Inspirational burns survivor Turia Pitt has revealed what happened on the day her baby boy was born.
In a lengthy newsletter to her followers, Turia shared the story of her son, Hakavai’s birthday.
‘I gave Hakavai exactly 40 weeks. At 40 weeks and one day, I thought “Okay mate, it’s time for you to come out and meet the world”.
‘So, I swam a kilometre, went for a bushwalk and went four wheel driving …. on a very bumpy road. Nada. ’ she wrote with trademark humour.
‘At 40 weeks and two days, I saw my chiropractor and got my pelvis aligned. I swam a kilometre. I went to an acupuncturist.
‘I made an eggplant parmigiana (I used a recipe touted all over the internet as the best labour inducing food out there – google ‘scalini’s eggplant parmigiana’ for the recipe).
‘Later, Mum and I were being silly on the couch, Michael was rolling his eyes at our shenanigans and out of nowhere, I did a massive fart and broke out in uncontrollable hysterical laughter. My waters broke too ,’ Turia revealed candidly.
‘Panicked, and excited and confused, I stopped laughing and said “Um, I think me water’s have broke!” Mum said (in a crazed, panicked tone): “Call the hospital! Get an ambulance! Go now!”’
Turia went on to say that her fiancé Michael was extremely calm – and while he called the hospital she got in the shower.
With hospital two hours away, the pair then began the drive up there.
‘I put on my Calmbirth meditation tracks, and despite water leaking out of me at what seemed like a torrid rate, I remained calm and positive,’ Turia shared.
‘I had minor contractions starting, and was able to just breathe through them. ’
When she got to the hospital she saw her obstetrician before putting on some music and getting out a ‘fitball’.
Turia said it was around 10pm when things began to ‘get pretty hectic and intense’.
‘The labour pains built in intensity, and just as I thought there was no way I’d get through the contraction, the wave would pass and I’d feel, no sh*t, completely normal!’ she wrote.
‘They never tell you this about labour but you actually get a bit of ‘downtime’ where you’re not in pain and you can talk rationally between contractions.’
Turia revealed she ‘laboured all through the night’ before having an epidural which allowed her to sleep for three hours.
‘My obstetrician woke me up, and said “You’re 10cms dilated girlie, it’s time for you to start doing some work”,’ Turia shared.
But despite her best efforts baby Hakavai wouldn’t come out – even though Turia could his head and ‘masses of black hair’.
Finally, the medics used a vacuum.
‘The first time it went on, it slipped off straight away, blood came spurting out and myobn looked flabbergasted ,’ Turia wrote candidly.
‘The second time, Hakavai slid right out and the sound of his cry filled the room.
‘He was perfect to me. They placed him on my chest and I started breastfeeding half an hour later. ’
Turia concluded by saying Michael cut the umbilical cord 10 minutes after the birth.
‘My obstetrician gave me a big wet kiss on the cheek and said “Congratulations!!!”. Then everyone left. And it was just me and you. Mother and son. I love you Hakavai.’
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