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Ewans Birth Story
At 1.20am I woke up with a funny tight sensation around my tummy. Thinking hmm that’s new, I went to the bathroom then got back into bed to go back to sleep. However 20 minutes later the sensation was there again and I needed to visit the bathroom again which was unusual. I wondered if it was ‘the beginning’ and returned to bed. At 2am, 20 minutes later it was there again and I wondered about waking Ian but didn’t want to in case it was nothing. But every 20 mins it happened again. I finally decided I best wake Ian and had to poke him quite a few times before whispering to a bleary eyed face “I think he’s coming” at 3.15am. My surges suddenly changed to 5 mins apart and were much stronger. We knew you had to phone the hospital when they were that far apart but it seemed premature so we waited for another hour or so listening to the music and did some hypnobirthing relaxations – the depthometer and colour visualisations, to be really sure. Ian phoned St. Peters about 5ish and they asked if we wanted someone to come out and see us which we did. After that Ian set about filling the pool, leaving me to the rainbow relaxation. However I was finding it hard doing the relaxation and noting how far apart the surges were so we phoned my mum to come over and sit with me. A midwife arrived about 6ish. She knew that we were hypnobirthing and was very quiet and calm. She knew part of hypnobirthing is not to know too much detail such as how many centimetres dilated etc so she just told me it was very early on but it was happening. She offered to stay if we wanted but as everything was so calm she felt we would be okay until the next midwife came on at 8am. Mum left and we went downstairs. Ian did me some toast which I didn’t really eat – just did not feel like it. Ian put the music on and I sat on the birthing ball but didn’t find it that comfortable. Linda arrived about 8.30am and got settled in while waiting for the second midwife Wendy. By this point I felt my surges were just rolling into one another and began to struggle with the breathing technique. Ian asked if I wanted to get in the pool but I wasn’t sure – I said to the midwife I didn’t want to get in too early but she said it was up to me. I got in about 9ish and it was nice and warm but I didn’t feel it made any notable difference to the surges. I knelt at the side holding onto Ian each time a surge came but they were so powerful I couldn’t tell where one ended and the next began. By this point I couldn’t catch my breath at all and the breathing had gone out the window – I just started doing whatever my body felt like. About 10ish they got me out the pool to check how things were progressing but again all I knew was that they were and everything was going along as it should. So I returned to the pool and some time later I remember saying I can’t do this and at the same time thinking how everyone would be thinking ‘oh she’s going through transition’ and feeling I wasn’t!! The midwives asked for a mirror and luckily we had one but couldn’t see much as we had kept the curtains closed to keep the room darker. They asked me to turn onto my back and after that I stayed like that floating with my ears below the water concentrating on the surges but by now I had started really making a lot of noise and just couldn’t help pushing very hard. I was pulling on the handles of the pool so hard Ian thought I was going to pull them off!! I stayed like that for ages and remember the midwives checked baby’s heartbeat quite a lot but it was fine. They said that they had gas and air if I wanted it for the last part but although the surges were so intense I carried on and never gave pain relief a thought at any point even after their suggestions – guess the hypnobirthing had conditioned it out of me and I knew that I could do it. Sometimes when my ears came out I remember snippets of conversation such as she still has her rings on she’s done really well which bizarrely made me feel quite proud but reminded me of the hypnobirthing I should be trying to do but I just couldn’t control the breathing, so I just tried to go with my body. At some point near to the end when I was telling them I really couldn’t do it the midwives were worried about the temperature of the water so Ian had to leave me and rush about with the bucket. Then I remember them saying the thermometer was broken so they couldn’t risk it and Ian was still topping up the water as the midwife supported my head I thought to myself my husband is going to miss it! But he was back and asked if he should get in. I squawked there’s no time as I started to bear down. I really tried to do the birth breath but I’d lost it, although I was pushing so hard I still felt I was working with my body. The pressure was so immense and the midwife asked if I wanted to feel baby’s head. Although I had planned to I just remember snapping ‘no!’ at her and his head emerged. Feeling his body turn as his shoulders delivered was so surreal. Linda said one more push and the body will come out. Well one more push and it was not! Later we were told it was because the cord was around his neck. Given this and how long I was pushing for they were amazed his heartbeat had remained the same throughout – I think this was because he was so chilled from hypnobirthing even though I’d lost it. When his body was half out I raised my self up in the water and his head broke the surface so they had to hang on to him until the next surge finally pushed him out. They lifted him onto me straight away and he looked around not making a sound, I could feel him breathing but they gave him a little rub to make him release just one short yelp of a cry to be happy and then proceeded to say to us they’d check to tell us the sex. No need we said we had already known. The cord stopped pulsating very quick and Ian cut it. They got my out of the pool straight after. Ewan stayed on me but wasn’t interested in feeding although we tried a few times, once he suckled for a few mins very hard but the wasn’t interested again. . The placenta was taking a long time to deliver, Wendy tugged on the cord a few times and it really hurt so I knew it was going nowhere fast. It was nearing an hour when she suggested the injection and I was happy to have it as I had been thinking the same. A jab later and still not much was happening, so she was going to try a catheter in case I was holding on but then a surge came and the placenta delivered – no one ever says it’s like having the baby again! I declined looking at it as just wanted to cuddle up with my baby. Ewan was 7lbs 11oz and although I had a small tear they decided it didn’t need stitching.
Although it wasn’t the ‘perfect’ hypnobirth, the techniques definitely helped and I believe in them as much as I ever did. I feel that next time we will both be more prepared for the sensations of the surges and will be able to use the breathing techniques for longer – we definitely needed to practise together a lot more as well. I am so glad we opted for a hypbnobirth especially after hearing everyone else’s horror stories. Ewan was so chilled out afterwards and is still a happy laid back little chap!
Emily’s birth story
Emily’s due date was 1st October, however, it all started on 30th September, when I was woken by mild surges at 4am, which then eased off during the day. The surges started again at 4am on Thursday 1st October, and this time they lasted through the day. I managed using the Hypnobirthing slow breathing, and even managed to get out to meet friends in the afternoon for a couple of hours. The surges continued all evening and through the night at about 10 minute intervals. I called the midwife led unit at Braintree (WJC) about 6pm, and they were of the opinion that it was ‘false labour’ and suggested I had a bath and stayed at home for as long as possible. I used the slow breathing and also a TENS machine through the night.
Throughout Friday 2nd October the surges got stronger, longer and closer all day and I started having trouble walking around as it felt like there was just an immense weight in my pelvis. I vomited in the afternoon and only had a slice of toast for tea. About 10pm I called WJC and spoke to an MCA, as both the midwives were busy. Again, as I had not had a show, nor had my waters broken, they suggested I stay at home until ‘the pain gets too much’. So, I decided to try to stay at home a bit longer, as I was worried I was being a wimp and that it was still ‘false’ labour. However, just after midnight I was having trouble finding a comfortable position and we drove to the hospital in Braintree.
When we got there they were incredibly busy with 4 birthing mothers and only 2 delivery rooms. Luckily we were put in one of the delivery rooms - the Birth Room – rather than the day assessment room or the ward! Someone was already in the Pool Room, unfortunately, which was a real shame as I had really wanted a water birth. However, because they were so busy even the woman in the Pool Room couldn’t actually use it, because they didn’t have the staff to give her one to one care. So I was actually quite pleased that I wasn’t in that room, staring at the pool and yet not able to use it!
I was examined at 1.45am on Saturday 3rd October and was found to be 6cm dilated and my waters broke during the examination. I was just relieved that it was true labour and that I hadn’t been a wimp after all! Tom got the snacks and drinks out and got the hypnobirthing music playing. Having only had a piece of toast about 7 hours previously, I tried to eat a banana and drink some Powerade, but combined with the gas & air, it just made me throw up again.
The rest of the night I coped with the surges using my birth ball, the slow breathing, the TENS machine, and gas & air, plus Tom did a great job doing the hypnobirthing light touch massage.
At some point, perhaps around 4-5am, my body started trying to push at the height of the contractions. I switched to the birth breathing and tried to resist the pushing reflex.
By about 6.30am I was getting quite tired and Emily wasn’t really moving down very fast, so the midwife suggested that I should try to push during the contractions. I agreed and ditched the TENS machine, as it was getting in the way. At some point a bit later I also ditched the gas & air, as that was preventing me from inhaling strongly enough.
It seemed to take ages for Emily’s head to crown (I later found out her head circumference was on the 85th percentile!), but the midwife and Tom were very supportive and eventually Emily was born at 7.45am, weighing a healthy 7lbs 13.5ozs. We had a skin to skin cuddle straight away while we waited the hour for my placenta to deliver naturally. It still hadn’t arrived after an hour, and the midwives were getting worried that my uterus and cervix would close too much and prevent it delivering, and that we would all have to be transferred to St Johns and that I would need an operation. So after trying various things to encourage it to deliver, I ended up having the injection to help it along, and thankfully it was delivered intact and everything was OK.
Despite having been up for over 60 hours, I was on such a high after the birth and wasn’t tired at all – it was amazing. In fact, just before Emily’s head crowned I heard my tummy rumbling and apparently asked the midwives if there was any breakfast available! However, after the birth, Tom went a little bit green, threw up and had to go next door to lie down!
So, I can't say that we had a true 'hypnobirth' - I think I used the TENS machine and the gas and air too much in the end for that, but I am convinced that the Hypnobirthing breathing and relaxation I learned, along with the light touch massage that Tom did brilliantly, helped to keep me, in the words of the WJC midwife 'very calm and controlled throughout' - which for someone who is generally quite 'stressy' and a 'worrier' is pretty good! Tom and I were very pleased with how the birth went, despite not being able to have the water birth that we wanted. I also seem to have recovered physically a lot faster than many of my NCT class cohort – perhaps the perineal massage really helped after all – I was certainly pleased to have avoided the need for stitches, which seem to have caused my friends so much additional discomfort in the weeks following their births.
In summary, I really do feel that the hypnobirthing approach and techniques helped me to be calm and confident in preparing mentally and physically for the birth, coping during the birth, and to 'manage' it all so much better than I would otherwise have been able to.
Many thanks and best wishes
Claire, Tom and Emily
Oliver’s Birth
Hi Karen
Sorry its late in letting you know - been rather hectic!
Oliver was born on Thursday 3rd Dec at 12.52am weighing 9lb 1oz- at home in birth pool. It all happened rather quickly - on Wednesday 2nd dec the midwife had come to do stretch and sweep as i was just over 1 week late and had called the hospital to arrange induction for the following monday, the S & S was not a success so i was rather upset that it looked as though induction at hospital was the only option - and as you know from past experience with alex 2 years before i didn't want to go into hospital at all. Anyway that afternoon i was getting a few pangs, which i put down to braxton hicks as i had them on the monday and it all came to nothing and remembering what the midwife said i just ignored them - anyway by about 4.30pm they are coming regularly and i'm thinking maybe somethings happening but again thought it couldn't be - i phoned my mum just to tell her (as it was arranged she would have kids if/when i went into labour) we both dismissed it but at 6.15pm i called her again as they were getting much stronger and couldn't concentrate on hypno stuff with kids running mad round the house - at about 6.45pm i got jason to drop the kids off to my mums (couldn't wait for my dad to come to us - he tends to take his time and i needed some peace and quiet) so i'm using my birth ball waiting until jason got home. I decided to call the midwife and get jason to set up the pool for when we needed it. She came about 25mins later (she was in a meeting and i said i could wait - it didn't feel like an emergency) and when she checked me out i was 3cm dilated!! she decided that she was going to pop home for something to eat as she'd been on call since 8am and it was now 8pm ish and she knew she had a long night ahead too. I felt comfortable with it being just me and jason again - and knew if i needed her she was only a phone call away. Anyway by about 10pm the surges were getting very strong - that i couldn't get catch my breath - and though you're taught deep breathing - i felt better for making some groaning noises! i called midwife and she came about 10.30pm by which point i was in the pool which felt better (sitting on toilet felt too uncomfortable) she was filling out her notes and by about 11pm she check me again and i was 7.5cms dilated so it wasn't going to be too long. about 45mins after that it felt stronger but kind of different and i was not coping well on the surges (in-between i was absolutely fine and using sleep breathing and felt calm again) taking deep breaths was impossible - she offered the gas and air but that too was no good. It was good being able to change positions in the pool if i felt i needed too. not long after that with each surge i felt i needed the loo - so wasn't breathing down nor pushing - which i knew you weren't meant to do. but after about 3rd time - i said and kept on saying to midwife - i feel i need the loo but don't want to push just incase! she totally respected our birthing plan so never once said push, she just said well go with it - don't worry about anything just go with what you feel you need to do. So the next one i did push and totally lost it and was very noisy - to which point the midwife said - emma your losing it, breathe deep - catch your breath and calm down! i did and was better for being told to!! i pushed one more time when the next surge came and then in between the next surge (head was crowning) i totally when into a deep relaxing moment (about the only time) and just calmed down and waited for the next surge as i knew baby would be coming to me - this time i only felt pressure there - the next surge was a big one and i pushed and baby came out and handed to me - it was a relief but i also felt really good - i had done it - and all naturally.... though i wasn't one of the quiet ones you see on the videos - but hypnobirthing helped me prepare and gave me confidence that i could do it at home. By the way my husband was there (i've not mentioned much of him!) he was running round like a madman - as midwife needed this that and the other, then i wanted water, then more water in pool, then a lamp was needed but the bulb went - trying to keep the cats out of house and going for occasional cigarette! Although he didn't really say very much (or refer to the hypno prompts - he was a great support for the final bit and held baby for long time whilst i was being checked and waiting for plancenta - he even gave baby his first feed (bottle fed obviously!) quite funny he forgot to put bib on him and nearly the whole lot was back on jason! He's bonded better with this baby (his words not mine!) Oliver is a happy contented baby, he's putting on weight (quite a bit actually since he is now 11lbs 3oz!) its quite a shock to me - as alex practically cried for 4months was colicky and never settled as a baby and even now gets up in the night occasionally, but it has been a better experience and i feel more relaxed about things too - though in a house with 3 kids it does get rather noisy and tense at times. Anyway, thank you for your support and advice, and with great thanks for helping us have a wonderful home birth experience - as without you i am sure we would have been back in hospital. Emma & Jason xx Maggie’s Birth
Hi Karen,
I have a rare 5 minutes so thought I would email to let you know about our birth. I assume Sarah has told you we had a little girl. Maggie Grace Bambridge born 11th July at 3.09am weighing 8lbs 3.5oz. She was due 27th June so was 15 days late. Of course the staff at St Johns were not happy about this and I was due to be induced on that Saturday but she came in a nick of time. That was the longest they would let us go. We received many frowns as they didn't want us to even go as far as 12 days. It was all as you said - from week 39 my midwife wanted to book my induction date - but I refused as I hadn't even hit my due date yet!!
Anyhoo, I requested a stretch and sweep on the Thursday having tried all other natural options and no signs of movement. This was clearly the right option as I started to get aches within the hour. I continued with period type aches into Friday. I had an appointment to see a consultant and was told these were just niggles and not the start of labour. So me and Jamie went shopping and for lunch. We were in Tesco at 9pm that night. Then at 10.30pm I realised these 'niggles' were coming every 3 minutes. So I phoned St Johns and was told that as I was holding a conversation I was only in the early stages of labour (just as you said might happen!). Jamie then phoned them an hour later to say they were a minute apart and I now wanted to stay at home as I was really comfy, but they were short staffed so we had to go into hospital. We got there at 12.30am and they still didn't seem to be taking me seriously. Then my waters broke within 5 minutes and they checked me and realised I was fully dilated. I was then told to start pushing. I remember thinking i don't have any urges to push. But luckily Jamie piped in and told her 'no, she will push if and when she is ready' - what a good gorilla!! I never managed to go into deep relaxation as I never thought I was in labour up to this late point so never got a chance, however I used all the correct breathing and could have slept in between contractions (if these gaps were long enough!). I mooed the whole way through the birthing stage. I only felt real pain when she was crowning, but breathed my way through this, the thought of pain relief never crossed my mind. The midwife was so surprised by how relaxed Maggie was whenever she checked her heartbeat - she said she had never had such a relaxed baby during birth. In all I had a really relaxing and positive experience I completely put this down to the hynobirthing - I have since been preaching it to the world! I have to admit I did push in the end, but this is because I had the most overwhelming urge and couldn't ignore it. But again, I believe I was relaxed enough that I was able to listen to my body and instincts and so only pushed when my body was truly ready. Once born, Maggie latched on to my breast straight away an fed for two hours. The cord was cut after it finished pulsating and I birthed the placenta naturally.
So that was Maggie's birth. Sorry if I have gone on too much and bored you but I had such a positive experience I just tell everyone and anyone who will listen - especially those who looked at me like a lunatic when I told them I was doing hypnobirthing (I got a lot of scepticism and I am enjoying saying I told you so!).
Jamie has also said how he is pleased with the hypnobirthing - it helped him feel more informed about the birth and helped us realise that we could question medical intervention.
So really we want to say a massive thank you - this course was worth every penny! I have since spoken to Hayley and it sounds like she had a similar positive experience. I am due to meet up with Hayley and Lucie next week so we can swap stories then.
I have attached a photo of Maggie, though no doubt I will see you in Tesco at some point!
Natalie Bambridge
Hi Karen,
I just wanted to thank you for giving us the opportunity of attending your course. We are both so pleased we decided to ahead with it and have found it very useful and feel so positive about the birth.
I had the midwife last week and she was very impressed that baby was head down already (am 28 weeks) so the positive thinking seems to be working lets hope she stays there!
We also set up the birth pool and practised our relaxation techniques in there which was brilliant and really helped us picture a positive image for the birth. It was very strange us both sitting in there thinking that next time we will be in there I will be giving birth to our little girl!
I will keep you updated and will send you our birth story when our little one arrives and depending how I look on camera as well may send you the video of the birth.
Take care
Lara Ellis
Theo’s Birth
Hi Karen,
hope you are well, I have only just found a moment to email and let you know that on mon (22nd June 09) our beautiful little boy Theo was born, weighing 8lb 5oz! All went exactly as we had hoped for and he was born at home after only 7 hours, using only the hypnobirthing breathing techniques and homeopathic remedies.
I awoke on monday morning and had just got back into bed after going to the toilet, when my waters broke. They were initially clear, but a fair amount of bleeding followed, so after a call to the hospital we were advised to go in so they could check all was well and trace Theo's heart rate. soon after we arrived at hospital my surges began, they were fairly intense right from the very start and so i began using the breathing techniques straight away, which helped to keep me calm. After what seemed like a lifetime the nurse was happy with the heart rate trace and had the doctor come and check my progress. At this point i was 3/4 cm dilated-much to my surprise things seemed to be happening quickly! by this point i was desperate to get put of hospital and get comfortable at home in the pool, as since i had been at the hospital i had not been able to relax and get into the right frame of mind. finally at around 10am ish the paperwork was complete and we left to come home (ed has since informed me that we were very close to running out of petrol at this point and was keeping his fingers crossed that we actually got home lol). As soon as we were back home ed put on the rainbow relaxation cd, whilst he began setting up the pool-which i was desperate to get into asap! As soon as i was in, at about 11am everything just fell into place, the water was warm and extremely soothing during the surges and i instantly felt in control and felt i was coping really well. The surges were never more than 4-5 minutes apart and less than about a minute (so i was told! but i had no concept of time-which was lovely!) after around 2 hours at about 1pm the midwife wanted to examine me to check my progress and so took me upstairs to our bedroom to do so. I had a couple of contractions whilst on dry land and that combined with being examined made me question for the first (and only) time if i needed the gas and air! by this point i was 6cm dilated. I was encouraged back into the pool and straight away felt so much better and took myself back to the right state of mind and relaxed. within the next hour the surges were very intense, but never did i once feel i couldnt cope, i just took each one as it came and tried my best to stay in control of my breathing. At around 2pm I began to have strong urges to push, i tried really hard to resist the urge and to breathe the baby down as you had taught us, but the urge was to strong and i decided to follow what my body was telling me to do, and push! After 20 or so minutes of pushing the midwife suggested that i sit on the toilet and see if it helped me to push! (not the place i imagined i would bring my baby into the world lol). But it actually really helped me to push effectively. I was pushing in total for 1hour 8mins, and towards the end was becoming quite tired, but I was spurred on by Ed who was by my side constantly and told me when he could see our little boys head. Finally with one last push our little man was here and was placed straight on my chest. We had asked that Theo's cord was left to pulsate before it was cut but as the cord was wrapped very tightly around his neck and his heart rate had begun to drop the cord had to be cut right away so the midwives could help to stimulate his breathing. They were going to give him a little oxygen, but within seconds he was breathing perfectly and the colour rushed into him! within 5 minutes we were in bed and Theo had lached on without any help and began to feed, while i proudly looked on!
We are so glad we took the course, we really do believe that without it i would not have achieved the natural birth we had hoped for, and as Theo came into the world in such a calm way he is an absolute little treasure and perfectly content. Ed felt so lucky to have played such a huge roll in the birth of our baby, and the midwives joked that he should train as a midwife and they need not have been there as he did such an amazing job.
Since Theo's arrival our world has been magical and exciting, and we fall more and more in love with him every day! He is doing extremely well, and is feeding non-stop (he's just like his daddy lol).
Thank you so much for all you help and advice Karen
Many Thanks
Hayley, Ed and baby Theo xxxx
Alfie’s Birth
Hi Karen
Just thought we would drop you a quick mail to tell you about Alfie William Russell's birth day!
Despite our scepitism that he would arrive on his due date, at 2am on Monday morning the surges started. Feeling nice and calm but excited, we lay in bed until around 5am, just relaxing and timing the surges. I got up and had a nice shower, then set myself up in the lounge with dim lights and the hypnobirthing music in the background. In between practicing the breathing technqiues I had some tea and toast which Tony made me and he got the bits ready for the hospital.
We left for the hospital when the surges were around 4-5 minutes apart and at this point I was needing to concerntrate more on breathing through the surges.
At around 8am we were shown to our room at the hospital and introduced to our midwives who were lovely. They read our birth plan and without any further discussion they dimmed the lights in the room, set up our CD player and music and left us to it for a while .After a brief examination they told me I was 5cm dilated and had done most of the hard work already.
Tony asked if the birthing pool was available and fortunately it was as the hospital was nice and quiet that morning. They filled the pool and I managed to waddle down the corridor to the pool room and after my waters breaking over Tony's leg (nice :)) I got into the pool. I had no concept of time at this point but it seemed very soon after getting into the pool my body started to take over and push with each surge. I started to feel a bit panicky at this point as I felt it was happening very quickly but Tony was fantastic and helped me to stay focused by talking me through each surge calmly. It took only around 4 or 5 of these surges before he emerged.
A 11:11am Alfie was born - I scooped him out of the water and held him for the first time - amazing!!!!
We were so pleased that we had such a straightforward (and quick) birth - it was exactly how we had imagined it. Alfie is a lovely, calm and content little baby - my family are still convinced that he doesn't cry as they've never heard him yet!
We are absoluetly loving being parents - very overwhemling but absolutely nothing like it in the world!!
Thank you so much for the hypnobirthing sessions and your guidance - the very fact that I was able to approach the day of his birth with not one ounce of nerves is fantastic and this is purely down to the techniques you taught us. I would thoroughly recommend Hypnobirthing to everyone.
Hope all is well with you and thanks again
Take care
Carrie, Tony & Alfie Russell
Arthur’s Birth
Hi Karen
I've finally found a few minutes to drop you a line to tell you about the arrival of our son Arthur Hargreaves who was born at home in a birth pool on 9th October weighing 7lb 9oz. The whole experience is the most amazing thing I have ever been through and I was so calm both before and during the birthing process thanks to your hypnobirthing course. Arthur went a week over his "due" date and whilst I and my midwife were not unduly concerned, at the back of my mind was the thought of having to negotiate myself out of being induced if he went up to two weeks over. My midwife suggested a "stretch & sweep" which I agreed to at 9am on the 9th, and by 11am my waters had broken. The surges started about an hour later and by 2pm I was lying on my bed with the Rainbow music CD on in full surge breathing mode. The midwife came to check on me at 4pm and said she would be back around 7pm. I really have no concept of time as the hours just seemed to float by and by 7:30pm when the midwife returned, she helped me downstairs in to the birth pool (which once I was in, I wished I had got in a lot sooner!) The water was so soothing and made the moments in between surges much more comfortable - enough so that I was able to stuff down some Magnum ice-creams. At around 10pm I had such a strong sensation to bear down, and with two lots of birth breaths little Arthur popped out in to the water at 10:20pm. Once the placenta was delivered I was wrapped in my dressing gown and towels and laid down on my sofa with Arthur on my chest while Jim lit a fire and the midwife brought me a cup of tea. We were on such a high for days after the birth, as it really could not have been any better - it was totally what we wanted. I wanted to tell everyone I spoke to about it but found that many people were of the opinion that I was just "lucky". We know that the hypnobirthing techniques enabled us to remain calm and positive about birthing our baby and made us stick to our guns of having the home birth when family and friends were suggesting that I was at best being naive, and at worst reckless about having him at home. Thank you for helping us have a truly life-changing experience! With best wishes Helen, Jim & Arthur Hargreaves Caitlin’s Birth
Hi Karen
Just a quick note to let you know I gave birth to Caitlin on Wednesday 10th September. I went into hospital at 4am and she was born at 11.56am. Quite a bit longer than the one hour I was expecting...
I kept calm and focused the whole way through and the midwives and Doctors could not understand why I did not want any drugs, they were really surprised how well I was coping. I went in at 4cm dilated and contractions every 2 minutes that would last 1-2 minutes each contraction. I spent time leaning over the bed whilst sitting on the birthing ball and everything I could to keep my tummy laying forwards. I did not know why I wanted to position myself like so, but it all becomes clear later.
At 8.30am I had my waters broken and the surges were really strong. The next 3 hours were very intense with very strong surges, I found it hard to get comfortable, but leant over the back of the bed for quite a while, I then sat on the bed and breathed through the surges with the help of Simon and the two midwives in with me (one was a student midwife on her first birth) They all still found it really odd that I didn't want any pain relief. A doctor came in and asked if I wanted an epidural, I laughed at her and said "do I really look like I need an epidural???"
At some stages I was told to start to push, this came as a great relief (even though we were taught not to push, I really needed to and the midwife and Simon helped me with the breathing. Another midwife was called to help deliver Caitlin and she was born at 11.56am after 8 hours of labour. She was born on the due date I originally had (the scan had her due on the 6th) she weighed 8lb 15 oz and I had no stitches/tears or cuts.
After a few days, I had a really strange back ache for a few days and couldn't work out why. I then asked Simon what way she was facing when she was born, it turns out she was facing upwards and therefore I had a back to back labour, which explains my positions and why she took so long to birth. She also had shoulder dystocia, but apparently as I was completely in control the dystocia was not a problem and I birthed her with the help of the midwives and by keeping calm.
Simon cut the cord and was quite emotional after she was born, he was so proud of me and probably quite surprised how well it all went without pain relief. I was up and about almost immediately, Caitlin was in special care for 4 days, as her sugar levels were really low, so we couldn't leave until they had risen and stabilised. We came home on the Sunday and I was up doing the school run on the Monday, I am so surprised how well I have got over the birth and I only had 5lb to loose after giving birth, I was back in my jeans within a week, I think that's due to all the fitness bits I was doing whilst pregnant.
Caitlin loves her sleep, so much so, I have to wake her to feed her, as she will sleep up to 6- 7 hours at a time, which is lovely but she ends up missing her feeds, hence waking her.
Anyway, I must thank you for the information on hypnobirthing, I have raved so much about it and would definitely recommend your services to anyone looking for an alternative way to birth, it is an amazing experience and look forward to possibly doing it again. I am so proud of myself
Tom and Jessica totally adore Caitlin and are such wonderful helpers, they love her to bits.
Love
Kay & Simon Maisey
Joesph’s Birth
Hi Karen,
We’ve been meaning to write to you to say hi and tell you all about our totally (well, almost!) natural birth of baby Joseph!!
We’d love to catch up and tell you all about it in person but I’ll give you the low down now anyway and hopefully give you some more examples for future hypnobirthing students.
Well, little Joseph was in no rush to introduce himself and presented us with our first parenting challenge by being born 14 days over due! However thanks to your classes and reading the Hypnobirthing book we felt that we had the knowledge and confidence to challenge the procedures and policies of St Johns’. Helen was quite determined to have a totally natural birth and was averse to being induced purely on the basis of hospital procedure. From 10 days overdue our determination and new found knowledge of childbirth was to be tested more and more every day until Joseph was finally born! At 10 days over due we had a straight forward monitor – no probs! At 11 days overdue we had a slightly different experience! The monitor was absolutely fine but we started to find the difference in carers attitudes amazing! The midwife, while ultimately extremely kind and caring, seemed unable to get her head around the fact that we hadn’t been booked for an induction and proceeded to discuss the “risks” of allowing our pregnancy to continue! She even used the term “Still birth” to highlight the risks posed of going over 14 days overdue. While we understand they have a duty of care to their patients I was flabbergasted at the use of her language to an imminently expectant mother! Is it any wonder fear and anxiety is associated with childbirth with consultations like this! It will come as no surprise to learn the monitor trace proved absolutely fine, however our resolve proved only so strong as we succumbed and booked in for a stretch and sweep at day 12’s hospital appointment! We also requested that if we reached 14 days over due, rather than book for induction we would rather a “Well being scan”. This, the midwife seemed unable to do for us. As a compromise we were booked to talk with a consultant on day 13. So home we went and with a little bit of hypnosis practice calm and confidence was quickly restored in the Jacobs household! And so onto day 12 over due and another visit to St Johns. A different day, a different midwife and a completely different experience once again! Today’s midwife immediately congratulated us on standing our ground which straight away filled us with confidence and positive feelings. Needless to say the monitor was fine and although unpleasant for Helen the stretch and sweep (well, actually only a stretch in the end!) went ahead with minimum of fuss. And sure enough day 13 arrived but still no Joseph so off we went for our consultants appointment with anxiety rising in Helen. The talk with the consultant went much the same way as with the midwife on day 11, except during the talk it would appear that Joseph’s heart beat was too high at 180bpm. My eyes were glued to the monitor during all the traces so far! Is this healthy I wonder?! As a result the consultant told us that he would leave us on the monitor for another hour and if things didn’t change he would recommend immediate surgery! So with emotions running high it was time to turn to hypnosis and calm things down a bit. Without the hypno birthing classes, I thought, I can now start to appreciate the panic stricken birth experience of my good friend whose wife had to have and “Emergency Caesarean”! With 30 minutes of relaxation Josephs heart rate appeared to slow … thank goodness! So with this eye opener we realised how quickly things could change and we thought that to book for an induction would be the lesser of 2 evils and booked for an induction on day 14.
Hooray! 6pm on day 13 and the hypnobirthing scripts came out because Helen was having surges at less than 5 minutes apart. We rang WJC and they were happy to accept us, but recommended that we stay at home for as long as possible. Balloon breathing was all Helen needed to cope with the surges, although we did run a bath to see how Helen would feel in the water and that helped. By midnight we decided to get the bags together and head over to Braintree. The timing turned out to be perfect because when Helen was examined at 1pm at the hospital, she was just 3 cm and so was allowed to stay! I thought there might be a problem when the Midwife admitted she was a fan of technology and hadn’t ever seen a hypnobirth, however she made a real effort to respect our wishes and refrained from using terminology such as “push” etc.
When we arrived the midwife thought that we had a long way to go and suggested we try and rest for a while. That didn’t last long because 30mins later the surges became much stronger. Helen struggled to use balloon breathing as she couldn’t catch her breath, however was able to completely relax between surges with the help of the calm zone relaxation cd, birthing prompts and hypnosis scripts. At one stage Helen asked for gas and air but took a few sucks and then said she didn’t want it afterall. Looking back this was probably transition, but at the time we didn’t realise how close the birth was. After this the midwife started to fill the pool and Helen got in. This really helped Helen relax although it did slow down the surges. While Helen was in the pool I did think to my self that this was a completely different Helen, one I’d never met before which actually filled me with confidence because I knew she was totally high on endorphins, something I would have known nothing about had it not been for the Hypnobirthing classes! In the end Joseph was born 3 hrs after we arrived at the hospital at 4am, in the pool! I cut the cord and announced that it was a boy! Amazing! Helen did have an overwhelming urge to push at the end and so did push quite hard to get Joseph out. She also said afterwards that she felt a bit under pressure because she heard the midwife saying that she needed Helen to deliver because she had to go and help the other 2 women who were also in labour down the corridor, and Helen could hear them screaming! However, we are not complaining and couldn’t have asked for a better birth experience. Immediately after giving birth Helen was alert and holding Joseph who was feeding almost straight away!
Thank you again so much for all your help and advice. I know that there is no way we would have had such a beautiful and fulfilling experience of birth if we hadn’t found hypnobirthing.
Shame there is no way of making the first few weeks of parenthood a bit less of a shock! But I don’t think there is anything that you can do to prepare for that.
Joseph is still doing really well. He is breastfeeding very well and amazed us by putting on 14oz in a week and a half which is apparently twice the average for a breastfed baby! We tend to only have one night-time feed now so get 3 hour blocks of sleep on good nights, which is great (can’t believe I am saying that).
Sorry that this is such a mammoth email. Hope that you and your family are well.
Many many thanks!
Olly, Helen and Joseph!
Thomas’ Birth
Hello
How are you? Finally got round to returning some emails - so I hope you are sitting comfortably while I relay the birth experience.
As you might have guessed - it didn't quite go to plan.
when I went over my due date they booked me in for a stretch and sweep.
On the morning of the sweep the midwife found that I was already 5 cm dilated - but when she was listening to the heart rate she found that it was really low - and it was at that stage I piped up and said that I thought that the baby's movement had been a bit on the absent side generally-
So then I had to go along to the day assessment centre and be monitored - where they found that the heart rate was still very low and and they said that there wasn't really enough movement going on. When the consultanat came down and spoke to me I also mentioned that I had been a bit damp during the week and wondered if some of my waters had gone - which was a mistake to have said because at that point they started talking about inducing labour and caesareans.
So they took me straight upstairs and while Dan was driving Robert over to my mums they kept trying to rupture my membranes to see if the waters had gone and to try and get labour going. That was really painful and a bit upsetting because Dan wasn't there and it really wasn't how I had envisaged my labour.
So anyhow after they had three bad attempts to rupture something with no luck - it did start the labour off - so that's when I put my breathing into practice. Unfortunately my room became the room where all the midwives congragated to have a chat about their shift changes - and I just didn't have the balls to say " be quiet I'm trying do my breathing" - as last time I was in labour I couldn't get hold of a midwife at all - and there I was suddenly surrounded by a whole troop of them.
Now here's the good endorsement for hypnobirthing - when Dan arrived and I finally got into the breathing properly - the midwives didnt even know that I was in labour - they thought I was sleeping - even when i was having fairly strong contractions - and it was Dan who had to tell them that I was in labour - because they couldn't tell from looking at me.
The breathing defintely helped me to deal with the contractions - which gave me lots of confidence because I felt like I knew what I was doing. Also I have to say that Dan was so amazing - he was so much better than any of the midwives and I think that this was because of the support and training we got from you. So I give hypnobirthing a firm endorsement on that level too.
Unfortunately it all went a bit pear shaped - and this is classic text book stuff from the hypnobirthing manual in terms of what not to do. After three hours of labouring the consultant came back to try and rupture my waters again - with contractions happening in full swing as well - it was excruciating and just blew all my breathing and calm out of the window - I started to have short spasm breaths and couldn't get back into the loose state because it was so traumatic. To make matters worse the consultant said "well done you're 6 cm - I'll be back in three hours to examine you again."
And that was it - to think that 3 hours of labour had amounted to just 1cm in dilation - the rotten rupturing experience and the loss of my calm breathing just pushed me over the edge. So I started shouting for an epidural - which they couldn't give me because the epidural man was in theatre. I really felt like I couldn't cope anymore so they gave me pethidine - which as it turns out was a bit of a mistake because 10 minutes later I pushed the baby out.
It turns out that the panicky can't cope bit was the transition stage - and I'm gutted because I had read all about that - and I didn't spot it at all. When I said I have to push - the midwife didn't even believe me - and it was Dan who said "if you have to push - you just do what your body is telling you". And so I did - and I',m so proud of him for being such a great birthing partner - so thank you for everything - because that was one of the most rewarding elements of my labour (obviously second to getting a lovely baby).
I'm glad I didn't get an epidural (not least because I was so close to the end of labour anyway) but because I got to experience a more instinctive birth. the pethidine didn't kick in until after I'd given birth - so I actually experienced that really weird sensation of doing exactly what the animal within was born to do - and found myself doing all sorts of weird things - and as it turns out - the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck and so the weird thing I was doing with my leg (trying to hook it over my shoulder) was helping the baby out.
I had to stay in for 48 hours - they were a bit worried about the low heart rate but we saw the consultant in the neo-natal ward. Although they thought Thomas might have a heart defect - it turns out that low heart beats run in both Dan and my family.
sorry its a long email - but I just thought I'd give you the full story because it was such a rollercoaster of events - and hypnobirthing definitely saw us through a good deal of it and also gave us both the ability to trust our own instincts rather than that just go along with what the professionals were saying.
Thank you very much for all you did for us. Hope you and the family are well and I hope to see you soon.
love Claire
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Joseph’s Birth
I couldn’t say exactly when my surges started as my waters broke on Monday but seemed to heal again however for the whole week I continued to have period type cramps. I don’t know if it was because I had been advised by the mid wife that I ought to go into hospital on the 8th to have things checked (and I was adamant that I was not having my baby in hospital) but during the 7th things did start to feel a little different nothing specific just different I continued throughout the day as normal but as the evening progressed the “cramps” started to feel a little more powerful, so I laid on the bed put my ear phones on and drifted off into the marvellous place I had found in my mind whilst practicing hypnobirthing. Time had no meaning and I only came back to my fully conscious state when I felt ravenously hungry and desperate to eat quiche! Bizarrely I cooked and ate a quiche and then had a bath , the surges were getting a little stronger by this stage so I thought I would fill the birthing pool (a test run had taught me I needed two tanks of hot water to fill the pool). I watched Jonathan Ross on TV as I was filling the pool and although I felt a little uncomfortable I didn’t feel that anything was imminent. At about midnight I called the midwife (Jenny was on call and already delivering Oliver) She asked if I needed any one immediately and I said no I didn’t think so. Early on in my pregnancy I had decided that I didn’t want anyone other than a midwife at the birth , at this point I was alone and put a key in door so the midwife could let herself in. I put my CD on and got into the birthing pool, easily slipping straight back into a state in extream relaxation. At no point did I think I was about to give birth nor did I feel the need call anyone for company - I was in all honesty waiting for it to hurt. It wasn’t until about 2am that I called the midwives back and said that I thought they ought to come over as each surge was starting before the previous one had finished but I was still very calm and relaxed. Rachel the midwife duly arrived and with in about a minute of her arriving things became very much more intense and my breathing became reactionary rather than controlled and I started to feel out of my depth. Rachael was excellent and reminded me of my breathing but by this stage - I guess I realised just how pig headed I had been when I said I didn’t need anyone and could do it all myself, there are times when you do need a calm voice and a helping hand. However that was very short lived as what seemed to be a few moments later I felt a need to bear down and within minutes my beautiful son Joseph was born into the world at 3:15, about an hour after I called the midwife. By 6am I was showered sitting on the sofa, drinking tea and Joseph and I were receiving our first visitors - elated grandparents! The only downside about having hypno birthed Joseph is that I am excluded from the new mums club where everyone discusses their traumatic birth stories and vows never to go through “that” again - me I would give birth again tomorrow. Faith’s Birth
George gave birth to a very calm and beautiful girl, named Faith.
It was 18:40 last night and weighed 7lbs 3.5oz,
The midwives kept commenting on how relaxed and calm George was throughout, and they helped to maintain the peaceful feeling within the room. They were great.
So, thanks very much for all you've done, it definitely helped us to have a very positive birthing experience.
Good luck for the next couple of weeks and we'll bring Faith round to say hello at some point.
Russell
Holly’s Birth
Hi Karen I'm sure you've heard by now from Jenny, Vicky and Rachel that Holly arrived on the day of their BBQ (perfect timing!) and I just wanted to say a really really big thankyou to you. The birth was absolutely beautiful and went better than I could ever have imagined. I managed to stay calm throughout thanks to all the techniques you'd shown us, and all the practice that Paul and I had done really paid off as he was brilliant throughout and really helped me to stay relaxed for the whole time. I can honestly say that I never once felt that I couldn't cope with the intensity of it and, just like you'd promised, my body just totally took over and did what it needed to do. I had no concept of time throughout and at the end of it all I didn't even feel remotely tired - Paul was more tired than me at the end of it all!! Holly has been calm and relaxed since she was born, which I'm sure is down to the fact that the birth was so calm and that we both felt so relaxed and in control through it all. So thank you again for helping to make the whole experience a happy one. I hope you're keeping well and getting prepared for your new arrival. Hopefully we'll catch up at one of the midwives next gatherings. Take care and hope to see you soon. love Lynne |
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