31st December, 2007
Adam and I are just so pleased with how Mia's birth went. It was exactly how we wanted it. After having such a wonderful pregnancy it was great to have such a positive birth experience.
Here's our (long) birth story!
After attending the classes, we practiced some of the relaxation techinques and both finished reading the book. We didn't practice as often as we should though. In the last few weeks, once I had finished work, I tried to at least do my affirmations daily. Some of them were more significant to me than others so I tended to repeat these in my head when I thought of them. When using the CDs I tried to visualise the baby moving down into position and I am sure that afterwards she was lower than before! I also tried to visualise my cervix 'softening' as she moved down.
I had been getting braxton hicks for weeks but from about 37 weeks they were coming all the time. At 38 weeks I mentioned this to my OB(Sophie LeOng) and she thought she should check me out. At this stage I was already 1cm dilated and the cervix was very soft. Sophie was about to go on leave so told me to keep my legs crossed till she got back but that she definitely didn't exxpect me to go over.
So, I just kept doing what I was doing. We went for lots of walks and I kept doing the hypnobirthing most days. I woke up on Sunday morning with more of a crampy feeling and I knew things were different. At this stage (6am)they were regular surges at 5mins apart and so we called the hospital at 10am as things were progressing. They told us that we sounded like we were coping well at home so if we were happy to, we should stay there for now and call them back in 1.5-2hrs. So we just kept going about things as normal. I bounced on the fitball at the computer and Adam was doing the dishes!
By 12pm, Adam was getting a bit worried so I called Mitcham again and they suggested I come in. We got there at about 1pm and the surges were about 2-3mins apart in the car. At this stage I was still coping with them really well and just kept thinking they were surely going to get much worse!
It was lovely and peaceful in the birthing suites as we were the only ones there. We were monitored for about 15mins and all was going well. Afterwards we basically just sat on the couch and breathed! Adam kept talking me through and once again I just thought we must only me a couple of cms and it would surely get worse.
Sophie turned up at around 3pm and after checking me said I was already 7cms! I was so happy to hear that! I stayed up on the bed after that, propped up with a bean bag and they left Adam and I alone (besides popping in to check on us every now and then). We just kept doing what we were doing. I barely said a word through the whole labour - even once I hit transition.
Not long after I felt the urge to push and my body just started doing it! I tried to think about breathing the baby down as in the hypnobirthing, but didn't feel this was working that well. Instead I pushed when I felt I should, the midwife was great in not 'encouraging' me to push when she thought I should.
So, after 37 mins of pushing, little Mia Amélie was born after a 6.5 hour labour. I had not used any pain relief - not even a heat pack or hot bath/shower - just the hypnobirthing techniques.
It was such a wonderful experience for all of us and the midwife and OB were thrilled with how well it all went. It was great not to have anything to recover from after the birth.
I have been telling everyone how much I loved my labour which no one believes is possible!We will deifintely be back for another and will be using the hypno again.
Sorry about the long story, just wanted to let you know how well it all worked for us.
Kind regards,
Robyn, Adam and Mia :-)
Adam’s perspective of HypnoBirthing:
For me the experience was fantastic because I was able to take an active part in Mia’s birth, as well as support Robyn during her pregnancy.
Practicing the different HypnoBirthing exercises leading up to the birth gave Robyn and I some important time together (in hindsight this was great because we don’t have much alone time anymore).
During the birth it was great to have something to do, looking after the music and talking Robyn through the visualizations and actually feeling that I was helping.
Having practiced the relaxation exercises and worked out a birth plan meant that the two of us were able to control the birth, rather than be controlled by the hospital staff, and remain calm and relaxed the whole time.
Being able to be useful during Mia’s birth was important to me, but even better was seeing Robyn control her own experience and be able to enjoy it.
I would highly recommend anyone taking HypnoBirthing classes