Hypnobirthing Birth Story

"Here is a perfect example from one of our recent clients, of how Hypnobirthing can help you make informed decisions with regards to the type of birth you would like. As well as keeping you calm & relaxed so that you can achieve the right birth on the day for you & your baby! Our next Hypnobirthing course starts at Bababoom on August 5th & runs for 4 consecutive weeks. 

She is finally here! Born at 1.37am on 4th July 2016 (12 days later than my EDD) weighing just under 8lb. No name just yet.

Thought you might be interested in my birth story - an example of how Hypnobirthing can help when things don't go according to plan/isn't a textbook birth maybe?!! As although, I did get anxious the closer it got to the 'recommended' induction date, the excellent advice and guidance we received by doing Hypnobirthing  definitely gave us the courage to do what was best for us and our baby girl, rather than the standard care.

So, my waters broke (well started breaking, in reality this went on for over 24 hours which I didn't realise was a thing that happens!) on Friday 1st July at 9.30pm. As advised we called the hospital to inform them, who said call back in the morning to give an update. So we decided to get some rest and go to bed. Saturday morning there was no other signs of labour starting (despite me trying all manner of things from walking to acupuncture) so we were asked to come into the fetal assessment unit in the afternoon. They confirmed that my waters had broken (which I knew!) and that baby girl was okay (which i also knew as she had been wriggling round loads!) and asked that we go in to the pre-labour ward on Sunday morning to discuss options. Saturday evening we spent having take away with friends and I went to bed with mild back ache and a period like cramp feeling. 

Sunday morning so we called up PAH at 8.30am, as instructed, and were told that we were booked in for our induction at 9am. J firmly but politely made it clear that we had not agreed to an induction and wanted to discuss options, to which they agreed and so we went to the hospital armed with our birthing ball and mp3s.  At the hospital however we were presented with induction 'options' and had to politely challenge to get information on other options available. We decided to have an examination and sweep (as we were booked to see a consultant for a sweep on Monday as we had previously decided we were happy to go 2 weeks overdue, rather than the 12 days PAH recommend) and hoped that would encourage a more natural delivery.  Monitoring showed that I was having surges but they were irregular and the midwife was surprised to find that I was 3 cm dilated. We took a couple of hours to go for a walk, walk up and down stairs, bounce on the ball, listen to mp3s etc to try and stay focused, increase the frequency and regularity of surges.  When we returned induction was still being encouraged but I felt that I was progressing as strength of surges was increasing so we instead asked to be monitored again (to try and prove the progress). Unfortunately this showed they were still irregular with little increase in the frequency.  By now it was late afternoon/evening the hospital were saying that the only course of action they would recommend at this point was induction via drip (which was my 'worst case scenario') but I felt that I was progressing naturally, albeit slowly.  We decided to discharge ourselves from hospital to see what happened overnight, not least because if I was going to be induced by the drip I at least wanted to be as well rested as I could be so that I felt I had a better chance of managing the birth in a way I wanted given the circumstances.  Also labour ward was really busy (the poor lady in the bed next to me in the pre-labour ward was in established labour, struggling to cope and had no privacy as there was no space on labour ward for a couple of hours!) and if I wasn't able to be admitted to the ward until the morning I would be monitored a couple of hours later than if I stayed in but otherwise the care would be the same. We got home I had a bath and ready for bed and found myself not able to get comfortable so kept having to get out of bed so I was mobile to breathe through every tightening... I also felt like they were getting closer together so asked J to monitor me.  Turns out they were, so J called labour ward (to check they could find us a bed!) and then, only a couple of hours after leaving he hospital, we were heading back. We arrived at labour ward around 11.30pm (I think!), I was admitted, checked and found to be 8-9 cm dialated. The surges were coming thick and fast and so I asked for some gas and air to get me over the finish line, because of this a lot of the next details are a blur..... I quickly got to 10cms but then unfortunately she pooed inside of me and had the cord wrapped round her neck, her heart rate dropped and the room was flooded with about 10 people telling me 'we need to 'get this baby out right now'. As a result her delivery wasn't quite the peaceful one I had pictured (suction cap and episiotomy were used, delayed cord clamping could not be done etc.) However, hypnobithing definitely meant that I was more calm and relaxed about giving birth (something previously terrified me), meant I was able to deal with the situations we were presented with, make informed decisions (where possible) and equip us to confidently challenge standard procedures when needed. Michelle - thank you for everything, you delivered an excellent course and went above and beyond in continuing to provide advice and support.

C & J x"

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