“THE HYPNOBIRTHING HELPED ME IMMENSELY…”

First Baby

Well, it’s been quite a fortnight. I’ll go through the birth first…

So, I was due to go in for the induction on the Tuesday and I emailed The Supervisor of Midwives (Ros) early that morning. Within minutes she called me to say she’d meet us when we arrived at the hospital. She came straight to us and talked us through our options. She said that I could be induced and go home, if that’s what I wanted. She also said that the birth centre wasn’t out of the question either.

As we arrived at the hospital and were put into the room, I had an ‘oh my god, I can’t do this!’ moment, so hearing that news from Ros made me feel so much better. However, I had to have a scan and an examination first, and it was discovered that my waters had already gone! I’d had very gradual leaking for about two weeks previous, but had assumed it was a weak bladder and had read it was normal.
So because of this, I wasn’t allowed to go home and it was important to be induced that day. By then, I was resigned to the fact that it wasn’t going to be the lovely water birth I’d hoped for and just focused on needed to happen to get Lily out safely. I was also much calmer by this point.

I was given the gel induction and contractions started 5 hours later. Within the hour, I was taken to the labour ward and they came on thick and fast. There were two emergencies going on in the labour ward, so we were left to our own devices for a couple of hours. I didn’t have pain relief (gas and air) for the first three hours of contractions, and just used my relaxing and breathing techniques. Baz shook the apples constantly, which also really helped.

Eight hours after the induction (1am), my midwife told me I was only 1cm dilated. Suddenly there were a team of Drs in the room telling me I should have the drip induction and an epidural was advised. I was quite out of it, and Baz told me afterwards that the midwife was disagreeing with this and wanted us to keep going, as it would happen eventually. All I heard is a dozy haze was, ‘we really need to get the baby out soon’, so I went for the second induction.

I started pushing at 9.45am, but by 10.30 another Dr came in to examine me and said Lily was still on her side, (she’d been like that for weeks, but we’d hoped she’d fully turn during the labour). So suddenly I was now being told I had to go to theatre and have a forceps delivery. But if that didn’t work, then I’d need a C Section.

She was delivered by forceps at 10.55am on Wednesday 9th July and was 7lbs 6oz (12 days late).

All in all, it couldn’t have been further from my planned birth, and all the things I had mentally listed that I hoped wouldn’t happen, did (apart from the C Section). BUT despite it being a rather traumatic and dramatic birth, the Natal Hypnotherapy helped me immensely.

I spent the entire labour with my eyes closed, breathing in and out slowly. People kept on coming in, saw me doing my slow breathing, got confused and asking if I could feel the contractions, despite the epidural. Baz kept on having to tell them I was doing my hynobirthing! Yes the gas & air and epidural helped, but I was in a very relaxed trance-like state the whole time. Looking back, none of what happened felt very traumatic at the time. I just didn’t look beyond what was happening there and then, and Baz was brilliantly in control the entire time. We wouldn’t have got through that experience the way we did, if it weren’t for what we had learnt from you. That also includes the pregnancy and long, drawn out build up.

My recovery has been fantastic too! I was as nervous about that as the labour, especially when I knew it’d be a forceps birth. Baz waited on me hand and foot for two weeks (good old Baz!) and I was on various pain killers.

Lily is amazing. She took to feeding straight away and everything has been going really well (so far!).