Went into labour Thursday at 12.30 am. Thought it was more of the twinges I’d had but started to realise that they were coming more often and not disappearing. Didn’t wake Stu because I was trying to rest as much as possible and wanted him to as well knowing that it could be some time of this going on. By the time his alarm went off at 8am I was sure they were coming regularly enough that I was in early labour as from 6-8am I timed them and they were every 10 mins. During the day they continued and varied in regularity from anywhere between every 3-8 mins. I used the Freya app to time them.
By 1pm I got Stu to put the Tens machine on me so that I could start using it. By the evening we were watching funny films, using massage and candles to build up oxytocin as much as possible. By about 10pm films went off and I was doing a lot of standing and hands around Stu to work through each contraction as they were picking up in intensity. Had a hot water bottle on my lower tummy. Used hynpo breathing and Stu was doing it with me to try to get me into the rhythm of it as they grew stronger. He was timing contractions from this point onwards and I was going up through the Tens machine levels.
By 1am they were coming close to 3 in 10 so we rang MLU and they said they didn’t think I was quite there and to rest at home and call again in an hour. I managed to fall asleep a bit between each contraction but not much. By 4am I knew I wanted to leave for hospital so we rang again and they said to come in as I was now established 3 in 10. I was sniffing clary sage during the car journey to try to sustain contractions and using tens plus hot water bottle. When we got there at 5.30 they examined me and I was 2 cm with waters ‘bulging’. They said they’d give us a couple of hours and we should try to keep contractions up as they’d naturally dropped where we’d moved from home to hospital. We went for a walk round the hospital grounds and my contractions really started to pick up from this point onwards.
By my next examination at 9 I was 9cm and although I’d wanted a water birth I was trNsitioning at this point - needed a poo, wanting to push and couldn’t do a wee. And as we weren’t in the water room and they didn’t have the right PPE they weren’t going to move us but I really didn’t care because I just wanted to get on the bed on my knees and start pushing. At this point I wEnt on the gas and air and ramped the Tens machine up to the top level. The gas and air wAs incredible and Stu said the change in me with my first contraction on the gas and air was quite funny and he finally had his t shirt and skin back from my claws From 9-11.21 when he was born I was on my knees on the bed, leaning on the headboard with Stu by my side reassuring me and holding the fan on me. As I’m deaf in one ear he was communicating to me what the midwives were saying and getting me to breath steadily as much as possible on the gas and air. The midwives were amazing at coaching me with when to push and how and they were hands on with down below (which i wanted) to protect as I pushed as much as possible. Being on the gas and air this bit is quite a blur to me but I just remember thinking my body was going primal and moving of its own accord and I didn’t really know what it was doing but to just go with it. After he was born they brought him through to the front and then helped me turn and have skin to skin with him. They did the placenta injection and put a catheter in because of my earlier not being able to pee because he was already so far down and checked me for tears. I was Completely oblivious to all this because I was focused on my baby. Because of my haemophilia condition (which meant I couldn’t have epidurals or spinal taps) I always knew I’d have a managed third stage with the placenta and when it didn’t start to come away with the injection they took us all up to the labour ward so that a consultant could assist. Fortunately I pushed it out with his guidance on gas and air. Then had more to skin and skin and feeding whilst they sewed up my 2nd degree tear - again completely oblivious to this and was enjoying time with my baby on my chest and they’d done numbing injections. Then we were wheeled back onto the MLU and discharged the following evening.
Yes it hurts but the old cliche that once the baby is in your arms you don’t see anything else is really true. The midwives were absolutely incredible and I can’t fault the experience with them.
Thanks so much for everything Cath
Harry's Birth Story
It's about time I shared my birth story, so here goes! It's a long one I'm afraid. This is baby number two for us and it's taken a few years to get to this point due to a very traumatic experience with our first.
Just a little insight; I didn't enjoy the pregnancy as it seemed like every day brought a new set of challenges and towards the end I was diagnosed with obstetric choleostasis (OC) and was told I had to be induced the next morning. I spent 2 days on the antenatal ward until they finally had space for me in delivery. Luckily they just had to break my waters but with the OC and meconium in my waters they decided I needed an oxytocin drip immediately. After a few hours, nothing was really happening so they turned it up to full dose before realising my waters hadn't been broken correctly. That's when things got pretty intense and quickly. The pain was surreal! Fast forward several more unbearable hours and my daughter was finally born.
The next year was a challenge with both PTSD and PND which I refused to get help for. I struggled to breast feed and felt guilty/a failure when I gave up. I was doing my best but every one else seemed to be doing so much better. So, 3 years later I finally decided I wanted another but was terrified. The chances of OC again are high and I couldn't go through the same trauma. I managed to push it to the back of my mind and found out I was pregnant, only to have a very early miscarriage a couple of days later. I was so upset but it showed me how much I wanted it so when I found out I was pregnant again I was over the moon.
I decided it had to be better this time so I found hypnobirthing in my area and met Christy. I'm so glad we did! Towards the end of this pregnancy (which was going so well) I was being monitored for OC again which never materialised, when out of the blue they said I had preeclampsia! Within a couple of days I went from being told they just needed to monitor me to 'we strongly recommend we induce you tomorrow'.
I was very upset but my husband was so supportive and we had learned so much from Christy. So I had a sweep and went home where I used everything I could think of to get this baby out! MP3s, birth ball, massage, spicy food, keeping active and trying to stay calm. When I was checked at the hospital the next day I was already 6-7cm and I had no idea I was already in labour! I felt very relaxed and after being told that, I was very happy! I decided to let them break my waters to speed things along and I started to get more intense surges but they were very manageable and we laugh about the fact I was eating my dinner while breathing through them. I timed it so that I could fit 3 mouthfuls in before my husband had to start with the counter pressure! I was gutted I didn't get to finish my ice cream before I really needed to start pushing!
No time for the pool and we had bought so much stuff to help such as my MP3s, music, aromatherapy oils, massage oil, LED candles etc but didn't even unpack them! I used all the breathing techniques with the gas and I didn't feel like I needed anything else. We used the BRAIN acronym a lot and the midwives were amazing.
For anyone worried about a hospital birth I can say that Pembury are so on board with hypnobirthing and thoroughly encourage it. From breaking my waters to giving birth to our little boy took a meer 2 hours and 45 minutes and I was so proud of myself and my husband for getting through it so easily compared to last time. It was hard work through transition, I wont lie, but wow, what an experience.
My luck didn't last long as my placenta got stuck and I ended up in theatre under general anaesthetic to remove it. I had lost an excessive amount of blood and was so grateful I had a hospital birth as they dealt with it all quickly and the staff were great. It was quite a long recovery to get my blood and energy levels back but regardless, the overall experience was still amazing.
Asking questions, making my own choices throughout and using all the tools learnt through our course made the world of difference and I can't begin to express my thanks to Christy!
You are one powerful Mother! What an amazing birth story, thank you so much for sharing it Natalie! To attend, or enquire about, a course with Christy or another of our fabulous teachers head here
Jannik's Birth Story
I chose to explore hypnobirthing because, like so many people, my first experience of labour was pretty terrifying and I knew as soon as I found out I was pregnant that I wanted things to be different this time around. My son’s birth six years ago, while relatively straightforward, left me feeling frightened and bewildered. I realised, after talking with my partner Gary, that I was holding on to a lot of negativity: resentment, shame, fear and disappointment. I felt I deserved a new, positive perspective on my imminent birth so we booked on to a one-to-one intensive course with Christy when I was 35 weeks pregnant. From the comfort and privacy of our own sofa, Christy introduced us to the basics of hypnobirthing and discussed in depth my thoughts, fears and hopes, taking into account my circumstances and previous experiences. Everything changed from that point on and I continue to benefit from what I learned with Christy.
After meeting with Christy, I quickly got into the habit of listening to my affirmations and meditations every single day. The last month of my pregnancy was utterly blissful as, every night, I treated myself to a calm, candle-lit bath in which I would meditate and visualise my perfect birth. I read and re-read Suzy Ashworth’s fantastic book, The Calm Birth School and tried to put into practice everything I read. I wanted this to work so I did my ‘homework’ diligently and even made Gary complete some of the tasks with me! I found my rhetoric and perspective changed and my friends and family commented on how much more positive and calm I had become. I quickly started to look forward to the birth of my baby and was excited to see how my birthing body would carry us through. Gary was wholly supportive and encouraged me to enter into the hypnobirthing frame of mind 110% (he became quite the convert!). Hypnobirthing equipped me with the tools I needed to stay calm, informed and empowered through the last weeks of my pregnancy.
I had expected my baby to arrive a little early so when I got to my EDD I was a little bemused. My midwife had mentioned sweeps and induction but I just kept calm and told myself that my birthing body would do what it needed to do. On the evening of my EDD I cracked open the clary sage oil, listened to my mp3s and happily bounced on my ball. I went to bed feeling calm. Next morning, I stayed in bed and Gary gave me a long, relaxing massage to keep the oxytocin flowing. Suddenly I heard a ‘POP!’ and sure enough, my waters released. I was so excited but Gary reminded me to stay calm and focused so I got back into bed and listened to my mp3s. We had a slow, gentle day together watching boxsets and eating chocolate while bouncing on my ball. We did everything at our own pace and there was no sense of panic. I rang the hospital in the afternoon and was advised to go in for a check. I had only the gentlest of cramps and knew I had a long journey ahead of me but kept calm and felt overwhelmingly positive.
When we got to the hospital they quickly told me that there appeared to be meconium in my waters, that I would need to be continuously monitored and that I would have to stay in the hospital instead of go home. Hypnobirthing helped me to quickly accept these changes and focus on staying calm and maintaining the oxytocin levels we had been building all day. By 7pm the cramps had turned to very mild surges. I breathed through them with Gary’s help and the mp3s and I actually ENJOYED them! My visualisations were so powerful and clear that I forgot where I was for long periods of time and before I knew it I was walking (waddling) down to the delivery room. At 8pm I was examined (the one and only time) and told I was 3cm dilated. The doctor was concerned about the meconium and told me that if I didn’t make ‘sufficient progress’ by midnight I would be ‘put’ on the hormone drip. I was also informed that I would not be able to have the water-birth I had so looked forward to. My positivity wobbled slightly at this point but Gary was brilliant, saying that we would review the situation and make an informed decision when WE were ready. He helped me to re-focus on my breathing and I quickly resumed my position on the bed because, despite thinking I’d want to be in a more ‘natural’ position, I was actually most comfortable on the bed.
It was at this point that things started. Gary kept the room quiet and dark while my wonderful midwife Angela kept her distance and respected our desire for privacy and intimacy. The surges came thick and fast from that point on and my visualisations started to change from gentle waves lapping at my legs as I stood in the warm sea, to huge waves crashing over me and sweeping me momentarily off my feet. It was so incredibly intense - much more so than with my first son’s labour - but this time I felt much more in control and I wasn’t frightened. I suddenly started to feel the urge to push and told Angela that “something was happening in my vagina”. She laughed and told me that of course something was happening - I was in the middle of labour! But surely it was too soon to be needing to push? I focused again on my breathing (which was fast and heavy but a rhythmic 1:3) and was vaguely aware of Gary and Angela talking quietly in the corner. It had only been an hour - was something wrong? But Gary returned and told me that Baby’s head was crowning and that I needed to focus all of my energies on breathing the baby out. I couldn’t believe things had moved so quickly!! I became momentarily overexcited and frightened and euphoric and panicked - adrenaline was kicking in. At this point the surges were huge and overpowering so I asked for gas and air to help me slow down, ‘re-set’ my thoughts and face this intense final stage as calmly as possible. After only 73 minutes of labour, three glorious pushes (I REALLY loved this stage and felt so powerful, like I could achieve ANYTHING) and some pretty impressive ‘verbalisations’ my beautiful baby came gently tumbling into the world. I have never known euphoria like it. Angela understood our desire to delay weighing him and cutting the cord until I felt we were both ready and we spent the next four hours enjoying blissful skin-to-skin and staring into each other’s eyes. He was so calm and content and I felt phenomenal. I had a slight tear as things had happened so fast but I was stitched up quickly while our beautiful boy latched on and we enjoyed those incredible first moments together.
Jannik was born at 21:13 on 29th April 2018, weighing 7lbs exactly. You can see from my face how incredibly happy I felt! Hypnobirthing changed everything and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to experience a positive, empowering birth, because that’s what EVERY mother deserves.
Read more about what hypnobirthing is, what we do here and our upcoming classes & workshops here. We would love to speak to you so feel free to get in contact or come join our facebook group Calm Birth Kent; Birth, Breastfeeding & Beyond!
Jack's Birth Story
One of my favourite things about my birth experience was actually the lead up to birth. Hypnobirthing teachings meant I was empowered to request a VBAC in the midwife led unit at our local hospital, and confidently navigate the discussions with midwives and consultants to make sure that I was able to safely have the right birth for me. It also meant lots of lovely connecting with baby and myself, focussing on what makes me feel calm and happy, what will make my birth experience as positive as possible. Lovely baths with my mp3s and favourite music playing, practising massage techniques with my partner, experimenting with aromatherapy blends, all very wonderful ways to pass the time in pregnancy!
As easy as it is to feel like you could be pregnancy for ever, babies do eventually come out! So on one Saturday morning, the day before my due date, I woke up and thought my waters had started trickling.
I kept calm and told Chris, mid morning we called the hospital who said no rush to come in, but that I should at some point that day and get checked over.
We also called our doula Bryoni (I can’t recommend doulas enough, and would urge anyone to at least consider having one!).
Gradually I was having very very mild irregular surges, we called Nanna to come and look after our 2 year old Poppy, she said she’d be with us by 8pm. I was able to cook dinner and keep things nice and relaxed and normal at home.
Once Nanna arrived we went to the hospital, had a check over from the midwife who confirmed waters had gone but that nothing much else was happening. We stayed at the hospital a while then went home around 10.30, we were told if nothing had happened by the morning that they would recommend induction.
Having both my hypnobirthing birth plan and doula with us meant that we felt much more in control. A couple of times the midwife rephrased what she was saying to make it clear it was what they recommended and not what we had to do.
We made our way home, thinking we would try and get some sleep. We realised that Nanna and our 2 year old were all fast asleep and I think that knowing my daughter was ok relaxed me sufficiently for the next stage of labour to kick in! I went to the loo and then had to get Chris to help me back out again! We decided very quickly that we needed to go back to the hospital!
It was a memorable night, it had been a very hot day and then driving back to the hospital was a huge electrical storm, with constant lightning illuminating the sky!
Once we got to the hospital things seemed to progress really quickly. I had gone from 0-7 centimetres in the short time between going home and coming back to the hospital. Kind of funnily we had really prepared well to make our hospital space our own - we’d got playlists of music, hypnobirthing mp3s, lights, photos, practically a buffet of snack options, photos, affirmations, all sorts of things to get the oxytocin flowing. We’d even chosen our wonderful doula Bryoni partly because she has a background in dance and was going to dance us through the surges! But did we make use of any of these wonderful things? No we didn’t! Things felt so intense so quickly it was all I could do to breath through each surge, take a moment to rest and then ride the next one. I tried gas and air but felt it was actually just making me feel out of control so we really did just use breathing, the words of support and encouragement from Chris and Bryoni, and some “vocalisations” (I felt compelled to make quite a noise through each surge, it came from deep within me!) to take me through what felt like an incredibly intense experience. I was able to use the pool through most of labour and the warm water really did help make me feel more comfortable. Our midwife suggested at around 3.30am that I get out and make sure I didn’t need a wee, I really struggled to get to the toilet and Chris was a great mental and physical support! It was then suggested that perhaps baby was ready to come, I couldn’t really walk so they got me onto the bed and I pushed and breathed through the last hour. Then suddenly our baby boy was born! He was given to me straight away, Chris was able to cut the cord, and the little champ managed to latch on straight away for his first feed.
Things were not quite over and done with though, I’d had a tear and the placenta wasn’t budging. Our midwife was concerned about blood loss, so we were whisked upstairs. I was taken to theatre to have the placenta manually removed, and have some stitches, but again the hypnobirthing techniques I had learnt meant I still felt in control and was able to keep calm. After the procedure I was reunited with my baby, and Chris and Bryoni. It was lovely to know that Chris had someone with him while I was in theatre - someone to grab a drink for him, make sure he was ok, hold the baby if needed.
The procedure all went well and we were able to stay in a side room which we then decorated with our lights, as we’d intended to with our birth room!
Baby Jack, and me, are now both doing really well, and settling into our new family life. Hypnobirthing is a really amazing set of skills, that I hope I continue to use in other areas of my life!
Kent Hypnobirthing run classes in Folkestone, Faversham, Maidstone & Margate. Head here to see all upcoming course types and dates!
Elsie's Birth Story
My "due date" came and went & it was Thursday 29th March. I was 41+2. The 'I' word was mentioned & it was booked for Sunday 1st April (which I would have politely declined all being well) I declined a cervical sweep while I was with the midwife then regretted it a little so made the decision to have one the next day instead! I tried to stay positive but really I was a little on edge about the prospect of having to go to the WHH to be monitored every day that I was 'overdue' purely for the inconvenience! After the sweep I promptly went out food shopping to help things along & stock up on a few essentials *cough COOKIES cough* then spent the evening feeling a bit crampy & sore from the sweep so i went to bed (after deciding to clean the bathroom sink at gone 11pm, it might have even been gone 12am )
I woke up the next morning at about 4:55 needing a wee & immediately felt the disappointment of not going into labour over night & that I was going to be pregnant for at least another day. So I went to the toilet & had a 'clear out'. It caught me off guard a bit but thought nothing of it as it had been the norm for weeks. As soon as I got back into bed I felt a tightening & another shortly after so decided to time them 7-8 minutes apart so I woke Jon up & we finished setting up the pool together, Jon called the singleton unit so they could send round the on call midwife & i messaged my mum shortly after as she was coming over to take care of the girls. By this point the surges were getting stronger and every 3-4 minutes apart.
As I practiced hypnobirthing I visualised a heavy iron gate of a castle (think GOT) being drawn upwards with each surge & the colours of the rainbow chakras surrounding me. Jon had run a bath as we remembered it helped with controlling the sensations with my first labour but I didn't actually get in! The girls woke up & Isla started to help daddy fill the pool up, they were so excited and were VERY attentive, Isla was stroking me and reminding me to breath and Sienna was taking to me about baby Elsie being born in the pool!
The midwife arrived & set up around me as i clung on to the end of my bed (which is practically in the doorway) and the girls weaving in and out of people & going through her stuff. At this point I was really wishing my mum was here to keep them occupied but she still hadn't arrived! A second midwife turned up and I felt the need to vocalise my breathing through the surges, like a long oooooooo noise that I could feel in my throat & felt a shift, like gravity was pulling my baby down! This was my queue to get in to the pool so I got in & felt the relief of the water on my lower back and around my bump, Jon and the girls joined me around the pool side as I continued to surge and "oooo" I squeezed Jon's hand for extra relief and the girls got front row seats on my bed. After a few extra strong surges... POP went my waters along with the involuntary urge to push, the downwards pressure was intense and continual & I was surprised that it didn't come with a surge so with gentle breathing and a little bit of pushing I continued to bring my baby into the world in a way that felt right for her & my body! I felt her head emerge with my hands & calmly (although it was quick) the rest of her followed, I brought her up and out of the water and onto my chest as I sat back and with the rush of endorphins I just laughed & breathed with relief. It was calm, amazing & perfect and she was calm & amazing & perfect
Ps, mum made it, 5 minutes too late!
From Holly in Folkestone
Holly attended our group hypnobirthing course in Folkestone with Katy . She had her baby last week and has shared her beautiful birth story
Head on over here to read more about us or book your own place on our courses , in Folkestone , Faversham, Maidstone and Margate
Jemima's Birth Story
I came to hypnobirthing with a honestly sceptical opinion. I didn't really understand what it was about, and assumed I wasn't the kind of person who could benefit. It proved me wrong. After the horrific birth of my first child 4 years ago, resulting in numerous medical interventions and consequent problems and PND, we had finally decided to add to our family. The birth filled me with such fear that I decided to ignore it until the last months. Realising I needed to address my issues with birth , I attended the course in Folkestone with Katy when invited.
Katy was wonderful in catering the experience around my own journey and likely outcomes. I developed Obstretic Choelstasis at 33 weeks, meaning the necessity of regular monitoring and an early induction. The course proved very cathartic for myself and my husband, laying some previous demons to rest and providing confidence in my instincts and my body. It was very much a work in progress, but provided me with an avenue of calm when my brain was too panicked to focus leading up to the event.
My induction day came and we excitedly headed to the hospital in the company of our doula. The first day proved incredibly difficult, with continuous backache and waves of intense nausea - my little one had decided to turn back to back that morning. With lots of support from my birth partners, I kept active around the necessary monitoring and tried to remain positive. The strongest tool I gained from the course was the ability to breathe, and allowing my body to do what is necessary without panicking or fighting against it. I would be lying if I said I didn't have a fair few wobbles where I doubted all my abilities and wanted to stop. Both my partners had attended the course and knew just how to allow me to vent and then return me to a calm state, reminding me of my visualisations and breathing counts.
After an incredibly long day I was settled in bed at 4am where I was not declared in active labour and advised to rest. At this point I was considering requesting a Caesarean, but felt informed and powerful enough to explore my options and voice my opinions. At 5am, I literally leapt out of bed with incredibly strong surges. I had initially requested to not know the cms dilated upon examination, but consented at this point. I was 9cm! I was in a state of disbelief, but tried to allow my body to do its thing. Using the gas and air as a means of breath control, I concentrated on my midwives requests and the sensations in my own body. It took another hour and a half to get to 10cm - all this time we were waiting for my doula to arrive as we had sent her home for the night. My husband was incredible keeping me calm and reminding me to breathe. At the pushing stage I felt like I entered another realm of consciousness-i vividly remember every sensation of my little one descending down and making her appearance. I felt confident to make the noises I needed to to assist me in birthing my baby without embarrassment or fear. I had another wobble after delivering her head, disbelieving that she was actually coming. The midwife and my partners convinced me to touch her head, a decision I will always be grateful for taking. It gave me the confidence to push her out with the next surge.
The feeling of exhilaration was incredible, something that had been missing from my first birth. She arrived at 7.46am, weighing 8lb 7 1/2. At 39 weeks plus one. Little Jemima Sophia. My husband got to tell me the gender and I was so thrilled to find we had a little girl to join our boy. Over the coming days there were incredible waves of pride and remembrance of her birth, in a truly positive manner. I have never felt more powerful or had such confidence in my own abilities.
I credit hypnobirthing with giving me a realistic toolkit in order to face the inevitable challenges of my birth journey. There was never going to be a miracle cure for my previous experiences, but I now see birth as nothing to be afraid of and to be enjoyed. I am also eternally grateful that my husband was able to participate in a positive birth, and hopefully heal the wounds from the last. I will take lessons into my life going forward to not doubt my own instincts and feelings, and have pride in my mind and body.
What a gorgeous birth story and what a powerful mother overcoming previous trauma to birth feeling empowered and strong! If you would like to come along to a hypnobirthing course with us, come see our upcoming dates here, or send us an email hello@kenthypnobirthing.com
Joss's Birth Story
An Induction Story.
Joss’ birth was not what I wanted or planned. It wasn’t a ‘classic hypnobirth’ with a lovely dimmed room, fairy lights, soft music and birthing pools, the whole thing was a curve ball, completely unexpected with a new surprise at every turn. Yet it is the birth I learned the most from, about myself and about giving birth.
This was my third baby and I honestly thought I had it pegged. Birth one, no birth preparation, no idea what to expect, took 18 hours and ended in an epidural and forceps. Birth two (following a fabulous private course with Kent Hypnobirthing) was 8 hours, from first contraction to holding baby in my arms and required no intervention and no pain relief. It was awesome and liberating and life affirming. Yep, super proud. Baby number three, I had my birth pool up in my living room from 37 weeks, Doula on standby, fairy lights and affirmations up, this time I was going to do it the way I wanted, no question, and probably in 4 hours. This is how is went…
At 41 +5 weeks, I had refused all interventions including sweeps as I was adamant that labour would start spontaneously when baby was ready, and both previous labours had started at 39 weeks and 41 weeks. I went for a welfare scan at 41+5, expecting them to try and induce me and I again intended to refuse and come home. When I had the scan, I got the shocking news that baby was suddenly breech – feet down. This scuppered my plan! Although knowing I have the right to opt to birth vaginally with a breech baby, the staff at my local hospital are lacking in experience (not training) and did not feel confident supporting with this option and I was in agreement, it wasn’t the choice for me! This left me with two options, a caesarean section or an ECV. I took some time to really weigh up the options and after discussion with my Doctor, my Husband and my Doula, I decided to try the ECV and hope it was successful.
Day one in hospital, consisted of a scan, discussion about the ECV with the Doctor and having the procedure done. They first give a small injection to relax the muscles of the uterus and then manually turn the baby by manipulating the abdomen. The leaflet stated the procedure isn’t painful and in my experience, that is accurate. The leaflet also said it would be uncomfortable, in my experience, that was playing it down. It is an extremely uncomfortable procedure however the breathing techniques were fabulous in keeping my body relaxed and pliable. The procedure was successful, and I went home, prepared to return in the morning ready for induction. I agreed to the induction providing baby hadn’t returned to the breech position overnight.
The following morning I was admitted to the hospital and got settled into the antenatal ward. I was scanned, the baby was still head down. I was examined, my cervix was completely closed and as such, they were unable to break my waters to encourage labour to start. That evening I had the prostaglandin pessary inserted internally, the purpose not to start labour but to ‘ripen’ or open the cervix enough to enable my waters to be broken. I found the pessary to induce mild contractions which I experienced that night and the following day (24 hours). I say mild, they were fairly strong at times but I managed to get some sleep using my hypnobirthing relaxation mp3s. The more relaxed I felt, the more the sensations eased.
After 24 hours with the pessary I was examined again and was 3cm dilated. Fabulous! Then I was met with the news that the labour ward had shut as it was so busy and there were no beds, so I needed to wait until there was space before my induction could continue! I waited until the following morning and was moved to the delivery suite, a room with a fabulous view over the city and a wonderful supportive midwife waiting for me. She examined me and found I was still 3cms dilated and she broke my waters. The Doctors told me they’d be back in 2 hours to start me on the syntocinon drip if my contractions were not yet 3 in every 10 minutes. I felt very pitted against the clock. I did not want the drip, I knew it meant I wouldn’t be able to labour in the pool (just across from my room), that they would want to monitor me constantly (restricting my movement), not to mention being hooked up to the drip. I also knew syntocinon is notorious for stimulating the uterus muscles so that it’s stronger, more intense and possibly more overwhelming that spontaneous labour. Yep, I really wasn’t up for it. With the help of my Doula and my Husband we tried all the ways we knew of to get labour started, and it did, but SLOWLY. Very slowly. My fabulous midwife held off the Doctors and between us we lasted 6 more hours, before I conceded I wasn’t yet in established labour and I would accept the drip in the hope we could finally get this show on the road.
The drip went in, the monitor belt was firmly round the baby bump and I was parked on my birth ball. It was 5pm on 5th November and as labour began, I watched an awesome firework show over the city.
Two hours later, it was a different story. We’d only been going two hours and the surges were getting so intense, I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it to the end. I looked at the clock, it was 7:30pm, I knew labour, I expected to go until midnight at the earliest. My midwife commented that I was doing really well and I told her I couldn’t go on anymore. My words were along the lines of, “I can’t do this, I can’t go on any longer, I need an epidural, I know this sounds like transition and I promise you, it really isn’t, I need you to take me seriously, I am done and want an epidural”. She gave me a leaflet to read and went out muttering about looking for the anethetist. The surges were coming so thick and fast now there was no rest in between them, they faded slightly and came back stronger. The midwife returned saying the anethetist was busy with another lady but would come to me afterwards. I looked at the clock, 7:50pm.
Soon after that I began rocking on my ball and pushing away from the bed in front of me, my Doula said I looked like I was pushing and a moment later I felt I needed the toilet and stood up, resting forwards on the bed. Everything stopped. The intensity, the world. Silently I knew my baby was coming and I let everyone else figure it out for themselves. Those few minutes, standing and easing my descending baby down was delicious. The most amazing, satisfying feeling mixed with a whole lot of relief, to know I wasn’t going to have to hang out until midnight or beyond, and that calling for the epidural was exactly transition!
She was born at 8pm on bonfire night. Did it look like a hypnobirth? Not really, it looked loud and wild. Was it a hypnobirth then? Absolutely. I used my hypnosis mp3s, relaxation techniques (and quite a bit of sacral counter pressure) to labour through my most challenging birth. It was fast (3 hours from 3cms to birth) and it was seriously hard work but my baby daughter was worth every second and I’d do it again in an instant, for her.
Mabel's Birth Story
A wonderful birth story for you from a powerful mother. The lovely Gemma and Liam came to my Faversham group class when pregnant with their second baby. This is such a wonderful read and a real testament to Gemma's strength and determination to birth her daughter feeling empowered, confident and supported so beautifully by Liam. Their plans changed not once but multiple times but I will let Gemma tell you all about that! I challenge you to remain dry eyed when you read this (I didn't!) Love Sophie x
Mabel's Birth Story:
When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter I was never particularly afraid of giving birth, I assumed it wouldn’t be pleasant but it would only be a day out of my life and I would get through it. My husband and I didn’t really prepare for the birth with regards to making it a more personal experience, we mostly found out about the process and pain relief methods. When it came to it, it wasn’t exactly straightforward. She was back to back and I couldn’t keep down any food or water due to continuously vomiting. That, combined with a few other issues, and I think both myself and my husband panicked a bit as we felt totally out of our depth.
When I became pregnant with our second daughter I was actually quite fearful of giving birth again and looked into hypnobirthing as a way to help. I felt a bit of a fraud when enquiring about the Kent Hypnobirthing course, like it should only be for first time mums and as it was our second time around I should have this whole birthing malarkey down! I communicated this in my enquiry and the lovely Ray replied and told me that in fact both her and Sophie had only come to hypnobirthing on their second births which really reassured me.
We took the course in Faversham with Sophie and both found it really helpful. It even made me view my first birth in a more positive light. Yes, our first birth wasn’t ideal but we got through it and had our beautiful daughter! We spent the next couple of months preparing for birth in a way we didn’t with our first. I listened to the MP3s and definitely took on Sophie’s advice about relaxing every day! We spent a really good evening choosing our birth playlist and discussing the pros and cons of each track, we took it very seriously! They had to be (on the whole) positive, not too fast and mostly mean something to the both us. We loved the playlist so much that we both listened to it in the lead up to the birth for our own enjoyment and I think it will continue to be one of our favourite playlists going forward which will be lovely as it has a whole new set of memories attached to it now.
We decided this time we would like to have a home birth and hire a pool as I wasn’t able to have a water birth the first time around and due to lack of rooms available, I had to labour on a full ward for a few hours which wasn’t the best. We planned the lighting, aromatherapy oils, music and we were really feeling positive about the whole thing until I had my 36 week scan which showed that the baby was estimated to be over the 95th percentile for weight. This meant that there was an increased risk of shoulder dystocia and at our home birth risk assessment we were advised not to have a home birth. Although I knew that I couldn’t be refused a home birth, we felt more comfortable listening to the medical advice in our case. We pushed to be able to go into the midwife led unit which is located in the ward next to the delivery suite in our hospital but the 95th percentile was over their guidelines and although they do judge each case on its own merit, they had recently had a bad case of shoulder dystocia and so weren’t willing to make an exception.
Our plans changing from the lovingly planned home birth to going back to the delivery suite really set me back, much more than I thought it would. At 36 weeks pregnant and after weeks of feeling really positive and confident, I found myself feeling fearful of giving birth again. I contacted Sophie who was so helpful with practical advice about different people to contact and sending me positive birth stories. She reminded me to listen to the tracks and use my affirmations and generally start to focus again. My husband was brilliant at being positive about the change of plans and worked hard to reassure me that it didn’t have to be like last time and we could make a delivery suite birth into the kind of birth we had hoped for. Slowly I started to come round to the idea and ended up feeling back in control and positive about our change of plans.
I was scheduled for another scan at 39+6 and this time it showed the baby was on the 93rd percentile so I could now go to the midwife led unit or have a home birth. However, due to the fact the baby was still measuring large we decided to go to the midwife led unit as we were very close by in case there were any complications.
The night before I went into labour I had no indications of what was to come, I was actually joking with my husband about how lazy our little girl was being as she just didn’t seem to want to make a move to join us just yet! My husband wanted to try out some acupressure techniques that he found on YouTube that were meant to trigger labour (he is still convinced that’s what happened in our case!). So at 10pm while massaging my very swollen feet, he did a few of these acupressure techniques and we went to sleep. I woke up at 2am with some tightenings but I wasn’t sure whether it was just strong Braxton Hicks again as I had had this a few times in recent weeks. I went downstairs to sit on my birth ball and start listening to our playlist (I think I really I knew this was it which is why I started listening to the playlist). About half hour later I realised that my waters were starting to trickle when I stood up so I went to put on a pad. After a few more trickles I realised that my waters were very slightly yellowy so I called the midwife led unit and after listening to me experience a surge and hearing that my waters were a bit yellow, they advised me to go and see the assessment unit at the delivery suite in case I had meconium in my waters but that if I didn’t, they would be happy to have me.
I called my mum to come and look after our daughter and she was over in 15 minutes while my husband and I gathered our things. At this point I was having a tightening about every 8 minutes but I was fully expecting them to slow down with the transfer to hospital and to be sent back home to labour for longer. When we got in the car we put our playlist on and began the drive. It was definitely uncomfortable being forced to sit down during my surges. I wanted to lean forward but couldn’t find a safe way of doing this in the car. We arrived at the hospital just after 4am and I had to stop a few times on the walk to the delivery suite and lean on the wall to breathe through my contractions. They seemed to be coming more regularly than they were at home which briefly made me think about my previous labour (irregular but frequent contractions as she was back to back). However I made myself focus on the present and remember that this time didn’t have to be the same. We got to the delivery suite and we were taken into a room to be assessed. The midwife took away my pad to test my waters for meconium and unfortunately it did have it in which meant I wasn’t able to go to the midwife led unit or use the pool. Despite how much the thought of this scenario bothered me in the last few weeks I found that it didn’t actually phase me when it came down to it, with the help of my husband I remained focused on breathing through my surges and just staying present. The midwife wanted to just observe me for a while to see how I was doing but also wanted to monitor the baby to make sure she wasn’t in distress due to the meconium. I said that I wanted to stay active and she said that would be OK after she’d been able to monitor her for a little while. Laying on the bed was not great, my body wanted to move around and I found I was in a lot of pain laying back. Around this time my blood pressure was taken and found to be really high, I also started vomiting so I agreed to have an anti sickness shot as I didn’t want to become dehydrated like I was in my first birth. When the anti sickness kicked in I was given some medication to bring down my blood pressure too as they were quite concerned with how high it was.
After a little while, during one contraction, laying on the bed all became too much and I just had to get up during it, I physically couldn’t lay back on the bed any longer as it was going against everything my body was telling me to do. The midwife then put the clip on the baby’s head to monitor her and that allowed me to move around more freely which was much better. My surges were now coming about 4 times every 10 minutes and I was on gas and air. I was surprised at how quickly I seemed to be progressing, especially as my previous birth had lasted 3 days! It wasn’t long after I reached the ‘transition’ point where I thought I couldn’t do it and started asking for an epidural. My husband and the midwife kept reassuring me how well I was doing and that I was doing it and soon I found myself really going into my own little zone. I was on the bed on my knees, leaning over the head of the bed and rocking my hips. It was not a conscious decision, my body was just taking over and it felt good to listen to what it wanted to do. I focussed on listening to the music and began to zone out everything else in the room. Then in what seemed like no time (but in reality it must have been a while!) I remember “coming round” a bit and starting to hear the midwife talking to me about pushing. I really tried to focus on what she was saying and follow her coaching. It felt really challenging but also like I was in control, totally different to my previous birth. Then at 9.13am, our little Mabel was born weighing 9lb 6oz. The relief after was amazing, it’s like I came from being somewhere far away to being back in the room again. After she had been checked I lay down on the bed and we had our first cuddle and feed, it was amazing how quickly and easily she latched on.
I am so glad that we chose to do the hypnobirthing course with Sophie, I don’t know what would’ve happened if we hadn’t but without the support I think Mabel’s birth would’ve been very different. It allowed both myself and my husband to have confidence in ourselves and our choices. It really did bring me a sort of closure with regards to my first birth too and as we are not planning on having any more children I feel like I went out on a high!