JENNIFER O’DWYER

Designer, Co-host of podcast, Mother of Pod, one child I was 10 days over, and my mum decided that a long walk was what was needed. So we took off towards the hospital. We got there, and the induction process took a hold. It was a nightmare. It’s like your body isn’t designed for it, you need time to get to the stages. Contractions come tight and fast. I felt I was dying. I couldn’t believe how bad it was.

They put me in the pre-labour ward. I was completely naked, because the feeling of clothes against my skin was too much. I was 10 centimetres dilated, but nobody had checked me, possibly nobody wanted to come near me because I was so out of control. But I knew something was happening. Eventually, they said “get her upstairs now”. They put the epidural in and everything changed. I was able to talk again. They said, start trying to push. I said “I think I’m pushing, I’m not sure, I need a mirror. If I can see what’s going on, I can isolate the pushing”. A midwife held the mirror. That was an eye-opener. It was like a David Attenborough film. I did the whole Kardashian thing, pulling him out myself. I got his head out and the body sort of slithered out.