Michaela's Story February 2023
"the doctor did not manage to arrive on time for her birth..."
Hello Kate,
We are delighted to inform you that our little baby girl was born after a smooth 8 hour-journey.
My water broke at around midnight, so we had to go to the hospital "immediately" (we tried to stay calm and took our time and so arrived there only at 2 am). Unfortunately, we did not have our birth proposal ready, but because we asked to use the "nature room" with the birth pool and a double-size bed, the midwives knew we wanted a natural birth and intervened as little as possible.
We then spent most of the upstage part of labour lying and cuddling on the bed, listening to relaxations and (me) concentrating on my breathing and probably dozing off from time to time. At around 6.30, I felt the surges were becoming stronger so I went into the pool. The warmth of the water relieved the pain and slowed down the surges for a few minutes but they continued soon and after a little while I knew it was time for the baby to be born. I did not feel entirely comfortable in the pool, so I agreed to go out and do the last bit on land, which I then was, kneeling on a mattress in front of the bed (with the upper part of my body on the bed). It all went very quickly then and at 8:12 out little baby girl M was born (the doctor did not manage to arrive on time for her birth).
While the last part was challenging, it was overall a good experience and also the midwives afterwards said it was a beautiful birth :)
We are delighted to inform you that our little baby girl was born after a smooth 8 hour-journey.
My water broke at around midnight, so we had to go to the hospital "immediately" (we tried to stay calm and took our time and so arrived there only at 2 am). Unfortunately, we did not have our birth proposal ready, but because we asked to use the "nature room" with the birth pool and a double-size bed, the midwives knew we wanted a natural birth and intervened as little as possible.
We then spent most of the upstage part of labour lying and cuddling on the bed, listening to relaxations and (me) concentrating on my breathing and probably dozing off from time to time. At around 6.30, I felt the surges were becoming stronger so I went into the pool. The warmth of the water relieved the pain and slowed down the surges for a few minutes but they continued soon and after a little while I knew it was time for the baby to be born. I did not feel entirely comfortable in the pool, so I agreed to go out and do the last bit on land, which I then was, kneeling on a mattress in front of the bed (with the upper part of my body on the bed). It all went very quickly then and at 8:12 out little baby girl M was born (the doctor did not manage to arrive on time for her birth).
While the last part was challenging, it was overall a good experience and also the midwives afterwards said it was a beautiful birth :)
Janine's Story September 2022
Hypnobirthing - when the plan goes out the window
I really did not think we would make it (vaginal delivery) and hypnobirthing was certainly a huge contributor to us coping with a labour and delivery that did not go according to my plans.
Dear Kate
I just wanted to send you the story of the birth of our daughter Emily. It certainly won’t be the “typical” or “example” hypnobirthing story but hope that the differences in our experience may let others see how hypnobirthing can help them too, particularly in those who choose/must have a hospital delivery.
As you know being a medical professional, I decided early on that a hospital delivery was going to be better for me. Despite the advantages of home birth, with my knowledge (and anxiety), the hospital setting was our preference.
Despite this, I was interested in what hypnobirthing could offer. Knowing all the medical options I was keen to explore more regarding the mind-body connection and how this could help us bring Emily safely and calmly into the world.
At the beginning of the course we had to give some ideas of what we did not want for our birth experience. And many of those ended up happening to me. Despite this, hypnobirthing was a great way to keep calm during the whole process, which was a bit of a rollercoaster. Some more details of the story…
I had started my hypnobirthing preparation around 32/3 weeks. I had completed the course and was doing my mostly daily preparations and had plans to focus more on this when my maternity leave started at 37 weeks. However, Emily had other plans when my water broke at 36 weeks and 4 days at 1am, 2 days before my maternity leave started. Initially I was shocked, I really did not think she would come early. But I played some relaxations, took a bath and managed to get some rest before deciding to go to hospital.
In hospital they confirmed my membranes had ruptured and as Emily was doing well we decided to wait for spontaneous labour to begin. So with nervous excitement we got comfortable in our labour suite. However, nature had other plans and despite some small initial contractions my labour did not become established. However, through this we used the relaxations to remain calm and the affirmations helped to remain positive and get some rest. We had our play list ready and movies/series ready that kept us occupied and focus on something else.
After 24 hours we decided it was best to start induction as my membranes had been ruptured more than 24 hours. My body responded all be it slowly. Again we used the relaxations to remain calm and focussed. As I developed contractions the up breathing and visualisations were so helpful and I felt I had an effective way to cope with the changes as they were happening.
Again my progress was slow, so we decided to start oxytocin. They built up the dose and I managed for a good 2.5 hours to cope with these contractions using the hypnobirthing methods. After that they became more intense and as my progress was still slow I got an epidural as I knew it would increase the chance of me delivering vaginally in these circumstances. There were two occasions where Emily was starting to become distressed so we took a break from the oxytocin, but then my contractions would decrease and progress was slowed.
At this point I was feeling down and despondent. Alistair immediately stepped in reading the birth affirmations, playing relaxing music and making sure I was also hydrated and fed during the whole process. I really felt the course had given him confidence to actively help me during the more challenging periods. We had so many tools available to us to manage the ups and downs of this whole process.
Twice during the whole birth process I was convinced the doctors would recommend a Caesarean section. Then we would have an unexpected positive change and finally Emily was born 17 September 8h14 (after being admitted on the 15th around 11h00).
I really did not think we would make it (vaginal delivery) and hypnobirthing was certainly a huge contributor to us coping with a labour and delivery that did not go according to my plans. Thank you for a wonderful course and all your guidance! Much appreciated. The midwives even asked about it as they said how calm I had been and some had seen my book, so hope it will spark some interest in the hospital too!
I just wanted to send you the story of the birth of our daughter Emily. It certainly won’t be the “typical” or “example” hypnobirthing story but hope that the differences in our experience may let others see how hypnobirthing can help them too, particularly in those who choose/must have a hospital delivery.
As you know being a medical professional, I decided early on that a hospital delivery was going to be better for me. Despite the advantages of home birth, with my knowledge (and anxiety), the hospital setting was our preference.
Despite this, I was interested in what hypnobirthing could offer. Knowing all the medical options I was keen to explore more regarding the mind-body connection and how this could help us bring Emily safely and calmly into the world.
At the beginning of the course we had to give some ideas of what we did not want for our birth experience. And many of those ended up happening to me. Despite this, hypnobirthing was a great way to keep calm during the whole process, which was a bit of a rollercoaster. Some more details of the story…
I had started my hypnobirthing preparation around 32/3 weeks. I had completed the course and was doing my mostly daily preparations and had plans to focus more on this when my maternity leave started at 37 weeks. However, Emily had other plans when my water broke at 36 weeks and 4 days at 1am, 2 days before my maternity leave started. Initially I was shocked, I really did not think she would come early. But I played some relaxations, took a bath and managed to get some rest before deciding to go to hospital.
In hospital they confirmed my membranes had ruptured and as Emily was doing well we decided to wait for spontaneous labour to begin. So with nervous excitement we got comfortable in our labour suite. However, nature had other plans and despite some small initial contractions my labour did not become established. However, through this we used the relaxations to remain calm and the affirmations helped to remain positive and get some rest. We had our play list ready and movies/series ready that kept us occupied and focus on something else.
After 24 hours we decided it was best to start induction as my membranes had been ruptured more than 24 hours. My body responded all be it slowly. Again we used the relaxations to remain calm and focussed. As I developed contractions the up breathing and visualisations were so helpful and I felt I had an effective way to cope with the changes as they were happening.
Again my progress was slow, so we decided to start oxytocin. They built up the dose and I managed for a good 2.5 hours to cope with these contractions using the hypnobirthing methods. After that they became more intense and as my progress was still slow I got an epidural as I knew it would increase the chance of me delivering vaginally in these circumstances. There were two occasions where Emily was starting to become distressed so we took a break from the oxytocin, but then my contractions would decrease and progress was slowed.
At this point I was feeling down and despondent. Alistair immediately stepped in reading the birth affirmations, playing relaxing music and making sure I was also hydrated and fed during the whole process. I really felt the course had given him confidence to actively help me during the more challenging periods. We had so many tools available to us to manage the ups and downs of this whole process.
Twice during the whole birth process I was convinced the doctors would recommend a Caesarean section. Then we would have an unexpected positive change and finally Emily was born 17 September 8h14 (after being admitted on the 15th around 11h00).
I really did not think we would make it (vaginal delivery) and hypnobirthing was certainly a huge contributor to us coping with a labour and delivery that did not go according to my plans. Thank you for a wonderful course and all your guidance! Much appreciated. The midwives even asked about it as they said how calm I had been and some had seen my book, so hope it will spark some interest in the hospital too!
Sarah's Story July 2022
Hypnobirthing and Induction of Labour
..........and I couldn't have done it without hypnobirthing techniques.
I had a really good pregnancy, and at 39+6 I had an OB appointment where I was 1cm dilated and my cervix was soft but it was still very long, but by 40 weeks there was still no sign of baby coming. I had monitoring appointments at the hospital to check baby's heart rate and contractions, at 40+2 and 40+4, and both appointments showed baby was happy. The day after the second appointment my OB called to discuss induction options and asked if I was happy to be booked in for an induction at 41 weeks - to which I said yes (my preference was always to wait until 41 weeks minimum before being induced, to give myself as much time to go into labour naturally, which was my hope). At 40+6 I had another monitoring appointment which went well, and my OB did a vaginal examination afterwards. I was 3cm dilated but my cervix was still long and baby was high up, and he asked if I wanted a stretch and sweep and I said yes. I was slowly losing my mucus plug and had seen bits of bloody show, and I hadn't had any surges at this point, but after the S&S I started having mild surges every 30 minutes or so.
Nothing happened overnight apart from some mild surges but they eased by the morning, and that morning my husband and I went to hospital to the delivery ward to be induced. I was put into a room and hooked up to the monitors again for around 1.5 hours, before changing rooms to one with a bath and mobile monitoring equipment when I said I didn't plan on having an epidural (although I wasn't against it, I just wanted to see how far I could go without it). I started having some mild surges again every 15 minutes and the midwife did a vaginal examination before starting the induction and I was at 4cm, so at 11am the midwife began the induction with syntocinon and put it on the lowest setting. At this point I was feeling fine and happy, I was doing what I could to produce my own oxytocin - doing crosswords with my husband, listening to my labour playlist, nibbling on little snacks, sipping water. I also walked up and down the room, did hip circles on the pilates ball, or just generally moved however it felt good at the time. Once the surges got a bit stronger I started to implement the up breathing techniques, and while I didn't listen to any of the affirmations/scripts throughout my labour, because I listened to them daily beforehand parts of them that resonated popped into my mind with each surge - particularly 'each surge brings my baby closer to me', 'soften' and 'let go'. My husband also started doing soft touch up and down my back and shoulders which really helped too.
About 1.5hrs in, I had stopped talking and really focused on my breathing and resting during the breaks between the surges, I was checked again and was 6-7cm dilated. Shortly after the check I felt what I thought was a badly timed big kick from baby in the middle of a big surge, but what was actually my waters breaking! We brought the midwives back in and they said I was progressing quite quickly so they started getting their equipment ready. About an hour later I started feeling the need to push and some more pressure, and at this point the surges were getting very strong. I had spent the entire time standing or sitting, and this was when it was explained to me that I should try going on my side on the bed to bring baby down a bit quicker. I decided that I would try, and it was certainly more intense but things progressed very quickly from there. I was so in the zone, and had started doing primal grunting/mooing sounds. I think this was when I was in the transition phase, even though I didn't have the energy to say anything my mind was having a battle with itself; I didn't know how I was going to do it, and I was on the verge of tears but I told myself 'no, don't cry, you know that will be the point you'll ask for pain relief and you've gone this far without it!'. So I kept breathing, mooing, etc. and my husband was amazing the whole time doing gentle touch on my arms, telling me how amazing I was doing. Very quickly it was time to push, and I chose to be on my back to push. It was the most intense time but after three surges baby Lachlan was out - totaling 3 hours from when I was induced to holding Lachlan in my arms. We had a beautiful 1.5 hours together as a family before he was weighed and measured, and we were moved to the maternity ward. He was 3.92kg and 53cm long. I had a few stitches but otherwise felt super proud of myself for getting through it the way I wanted, and I couldn't have done it without hypnobirthing techniques.
Nothing happened overnight apart from some mild surges but they eased by the morning, and that morning my husband and I went to hospital to the delivery ward to be induced. I was put into a room and hooked up to the monitors again for around 1.5 hours, before changing rooms to one with a bath and mobile monitoring equipment when I said I didn't plan on having an epidural (although I wasn't against it, I just wanted to see how far I could go without it). I started having some mild surges again every 15 minutes and the midwife did a vaginal examination before starting the induction and I was at 4cm, so at 11am the midwife began the induction with syntocinon and put it on the lowest setting. At this point I was feeling fine and happy, I was doing what I could to produce my own oxytocin - doing crosswords with my husband, listening to my labour playlist, nibbling on little snacks, sipping water. I also walked up and down the room, did hip circles on the pilates ball, or just generally moved however it felt good at the time. Once the surges got a bit stronger I started to implement the up breathing techniques, and while I didn't listen to any of the affirmations/scripts throughout my labour, because I listened to them daily beforehand parts of them that resonated popped into my mind with each surge - particularly 'each surge brings my baby closer to me', 'soften' and 'let go'. My husband also started doing soft touch up and down my back and shoulders which really helped too.
About 1.5hrs in, I had stopped talking and really focused on my breathing and resting during the breaks between the surges, I was checked again and was 6-7cm dilated. Shortly after the check I felt what I thought was a badly timed big kick from baby in the middle of a big surge, but what was actually my waters breaking! We brought the midwives back in and they said I was progressing quite quickly so they started getting their equipment ready. About an hour later I started feeling the need to push and some more pressure, and at this point the surges were getting very strong. I had spent the entire time standing or sitting, and this was when it was explained to me that I should try going on my side on the bed to bring baby down a bit quicker. I decided that I would try, and it was certainly more intense but things progressed very quickly from there. I was so in the zone, and had started doing primal grunting/mooing sounds. I think this was when I was in the transition phase, even though I didn't have the energy to say anything my mind was having a battle with itself; I didn't know how I was going to do it, and I was on the verge of tears but I told myself 'no, don't cry, you know that will be the point you'll ask for pain relief and you've gone this far without it!'. So I kept breathing, mooing, etc. and my husband was amazing the whole time doing gentle touch on my arms, telling me how amazing I was doing. Very quickly it was time to push, and I chose to be on my back to push. It was the most intense time but after three surges baby Lachlan was out - totaling 3 hours from when I was induced to holding Lachlan in my arms. We had a beautiful 1.5 hours together as a family before he was weighed and measured, and we were moved to the maternity ward. He was 3.92kg and 53cm long. I had a few stitches but otherwise felt super proud of myself for getting through it the way I wanted, and I couldn't have done it without hypnobirthing techniques.
Francesca's Story March 2022
Dear Kate,
I finally got a bit of time to write to you. I wanted to let you know that our sweet Ellen was born on 12 March and that we are all well.
The delivery went smoothly. Thinking about it now, the first, mild contractions may have started already in the evening of the 11th but I did not realise that at the time. I went to bed and woke up around 5am with some pain. It took me a bit to realise it was contractions as I also felt the need to go to the toilet often and at first I thought it could just be constipation. At some point I woke Mark up and we started to do some of the breathing + positions to help me relax during contractions. We also used one of the hypnobirthing audios and I think this all helped to keep me relaxed and to ease the pain. We decided to go to the hospital around 8am. It was Saturday, so luckily there was no traffic and we got there in less than 30min. I was doubting whether they would keep us in as I was sure I was not dilated yet. However, I was wrong: when they visited me, I was 2cm dilated, so we stayed and they prepared the delivery room for us. After two hours I was 4cm dilated and two hours later it went up to 6cm. For me it felt like the longest time, but the midwives told us that I was going very fast.
Since we had given the midwives our birth plan, they knew we had been preparing with hypnobirthing and that we wanted to try to have a physiological birth. They have been very helpful and supportive, always encouraging and speaking with a low tone of voice. When I got to 6cm, they simply informed us that we had three options: continue as we were doing, the rupture of the membranes or using epidural. We decided to continue like this, although I was getting very tired, I throw up a couple of times and in the pauses between contractions I was sort of falling asleep. An hour later I was 9cm dilated and from there everything went very fast: the gynaecologist came in, and after two or three big and painful pushes, Ellen was out and in my chest.
I’m very happy of how it all went. I feel that the relaxation techniques have helped me control the pain and gave me the confidence to believe that I could do it without epidural. 😊
Thanks again for the training. It has been very helpful for both me and Mark, who - by the way - has been a fantastic support for me throughout labour also thanks to the training we did.
Best,
Francesca
I finally got a bit of time to write to you. I wanted to let you know that our sweet Ellen was born on 12 March and that we are all well.
The delivery went smoothly. Thinking about it now, the first, mild contractions may have started already in the evening of the 11th but I did not realise that at the time. I went to bed and woke up around 5am with some pain. It took me a bit to realise it was contractions as I also felt the need to go to the toilet often and at first I thought it could just be constipation. At some point I woke Mark up and we started to do some of the breathing + positions to help me relax during contractions. We also used one of the hypnobirthing audios and I think this all helped to keep me relaxed and to ease the pain. We decided to go to the hospital around 8am. It was Saturday, so luckily there was no traffic and we got there in less than 30min. I was doubting whether they would keep us in as I was sure I was not dilated yet. However, I was wrong: when they visited me, I was 2cm dilated, so we stayed and they prepared the delivery room for us. After two hours I was 4cm dilated and two hours later it went up to 6cm. For me it felt like the longest time, but the midwives told us that I was going very fast.
Since we had given the midwives our birth plan, they knew we had been preparing with hypnobirthing and that we wanted to try to have a physiological birth. They have been very helpful and supportive, always encouraging and speaking with a low tone of voice. When I got to 6cm, they simply informed us that we had three options: continue as we were doing, the rupture of the membranes or using epidural. We decided to continue like this, although I was getting very tired, I throw up a couple of times and in the pauses between contractions I was sort of falling asleep. An hour later I was 9cm dilated and from there everything went very fast: the gynaecologist came in, and after two or three big and painful pushes, Ellen was out and in my chest.
I’m very happy of how it all went. I feel that the relaxation techniques have helped me control the pain and gave me the confidence to believe that I could do it without epidural. 😊
Thanks again for the training. It has been very helpful for both me and Mark, who - by the way - has been a fantastic support for me throughout labour also thanks to the training we did.
Best,
Francesca
"The online hypnobirthing classes with Kate were great. We learnt all about hypnobirthing and discussed how we ideally wanted the birth to go. We also learnt a lot about the physical side to birth, which we didn’t know before as we hadn’t completed any prenatal courses with our first child. I particularly enjoyed practising the relaxation techniques, it helped me to unwind at the end of a long day and focus on preparing for the birth."
Colette's Birth February 2021
Thank you Elizabeth and Sander for sharing the birth of your daughter Colette.
Hi Kate,
Yesterday marked 6 weeks since Sander and I first held Colette in our arms. I have to say - I think we have been very lucky with a baby who is calm most of the time, and I believe that part of that comes from the fact that we had a peaceful pregnancy and delivery, which was reinforced by the hypnobirthing course we took with you.
I’d like to tell you more about the delivery itself, as that is where the benefits from the hypnobirthing course are most evident.
Prior to labor, I was very curious about what surges would feel like. The common wisdom I heard from most I spoke with was, “You’ll know when you have contractions.”
Looking back, I did not know that the first surges I had were in fact signs that Colette wanted to make her way out into the world. Though I did not realize it at the time, they started at around 8:00 p.m. three days after my Valentine’s Day due date. I started having some of my lower abdominal muscles tightening in a way that I had not experienced before. I became excited hoping that just maybe these were the first signs of labor, but thinking more rationally that since this was my first pregnancy that it is most likely my body just practicing for the real thing. Since the common wisdom was that I would know if they were contractions and I was not sure, I figured that I should not get too excited. I also recalled an excerpt from Ina May’s book in which she wrote that she advises first-time moms who start having contractions in the evening to have a glass of wine and go to bed, since usually the real action takes so long to begin and it’s better to have a good night’s rest for when that happens.
Since it was only 8:00 p.m., it was too early for me to fall asleep and I was not in the mood for having a glass of wine, so Sander and I starting watching one of our favorite TV shows to pass the time. The tightening of my muscles was happening rather frequently, so around 9:00 p.m. I decided to take a shower, which is supposed to be a test of whether surges are real or not - if they are Braxton-Hicks contractions then they should go away after.
But, once I got out of a long shower, I realized that the surges were happening more frequently rather than less. Plus, I started to have a few more signs of labor - namely, I began to vomit and have diarrhea. With these factors taken into consideration, I began to think that labor was starting, so around 10:30 p.m. I started to use an app to monitor the frequency of my lower abdominal muscles tightening.
At that point, Sander and I went to bed to try to relax. He created a calm environment and was holding me and stroking my back. I felt quite mellow even as my belly tightened and released. I thought of the imagery you told us during the course, of roses coming into bloom and hot air balloons rising. I started imagining the muscles of my uterus opening up and thinking that this is what my body is designed to do.
During the course we spoke about fears we had during delivery, and it wasn’t until I was in this moment that I realized a big fear of mine was getting to the hospital and having to go back home because I was not actually in labor.
So it wasn’t 1:00 a.m., until my tummy tightened every 5 minutes for 60 seconds, that I had enough conviction to call the hospital to see if it was appropriate for me to go in. The midwife I spoke with seemed a bit hesitant to give the go-ahead based on my timeline, but agreed it was best if I came in so that she could check for herself.
Sander collected the last few things we would need for a hospital stay, and we jumped into an Uber to head to Delta. While I was in the car, I became quite distracted and realized my surges stopped.
Then, another fear entered my mind that maybe labor would be reversed once I was out of my comfortable environment, so I simply closed my eyes and imagined the muscles of my uterus opening up, and immediately I had more surges. It was definitely a moment that gives proof of the principle of mind over matter.
We checked in and a midwife guided us to a delivery room. She hooked up various machines to monitor my blood pressure and contractions. The screen showing contractions showed that nothing was happening even though I had sensations in my lower abs. I then thought, “Well, this is it. We’ll be sent home soon.”
But instead, a moment later, I felt a big gush of liquid between my legs. My water had broken so I called the midwife back. After cleaning up a bit, she checked and saw I was 4 cm dilated. She started to run a bath, and Sander went around the room to make the environment cozier, such as dimming the lights and covering me with blankets and pillows. I jumped in the bath and Sander was there next to me, stroking my arm as I closed my eyes to imagine my body opening up.
After about 20 minutes I needed to get out of the bath to go to the toilet. At this point, it was difficult to be out of the water and come to terms with the force of gravity. I laid down on a bench in the room once I was out of the bathroom instead of going back into the bathtub - I had reached a new level of sensation that was much more intense and I didn’t want to have reckon with the difficulty of the no-gravity to gravity switch again.
My natural reaction was to begin moaning as these new sensations came, and Sander picked up that this could be entering a new phase of labor and called the midwife to come back into the room. She checked and I was already at 9 cm - just an hour and a half after she had previously checked. She jumped into action to call my doctor, and took the precaution to call in another midwife in case the baby would arrive before the doctor could make it to the room in time.
I was helped onto the delivery bed and from there I felt Colette start to arrive. Supported and encouraged by Sander, the two midwives, and my doctor, who arrived just in time, I felt surges and knew instinctively that it was the moment to “push out the coconut’ as my physical therapist described it.
A few loud moans and down breaths later, Sander and I got to meet our baby for the first time. She was much softer and more alert than I imagined she’d be. The three of us held each other as the midwives and doctor continued to do what they needed to do. We had a wonderful first moment as a newly formed family.
As you can tell, we used many of the techniques from the hypnobirthing course during these 8 hours and I am convinced they helped to make the experience empowering and positive. We were able to maintain a calm environment as we went to the maternity ward to recover and as we came home.
More importantly, the course helped to give Sander and me a framework to discuss what we would and wouldn’t like and ensure we’re on the same page.
Thank you again for introducing us to hypnobirthing and I hope you can share this with many other couples in the future to de-bunk the myth that childbirth is difficult and painful and instead can be empowering and calm.
With warm regards,
Elizabeth
Yesterday marked 6 weeks since Sander and I first held Colette in our arms. I have to say - I think we have been very lucky with a baby who is calm most of the time, and I believe that part of that comes from the fact that we had a peaceful pregnancy and delivery, which was reinforced by the hypnobirthing course we took with you.
I’d like to tell you more about the delivery itself, as that is where the benefits from the hypnobirthing course are most evident.
Prior to labor, I was very curious about what surges would feel like. The common wisdom I heard from most I spoke with was, “You’ll know when you have contractions.”
Looking back, I did not know that the first surges I had were in fact signs that Colette wanted to make her way out into the world. Though I did not realize it at the time, they started at around 8:00 p.m. three days after my Valentine’s Day due date. I started having some of my lower abdominal muscles tightening in a way that I had not experienced before. I became excited hoping that just maybe these were the first signs of labor, but thinking more rationally that since this was my first pregnancy that it is most likely my body just practicing for the real thing. Since the common wisdom was that I would know if they were contractions and I was not sure, I figured that I should not get too excited. I also recalled an excerpt from Ina May’s book in which she wrote that she advises first-time moms who start having contractions in the evening to have a glass of wine and go to bed, since usually the real action takes so long to begin and it’s better to have a good night’s rest for when that happens.
Since it was only 8:00 p.m., it was too early for me to fall asleep and I was not in the mood for having a glass of wine, so Sander and I starting watching one of our favorite TV shows to pass the time. The tightening of my muscles was happening rather frequently, so around 9:00 p.m. I decided to take a shower, which is supposed to be a test of whether surges are real or not - if they are Braxton-Hicks contractions then they should go away after.
But, once I got out of a long shower, I realized that the surges were happening more frequently rather than less. Plus, I started to have a few more signs of labor - namely, I began to vomit and have diarrhea. With these factors taken into consideration, I began to think that labor was starting, so around 10:30 p.m. I started to use an app to monitor the frequency of my lower abdominal muscles tightening.
At that point, Sander and I went to bed to try to relax. He created a calm environment and was holding me and stroking my back. I felt quite mellow even as my belly tightened and released. I thought of the imagery you told us during the course, of roses coming into bloom and hot air balloons rising. I started imagining the muscles of my uterus opening up and thinking that this is what my body is designed to do.
During the course we spoke about fears we had during delivery, and it wasn’t until I was in this moment that I realized a big fear of mine was getting to the hospital and having to go back home because I was not actually in labor.
So it wasn’t 1:00 a.m., until my tummy tightened every 5 minutes for 60 seconds, that I had enough conviction to call the hospital to see if it was appropriate for me to go in. The midwife I spoke with seemed a bit hesitant to give the go-ahead based on my timeline, but agreed it was best if I came in so that she could check for herself.
Sander collected the last few things we would need for a hospital stay, and we jumped into an Uber to head to Delta. While I was in the car, I became quite distracted and realized my surges stopped.
Then, another fear entered my mind that maybe labor would be reversed once I was out of my comfortable environment, so I simply closed my eyes and imagined the muscles of my uterus opening up, and immediately I had more surges. It was definitely a moment that gives proof of the principle of mind over matter.
We checked in and a midwife guided us to a delivery room. She hooked up various machines to monitor my blood pressure and contractions. The screen showing contractions showed that nothing was happening even though I had sensations in my lower abs. I then thought, “Well, this is it. We’ll be sent home soon.”
But instead, a moment later, I felt a big gush of liquid between my legs. My water had broken so I called the midwife back. After cleaning up a bit, she checked and saw I was 4 cm dilated. She started to run a bath, and Sander went around the room to make the environment cozier, such as dimming the lights and covering me with blankets and pillows. I jumped in the bath and Sander was there next to me, stroking my arm as I closed my eyes to imagine my body opening up.
After about 20 minutes I needed to get out of the bath to go to the toilet. At this point, it was difficult to be out of the water and come to terms with the force of gravity. I laid down on a bench in the room once I was out of the bathroom instead of going back into the bathtub - I had reached a new level of sensation that was much more intense and I didn’t want to have reckon with the difficulty of the no-gravity to gravity switch again.
My natural reaction was to begin moaning as these new sensations came, and Sander picked up that this could be entering a new phase of labor and called the midwife to come back into the room. She checked and I was already at 9 cm - just an hour and a half after she had previously checked. She jumped into action to call my doctor, and took the precaution to call in another midwife in case the baby would arrive before the doctor could make it to the room in time.
I was helped onto the delivery bed and from there I felt Colette start to arrive. Supported and encouraged by Sander, the two midwives, and my doctor, who arrived just in time, I felt surges and knew instinctively that it was the moment to “push out the coconut’ as my physical therapist described it.
A few loud moans and down breaths later, Sander and I got to meet our baby for the first time. She was much softer and more alert than I imagined she’d be. The three of us held each other as the midwives and doctor continued to do what they needed to do. We had a wonderful first moment as a newly formed family.
As you can tell, we used many of the techniques from the hypnobirthing course during these 8 hours and I am convinced they helped to make the experience empowering and positive. We were able to maintain a calm environment as we went to the maternity ward to recover and as we came home.
More importantly, the course helped to give Sander and me a framework to discuss what we would and wouldn’t like and ensure we’re on the same page.
Thank you again for introducing us to hypnobirthing and I hope you can share this with many other couples in the future to de-bunk the myth that childbirth is difficult and painful and instead can be empowering and calm.
With warm regards,
Elizabeth
"Whilst it was not according to our plan, this experience reminded us that things can be even more extraordinary than we imagined, especially when you trust in nature."
Louisa’s Birth March 2021
Thank you Cindy and Vincent for sharing the story of Louisa's birth!
Well, we didn’t have to wait long for Louisa to join our family! She was born 06/03 at 5:08am weighing 3,37kg and measuring 50,5cm.
Things progressed very fast. On the evening of 05/03 at 9:30pm I went to bed early as I was having issues with sinuses (Ongoing issue throughout pregnancy) and not long after I started to have some regular surges and within an hour my waters had broken. My surges were about 3 mins apart. I was managing everything very well and when we arrived at the hospital after midnight I was totally surprised to find I was already 6cm dilated as it still felt like I was only having period-like cramps. We had to be tested again for covid, which was annoying as that meant we had to wait for the results before they allowed us into the “natural” delivery room. Louisa’s heart rate was considered a bit too high so I had to have continuous monitoring for 30 mins and was restricted to the bed and continued with the audios and upper breathing.
After our negative results we moved to the natural room and I was given roaming monitoring so I could move, sway, squat and use the exercise ball. However, I could not use the bath due to the consistent monitoring the baby needed as her heartbeat had not gone down much. As soon as I entered this beautiful dark space I went into transition very quickly and not long after, the urge to push come over me. From this point onwards, I couldn’t say if the audios were still playing - animal instinct took over. We tried a few positions but in the end I birthed Louisa standing up, holding onto a rope from the ceiling for support. The pushing was involuntary and I couldn’t not stop to think about breathing down even though I tried. Today I am certainly feeling the effects in my upper body! So basically labour was less than 5 hours from when I arrived at the hospital.
Louisa came out screaming, very much unlike those Hypnobirthing babies I saw in the videos ;) However, her temperament since is indeed much calmer compared to her sister and even Vincent remarked how easy it feels this time around as we’ve been able to snooze while she sleeps.
We were lucky to have a golden 2 hours in the delivery room with lots of skin to skin contact. Apparently it’s the normal in this room at St Elisabeth.
I’m not sure if I had mentioned it to you but an ultrasound had shown that I had a marginal cord insertion of my placenta. So, I was not able to birth it naturally as the risk of bleeding is too high. I was able to inspect it afterwards, which was cool!
The midwives and my OBGYN have all been super impressed that I did not use an epidural. The intern assisting the midwife told me it was her first non-medicated delivery she had witnessed.
Thanks so much for introducing me into the world of Hypnobirthing and your support these last few weeks. My husband remains in awe of what he witnessed. He was a huge help with his touch and back massages and the midwives remarked how happy they were to see such a supportive partner.
I’ve used the recordings of Vincent as White noise for Louisa when things become too quiet for her and it works really well :-)
Things progressed very fast. On the evening of 05/03 at 9:30pm I went to bed early as I was having issues with sinuses (Ongoing issue throughout pregnancy) and not long after I started to have some regular surges and within an hour my waters had broken. My surges were about 3 mins apart. I was managing everything very well and when we arrived at the hospital after midnight I was totally surprised to find I was already 6cm dilated as it still felt like I was only having period-like cramps. We had to be tested again for covid, which was annoying as that meant we had to wait for the results before they allowed us into the “natural” delivery room. Louisa’s heart rate was considered a bit too high so I had to have continuous monitoring for 30 mins and was restricted to the bed and continued with the audios and upper breathing.
After our negative results we moved to the natural room and I was given roaming monitoring so I could move, sway, squat and use the exercise ball. However, I could not use the bath due to the consistent monitoring the baby needed as her heartbeat had not gone down much. As soon as I entered this beautiful dark space I went into transition very quickly and not long after, the urge to push come over me. From this point onwards, I couldn’t say if the audios were still playing - animal instinct took over. We tried a few positions but in the end I birthed Louisa standing up, holding onto a rope from the ceiling for support. The pushing was involuntary and I couldn’t not stop to think about breathing down even though I tried. Today I am certainly feeling the effects in my upper body! So basically labour was less than 5 hours from when I arrived at the hospital.
Louisa came out screaming, very much unlike those Hypnobirthing babies I saw in the videos ;) However, her temperament since is indeed much calmer compared to her sister and even Vincent remarked how easy it feels this time around as we’ve been able to snooze while she sleeps.
We were lucky to have a golden 2 hours in the delivery room with lots of skin to skin contact. Apparently it’s the normal in this room at St Elisabeth.
I’m not sure if I had mentioned it to you but an ultrasound had shown that I had a marginal cord insertion of my placenta. So, I was not able to birth it naturally as the risk of bleeding is too high. I was able to inspect it afterwards, which was cool!
The midwives and my OBGYN have all been super impressed that I did not use an epidural. The intern assisting the midwife told me it was her first non-medicated delivery she had witnessed.
Thanks so much for introducing me into the world of Hypnobirthing and your support these last few weeks. My husband remains in awe of what he witnessed. He was a huge help with his touch and back massages and the midwives remarked how happy they were to see such a supportive partner.
I’ve used the recordings of Vincent as White noise for Louisa when things become too quiet for her and it works really well :-)
"The hypnobirthing course was very helpful throughout my labor and the birth. It gave me confidence during early labor at home and strength and focus during active labor at the hospital. I’m thankful to say that I had a positive birth experience - we felt confident and respected while at the hospital, I was able to avoid major interventions, and everyone is healthy.
Thank you again for your help and expertise!"
Thank you again for your help and expertise!"
The Birth of Martial - December 2021
Hello Katherine,
Thanks again for giving me a private hypnobirthing session in December! As promised then, some news: I gave birth to my son Martial 9 days later and it went very well. I got a very quick and therefore very intense labour (2h30!), and Martial was born in water and still in his amniotic bag. It was a very powerful experience. I tried to use the visualization technique you mentioned and it certainly helped to hold on some thoughts during the process even if it was probably too quick to properly focus rising balloons 🎈but the image was nonetheless pleasant. I just wanted to let you know and to thank you again for your kindness and generosity.
Claire Lozier
Thanks again for giving me a private hypnobirthing session in December! As promised then, some news: I gave birth to my son Martial 9 days later and it went very well. I got a very quick and therefore very intense labour (2h30!), and Martial was born in water and still in his amniotic bag. It was a very powerful experience. I tried to use the visualization technique you mentioned and it certainly helped to hold on some thoughts during the process even if it was probably too quick to properly focus rising balloons 🎈but the image was nonetheless pleasant. I just wanted to let you know and to thank you again for your kindness and generosity.
Claire Lozier
We wanted to thank you for the preparation and help you provided. I never imagined my birth to take place in the way it did especially after having had such a healthy and smooth pregnancy however it was very useful to be equipped with the basic tools to control myself and my mind throughout the whole process.
To read more empowering, inspiring hypnobirthing stories check out those on KGH website at:
https://www.kghypnobirthing.com/birth-reports/mothers-hypnobirthing-stories/
https://www.kghypnobirthing.com/birth-reports/mothers-hypnobirthing-stories/
