthing Stories, Mil returns to share the birth of her son Billy: an NHS birth centre water birth, a shoulder dystocia, and the most healing experience of her life.

After her first birth left her with a postpartum haemorrhage, a serious infection, birth trauma, and postnatal depression, Mil was determined to do things differently second time around. She switched hospitals, switched her birth plan from a list of preferences to a set of feelings — safe, heard, in control — and fought to be approved for a birth centre birth despite her history. What followed was a labour that started calmly, progressed quickly, and then threw one final curveball: Billy's shoulder got stuck, and the midwives hauled Mil out of the bath, laid her on the floor, and freed him in what she can only describe as a wrestling move. He was briefly given oxygen, then handed over screaming. She was stitched up in ten minutes and eating toast in a fairy-lit room while her husband fell asleep beside her.

She wrote the midwives a letter when she got home. She told them they had fixed something she hadn't realised was still broken.

In this episode we chat about:

• Switching hospitals after her first experience and fighting to be approved for a birth centre birth
• Going overdue at 41+1 and choosing induction after weeks of false starts and sweeps
• A positive induction experience — and how different it felt from the first time
• Labouring calmly in the birth centre with just a TENS machine and no pain relief for hours
• Waters breaking at 3pm and things progressing quickly from there
• Transition, vomiting, gas and air that didn't really help, and being 8.5cm without realising it
• A shoulder dystocia — and the midwife who hauled her out of the bath and onto the floor
• Billy needing a little oxygen before his first cry — and the relief when it came
• A first-degree tear, ten minutes of stitches, and being up walking within the hour
• The night and day difference in recovery compared to her episiotomy first time around
• Combo feeding second time around and how much it helped her mental health postpartum
• Writing the midwives a letter — and what she means when she says they gave her something back

Find Mil on Instagram and Tiktok

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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