HypnoBirthing Stories

Diane's Birthing Story (2009)

I wanted the birth of our second baby to be a better experience than that of our first child, Lucy. Her birth was relatively quick and with lots of exhausted, forced pushing which resulted in me tearing and needing stitches. The birth had been quite difficult and I remember having a nightmare about it the day after she was born, recalling the pain and distress that I’d been through. After that experience I’d said that I didn’t want to have any more children so when we decided to have another baby I was keen that the birth was as calm, natural and drug free as it could be. I also wanted to have my baby at home if possible.

At 32 weeks I found out that I had gestational diabetes and was advised that I’d need a hospital birth which was disappointing. To add to that it was likely that I would be induced at around 38 weeks which I’d really wanted to avoid. At 34 weeks we found out that the baby was in a breech position and although there was still time for the baby to turn I’d need a C-section if it didn’t. I was feeling frustrated and scared because the birth that I’d wanted was slipping away and out of my control.

A friend at work told me about HypnoBirthing® which I’d never heard of and they recommended getting in touch with Andrea from Baby Coach. We met for a chat so that I could find out more and we decided to start classes that week. We did the course in our own home in 5 classes spread across 4 weeks fitted around our schedule which worked really well for us. At the first class we were given the book and CD to accompany the course and we both read the book alongside the classes to reinforce what we had learnt. I listened to the CD before going to sleep each night and found that I’d often drift off into a lovely deep sleep! The classes were relaxed and we felt comfortable asking Andrea any questions that we had, spending time going over anything that we wanted to double check. The classes really helped me to feel relaxed, calm and empowered to be able to birth with confidence.

During the 4th class Andrea did a hypnotherapy session with me to help turn the baby from the breech position. I was due to see the midwife the following morning and I was thrilled to find out that the baby had moved into the optimal position for birthing. This meant that I’d avoid the planned C-section I’d dreaded.

We finished the course during my 38th week and things were starting to look better as I’d been told by my midwife that I could wait a bit longer before being induced. That night I lay in the bath and continued the visualisation techniques that we’d learnt hoping that it might bring on my labour naturally. Later that evening I started to feel tightening which I put down to ‘practice surges’ and went off to bed as usual. They continued through the night and I used the surge breathing that I’d been practising which allowed me to stay in bed and sleep through. I couldn’t believe that I was in labour and just thought it must be a false alarm as I didn’t feel any pain, just pressure and tightening. At 5.30am the surges became more frequent and due to the long drive to hospital and the diabetes I woke up my husband and we decided to go in an hour later.

Once at hospital things slowed down a bit. I had surges on and off but things weren’t progressing as quickly as we’d anticipated. I’m not really sure of exact timings because I’d been using the deep relaxation and visualisation techniques which stopped me ‘clock watching’, but around 7pm I was examined and no closer to the birthing phase. Looking back now I knew deep down that something wasn’t quite right and I agreed to a drip to help things along. The surges came on again and seemed very intense this time. I continued to use the surge breathing but also had some pethadine to help relieve the intensity. At 9.30pm our son, Finley was born. I held him briefly and he was taken to resuscitation before being returned for a cuddle. He was born with Apert’s Syndrome which meant that his skull was fused together. He hadn’t been able to engage completely due to the shape of his head and because the plates of the skull couldn’t mould for him to pass through the birth canal. I was told that I had been very lucky to have a vaginal delivery as most children born with Apert’s are by C-section or with forceps/ vontuse.

HypnoBirthing® really helped me to focus on how important a calm birth was for me and my baby. Finley is so calm, loving and relaxed. He hardly ever cries and sleeps very well. The breathing and relaxation techniques that I learnt have helped me post birth through stressful situations that we’ve been through. My husband has a new appreciation for his role in childbirth and he felt useful rather than helpless. I want to have more children in the future and will most definitely use HypnoBirthing® again! I’ve recommended it to everyone I know who’s been pregnant and those that tried it have gone on to have calm, natural births.