Hypnobabies Mom uses hypnosis to lower her heart rate, during a stressful ‘change of birth plans’.

This mom had a great beginning of her birth.

We went up to the room and they hooked me up to the machines to monitor the contractions and the baby’s heart rate. I continued to relax through what were apparently pretty intense contractions. Evan said the nurse kept looking at me in amazement as the contractions spiked and I just sat there quietly, breathing. The doctor came in at 8:15 to check me and see if the contractions were productive. He popped his head up and said to me “Are you ready to have a baby today?? You’re 8 centimeters dilated!” and I think I seriously got the chills I was so surprised. IT WAS HAPPENING. I had heard and read so many stories of women going through this hardest part of labor, as you get closer to 10cm. Somehow I was there and was doing just fine. At this point I thought “Wow, I’m seriously going to do this!!!” and was so excited that Hypnobabies actually was working for me. Even without any sleep the night before, I felt full of energy and also really relaxed. The doctor said he would come back in an hour and check again.

Then a surprise breech baby at 10cm created a scenario where she had to have a cesarean.  It was a shock, but she was able to use her Hypnobabies to help stay calm.

Read her story and see her beautiful pictures here.

Congratulations on your sweet baby girl!

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Arya’s Birth: A Different Kind of Success Story

My birthing story is a bit different from most Hypnobabies success stories, but it is wonderful nonetheless. It starts on Monday afternoon, when I was 40-1/2 weeks pregnant. I had a gush of fluid escape during a meeting (of course it happened on a cloth chair at the office of the person I was meeting with – fortunately he was very understanding!). I finished the meeting, stopped at home, and went to the birthing center to be checked. I was put on the monitor and although I was feeling no pressure waves, it showed that they were happening every 6-8 minutes. The doctor and nurse were both very confident that I would be admitted, but wanted to do an exam to be sure my bag of waters had broken. Upon completing the exam, the doctor was very surprised to find that it was intact! So after four hours in the hospital, since I was feeling no pressure waves, I was sent home. The rest of Monday and all of Tuesday passed uneventfully, with no signs of my birthing time beginning.

At 3:30 am on Wednesday, I had an enormous gush of fluid in bed and was excited that my birthing time was finally here! I called my doula and she advised me to go back to sleep so I could rest until morning. Despite my excitement, I agreed that this was the best idea. However, the practicality of this turned out to be limited. As I found out later, my bag of waters did not break at the bottom but tore partway up, causing additional large gushes of fluid every few minutes. I had already soaked my bed and carpet, and was now limited to sitting on the hard floor of the hallway so I didn’t drench anything else. I decided that rest at home was not likely, and went to the birthing center at 4:30 am. They confirmed that my bag of waters had broken and admitted me. However, like my first trip to the hospital, I was still having no pressure waves that I could feel. Once I was given a room, I rested a bit and then on Wednesday morning, my doula helped me begin natural induction techniques and exercises.

I was a bit dismayed that the on call doctor was not one of my favorites, and although she was a bit skeptical about my decision not to induce with Pitocin, she was respectful of my decision. I found out she was on call until 7 pm, and thought, “Oh well, my birthing time will be over by the time the next doctor is on!” My doula and I worked through the day to get pressure waves to start, using every natural induction technique, exercise, and position that she, I, or the Hypnobabies book suggested. We walked, used the abdominal lift, listened to every Hypnobabies track we thought would be helpful, tried nipple stimulation, and many, many more! I was extremely relaxed and we did get pressure waves to come on, but they were irregular and short. It was a pleasant time, with the Hypnobabies tracks playing in the background, and I felt no pain through the waves, only pressure.

At 7 pm, the doctor I liked best started her shift and I was happy that I would have all the natural birth support I was hoping for! My doula and I continued to alternate resting with different labor induction techniques through the night. At 7 am, this doctor finished her shift and no progress had been made. I was still having irregular pressure waves, but not enough to be significant. At 9 am, the next doctor visited and told me that I had reached the point where an intervention was necessary, since my membranes had been ruptured for 30 hours. At 11 am, I began Pitocin, hoping that this was the last little boost my body would need to begin my birthing time.

The pressure waves did become more frequent and intense but for most of the time I was receiving Pitocin I was still able to ride through them easily using my Hypnobabies techniques. I was on Pitocin for 8 hours, and at 7 pm I had my last exam: I was only dilated 1 cm. I knew that I had tried everything available: I couldn’t wait any longer and risk infection. At 7:35, my beautiful girl was born via c-section. She was healthy, alert and happy!

Even though Arya’s birth didn’t go the way I had planned, I can’t think of it as anything but a success. From the minute she was born, she was calm and alert: she just looked around the operating room, taking in all the new sights and sounds. When she was placed on my shoulder (I was sobbing with happiness at this point), she was smacking her lips, ready to eat. The pediatrician who attended the birth was nervous because she wouldn’t cry! Several nurses kept telling her, “There’s nothing to worry about! Look at that baby: she couldn’t be more healthy, calm, and happy!”

There is no doubt that my Hypnobabies tools were essential throughout the process. The Hypnobabies tracks and relaxation techniques kept me calm and happy through the 40 hours I was in the hospital. Nurse after nurse commented on how relaxed I was, and I was comfortable and nearly without pain through the vast majority of my pressure waves. During what would have otherwise been an extremely anxious and frustrating 40 hours of no progress, using Hypnobabies made it a wonderful experience. And Arya was such a calm and happy baby that all the doctors and nurses kept joking that I had hypnotized her! There is no doubt in my mind that using Hypnobabies contributed enormously to this: because I had an easy and stress-free birthing time, this is the environment she was born into. In fact, my birthing experience was so wonderful that three days later when it was time to leave the hospital, I found myself sad that it was over. I felt like it was the last day of a perfect vacation and I now had to say goodbye and return to normal life. But in this case I got to take the best part of my vacation home with me and start a wonderful new life!

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Mom Makes Calm, Informed Decisions During Emergency Change of Plans

Well, things didn’t go quite as planned but thanks to Hypnobabies and a bit of concentration and focus, my new baby and I had a wonderful birth experience.
I came into hospital 12 days overdue on Tuesday evening and my birthing time began almost as soon as the first dose of prostaglandin gel went in (about 8pm) with birthing waves coming every 7 mins. I put on easy first stage and deepening and slept between waves  until 1am when i woke to the pop of my waters breaking and waves at 2 mins apart, lasting 40-50 seconds each.

 

The midwife came and checked me and I had gone from nothing to 4cm in 4 hours so I thought he was going to arrive soon! Waves stayed close together, increasing in intensity from then on.

At 6am I was up to 6cm, OB came in at 10am and I was 8cm.   Still completely in control although i was experiencing quite manageable discomfort, no worse than diarrhea type cramps i didn’t think, although much more intense. My 2 midwives (and 2 medical students) were amazed that I was laughing and joking in between waves and even asked for a copy of my birth video to show “how it can be done” and if I could speak to their antenatal classes! They were all very interested in Hypnobabies all of a sudden and said I was so focused and in the zone and 98% of women they’ve seen could not do what I was doing. All of this was making me even more confident.

I managed 22 hours active labour without medication very well, ahh-ing through contractions and leaning on my husband, but when I had stayed at 8cm for 7 hours we knew something was wrong and a quick ultrasound showed his 36cm head was flexed backwards and posterior and not going to come out of my pelvis the way it was. I’d been feeling intense downwards pressure with my waves which it turns out was his head pressing down on my ishcial spines but he would then go back up and couldn’t engage even with my 7 hours of powerful pressure waves. So it was decided after all this that a c-section was necessary to save both our lives.

I had previously been quite worried about a cesarian but when it all happened I was completely at peace that that was the way my birthing had to go for us and it was ok. I had a pressure wave while they were putting the spinal block in and the anesthesiologist could not believe I had been at 8cm for 7 hours and could just breathe the pressure out. I had also essentially been in transition for alot of that time too (shaking/shivering and vomiting) because my body was trying so hard to push baby down.

When he was born, he cried straight away, they bought him right over for skin to skin after they let my husband cut the cord and he latched onto the breast straight away. His name is Charlie and was born 8 pound 10 ounces at 6.40pm

Thanks to Hypnobabies, Charlie and I had a wonderful birth. I can almost guarantee that if we hadn’t done Hypnobabies, we both would have got distressed during the labour and I would not have been able to make such calm, informed decisions even in the event of an emergency.
Thanks Hypnobabies! Our birth video will be on YouTube in the next weeks and I’ll post the link here. I think I’ll be the only first-baby, induction, cesarian birth video on the web! 🙂

Thanks to Cindy from the Hypnobabies Yahoo Group for sharing her story with us!

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Twins born by cesarean, mom still used Hypnobabies to help!

It’s been a month since my babies arrived. I have been a little sad about my hypno-journey being over, as I did not get to experience a natural birth, and that really disappoints me.  We do not plan to have more children.  It has been a little difficult for me to even look at the Hypnobabies yahoo group online. I get a little emotional seeing everyone having great birth experiences. I am happy for them, but feel left out. 😦

I definitely got to use my Hypnobabies training however. The anesthesiologist had a difficult time administering my spinal. After much time poking and prodding, I was beginning to feel the needle, so they had to give me another local and try some more. They did finally get it, but before they did I was mentally starting to freak out…but then I took control, put myself in hypnosis, (I kept saying “Release” to get me to go deeper.) I was able to relax until they got it. I guess the problem was my belly was so large, I couldn’t hunch over well enough for them.

For a while after c-section you’re obviously in discomfort. I used my peace cue countless times. One specific time was when my pain meds in the hospital were wearing off, and I was having some very intense gas pains. My stomach was moving so much it looked like there was still a baby in there! It was very weird to see, and no fun to feel. Much worse than the pressure waves w/ my first child. While the hypnosis didn’t make the pain go away, I was able to relax thru it until I could get my meds, and it made it bearable, as they were quite awful.

Even though I ended up with a scheduled c-section. I know Hypnobabies played a large part in me going to 38 weeks (I STILL was not dilated or effaced!!!) My diet was key, and the wonderful sleep I got was so invaluable! The course was worth every penny, even if I didn’t get to listen to those last tracks. My doctor suggested me to deliver at 37 weeks. My blood pressure was rising (not pre-e), and the fluid was virtually non-existent in the boy. I asked for another week, because of “wimpy white boy syndrome.” My husband and I really did not want our children going to the NICU if we could help it.  

My doctor agreed, but requested to see me twice the last week to do non-stress tests and BPPs. That week proved to be so important. Our boy ALMOST had to go to the NICU. My husband said while the nurse was working on him (pounding on his back, etc.) Someone asked, “Does he have to go?” The nurse responded, “I’m not sure yet.”

So had we delivered at 37 weeks, he probably would have gone, and that would have been devastating to me. Hypnobabies gave me the confidence to challenge respectfully w/ good reasons to back my decision up. And really, my OB had no problems w/ my decision.

The reason for my c/s was I had breech/breech twins, and there were no providers in our area willing to deliver a breech Baby A. I had the best possible c/s though. No arms tied down. No separation from babies. Babies had their bath in the recovery room. I held the babies as I was being wheeled back to recovery, and they breastfed as soon as we got there!

I so wish I had known about Hypnobabies for my first, because I KNOW I could have done it. I could have done it with the breech/breech twins given the opportunity, I have no doubt.  But, I will keep saying my life’s motto: Control what you can…let go what you can’t.

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Nathan’s Surprise Cesarean was a positive experience

Hi Ladies,

I should have sent this email earlier but Greg and I have been exhausted.  Our son, Nathan, was born on his due date, Friday, July 9th.  He weighed 6 lb 10 oz and was 20″ in length.  He had perfect apgar score and was 100% healthy.  We couldn’t be any prouder with our new bundle of joy.  Attached are a few pictures we took when he was born.

As far as the birthing process, Hypnobabies worked great for us and it was a very positive experience.  I am somewhat disappointed that due to circumstances out of our control that we didn’t get the birth we have envisioned for so long.  I am putting my birth story in this email but please don’t read if you think that stories about not having the exact birth you envisioned would have negative impact on you.  I just wanted to share my experience and I wish the best of luck to everyone.

It all started on Wednesday, July 7th when I woke up around midnight to use the bathroom and saw some blood. I didn’t think much of it and went back to bed.  I woke up a few times that night which wasn’t unusual, especially during the last few weeks of my pregnancy.  I got up in the morning and decided to work from home instead of going in.  I felt the pressure waves coming and going but I thought those aren’t real pressure waves since I didn’t have problems talking through them.  Greg and I decided to do some last minute shopping for the baby and went out for lunch.  I continued to have pressure waves but they were so manageable that I didn’t think they were the real thing.  I put in a full day of work in between pressure waves and that night the pressure waves came so much closer together than Greg decided we should time them.  They were about 3.5-5 minutes apart and we decided to go to the hospital.

***SPOILER*** This is the part where our plan deviated.  The progress of my pressure waves slowed down when we were at the hospital.  After my water broke, somehow the umbilical cord was in a sticky position where it got pinched and the baby’s heart rate dropped dangerously low.  In order to ensure the baby was ok, we went through an emergency C-section.  I didn’t get the birth I had envisioned but I must say that I wouldn’t have done anything differently.  My ultimate goal was to have my baby in my arm all safe and healthy and I accomplished that.

Hypnobabies techniques worked great during the time I was having the pressure waves and if not for the problem with the baby’s heart rate, I am convinced that we would have a very successful birth.

I am proud of what we have done during the time we were in the hospital.  I am actually surprised how easy and manageable the whole process was and both Greg and I were amazed with the new found strength I have in me considering I was not able to stay awake for any single sessions we have had.

I would have written the email a lot sooner if we are not struggling with breastfeeding.  For some reasons I am having problems producing enough for our baby and we ended up hiring a lactating consultant.  Things have improved but still not quite where I could successfully breastfeed without the need for supplement.

Anyway, we are still getting into the groove of being new parents and so far we learned a lot about ourselves and our baby.  We hope you guys have the best of luck and have the birth of your dreams.

Best wishes,
Julie and Greg

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Wonderful powerful post about skin to skin after cesarean!

OB nurse shares her experiences about helping moms make this happen.

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Seth’s Beautiful Birth

Seth Emanuel’s Beautiful Birth (interventions and cesarean may require BOP, but it was a positive birth story, thanks to mom’s attitude!)

From around 38 weeks, I began experiencing significant birthing waves off and on.  A few times, I felt like my birthing time was approaching, got in a bath and listened to my birthing guide tracks and the baby come out track.  I felt so close to Seth then, I knew he would be with me soon and every wave was complete pleasure.  I felt ready for my birthing time.

The waves would subside after some time though, and active labour did not come.  After my “guess date”, I began to do some major work on releasing any remaining fears about birth and parenting, and saw that each day I would let go of more controlling and fearful thoughts and become even more ready for my role as parent.  By the time Seth’s birthing day came, I had completely let go of how I wanted things to go and accepted that I had done everything I could to provide Seth with a beautiful, natural birth.  Everything else was beyond my control.

This work of letting go and allowing for nature and the universe to take over was the most essential benefit of my hypnobirthing / hypnobabies work.  I had spent months practicing diligently for my perfect birth, envisioning and willing things to go a certain way, and this was all important, but ultimately the greatest lesson was knowing that no matter what happened, I could stay calm, relaxed, present and welcoming to whatever was in store.  “I calmly accept whatever turn my birthing may take” and “My only job is to relax and allow my baby to come to me” were wonderful affirmations I turned to often.

At 40 w 6 days, my midwives booked an ultrasound for me to make sure things were going smoothly, and if so we would wait until around 42 weeks for birth to begin naturally.  After the ultrasound, a most sensitive and wonderful OB came into the room and informed us that my fluid was quite low and that as much as she respected that I would want a natural birth and would prefer to let things start on their own, she strongly recommended that we “get on with things” as soon as possible to ensure the safety of the baby.  I cried as this was always my fear, having to make such a decision.  How do I really know whether my baby’s health is at stake?  Well, DH and I decided that we would in fact induce in a very gentle way in the next day or two if this is what my midwives recommended as well.  I have wonderful midwives who respect the natural birthing process and would not recommend induction before 42 weeks unless absolutely necessary.  Any concerns I had about whether this was necessary were put to rest when I spoke to my back-up midwife (my main was off call until 10 pm) who is incredibly anti-intervention, and she suggested we induce as soon as possible!  She didn’t even want to wait a day.  She said to go home, have something to eat and get our stuff and meet her at the hospital in 2 hours.  At this point I was able to put aside any regrets about things not starting spontaneously and just got excited that it was now my birthing time!  I would be meeting Seth very soon!

At the hospital, things did not look great.  I had been getting birthing surges all day, and was put on a fetal monitor to check things out and determine the best way to start induction.  It was found that my baby’s heartbeat was dropping with each surge, and this was concerning, as it was not certain that the baby would be able to withstand labour. At this point even more letting go was necessary, as my midwife warned that a C-section could be possible if things did not improve.  Again I was disappointed, but all my work in accepting whatever turn my birthing would take and staying calm and relaxed no matter what came in tremendously handy.  The decision was made to begin with cervadil, and to see how things progressed.  The contractions got more intense quite quickly, and as I stayed calm and relaxed and listened to my hypnobirthing / hypnobabies tapes I got into a great groove of riding them out.  Lo and behold, my baby’s heartbeat started to stay steadier throughout the contractions!  Seth and I were well on our way to his beautiful birth.

As I was only 1-2 cm dilated, midwife and OB thought things would take around 12 hours to really kick start.  I would stay at the hospital but both my midwife and husband went home to get some rest before things would really get going.  Good thing my mom decided to come stay with me even though I told her not to!   After about 3 hours, my birthing surges were so powerful it took all my strength to stay with the “anesthesia” and ride them out.  It really felt like pressure, but so much!  It was very intense and the waves were not really subsiding for more than a few seconds.  I went on all fours, rocked on a birthing ball, moved my hips and did whatever my body called on me to do to ride them out.  Soon enough though I began to feel that something was off, I was just not getting enough rest time between the surges.   OB came in and saw that it was getting too much, so we took out the cervadil and broke my water, I was 3-4 cm dilated already!  I called my midwife and husband and told them to come right away, it seemed like things were really progressing fast.

From then on I laboured naturally and beautifully for about 7 hours throughout the night, walking around, using the birthing ball, leaning against a wall or my husband and rocking my hips.  My DH and midwife were such incredible support, we listened to hypnobirthing / hypnobabies tracks out loud and they were with me through each birthing surge.  My husband rubbed my back, touched me and encouraged me so perfectly and I felt so connected with him and this beautiful moment. With each surge I felt my baby’s head come down, I envisioned a lotus flower opening and my baby coming through.  The waves were incredibly intense but it was beautiful.  And I was getting some rest in between so it was much more manageable than with the cervadil.

At this point my midwife started to get concerned with baby’s heartbeat again.  It looked like it was dropping with each birthing surge again, and would not stabilize.  I had to then stay on the fetal monitor the whole time, and lying on my back made it really difficult to ride out my birthing waves.  I got examined at this point, and was still only 5 cm so it looked like I would have a ways to go.  I began to consider an epidural, since the thought of labouring on my back for much longer was becoming unbearable.  It was amazing to be able to consider this possibility without fear or feeling like I would be failing in some way, I simply accepted that whatever felt right intuitively would be the right decision.  After discussing with my midwife, we saw that it seemed like it would be the right choice at the time.  I was getting exhausted and finding it harder to stay relaxed, and this was making things more difficult for both my baby and me.  We thought that an epidural would help me relax and perhaps allow for the baby’s heartbeat to stabilize.  I decided to go for it.

The anesthesiologist was wonderful and although the process was a bit scary it felt like it was definitely the right choice.  Almost immediately I got some relief, and we kept the epi at quite low so I could still feel what was going on.  It was great to be able to relax again and stay on my back.  We continued like this for an hour or so, but baby’s heartbeat failed to stabilize.  OB came in for a consult and recommended we just wait and see, I was about 6 cm by now so hopefully we could continue with a vaginal delivery.  As some of the drops in heartbeat got lower though, the decision was made to give me a different monitor for the baby that was more accurate, that would attach to the baby’s head.  This is when things got really critical, because once we tried to attach it we lost the baby’s heartbeat for a few seconds.  This was so scary, I thought we were losing the baby.  There was quite a bit of panic and both midwife and OB suggested we go for a C-section, it really appeared that the baby would just not be able to take labour anymore.  I decided to go for it.

At this point I felt so much acceptance, confidence and respect for both the natural order of things and grateful for medical intervention at times when it is necessary for the health of mom and baby.  I was scared and shaky as I was rolled to the operation room, but felt supported by the universe and by so many kind, great people who were committed to the best outcome for both Seth and I.  My husband came in with me and sat next to me throughout the quick operation, and soon enough we heard Seth’s first cry.  I have never felt or heard anything more beautiful in my whole entire life.  When I saw him I couldn’t believe the little miracle that had come from my body.  And he was so healthy and perfect, I couldn’t have been more grateful.  Dad held Seth as they finished up the operation and cut his cord, and within minutes Seth was on me and we were bonding beautifully.  I was able to breastfeed quite quickly after, and felt such an instant connection to this amazing new person that has entered the world.

Although I did not have a natural birth, the spiritual journey of being able to accept and allow what I once most feared (a surgical birth) was more enriching and rewarding than any birth I could have ever imagined.  Hypnobirthing and hypnobabies gave me the courage to know that I always have a choice, and I can always choose to stay calm, focused and positive no matter what the situation.  In the operation room, I told my husband that I felt so lucky have been able to experience so many things in one birth!  Induction, natural labour, epidural, surgical birth… and to stay connected to my baby and the process throughout.  I told him it had been the perfect birth, and so it was.  I’ve learned that what happens in life is exactly what needs to happen at any given time, and we are so much richer for allowing these experiences in and letting their beauty and wisdom enlighten us.  I can’t wait to see what other adventures and wonderful lessons Seth brings into my life.

Lots of love,
Paula

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Cesarean Birth using the Hypnobabies Cesarean Set

Kim needed to have a planned cesarean due to medical reasons.  She decided to use the Hypnobabies Cesarean Birthing Day Set.    I was excited to hear about how her birth went and was happy that she let me share her story with you!

Hi mamas,
I’ve been following the posts but staying mostly quiet as my use for Hypnobabies was quite different than the rest of you.
I’m happy to say that we have a beautiful hypnobaby boy born by cesarean on Jan 5th. Hypnobabies really helped me stay focused and calm and my healing time started before the actual surgery started.
I did temporarily lose it when the anesthesiologist told me dh couldn’t stay in for the spinal, something that was really important to me. Then, within seconds, the head doc came in with a big smile and said, “Sure he can” and even joked that ‘real’ moms leave 24 hrs after surgery these days…LOL. I was shaking still, but quickly went back into my bubble of peace and focused on my baby and at that point didn’t even worry about some of the other things I wanted out of the norm.

I pictured my baby’s lungs healthy and ready to breath on his own. I pictured him so strong! At times I’d ask where we were (I wanted to be more present as he was born) and I’d visualize what was happening, watching with my mind’s eye.

DH was amazing! He whispered our ‘word’ as well as other key words and phrases Kerry used in the scripts. The surgery was easy (as could be). I had the mirror, but didn’t even look when the time came.

My OB honored my request and put my son up to my face all wet and fresh out so I could kiss him, like I would in a normal birth. Because of staffing issues, we were temporarily separated, but dad was with him. Within the hr I was in recovery, baby was latched on and nursing like a pro! I was up walking that night, disconnected from the iv and off meds by morning and discharged after 48 hrs (the min for c/s babies).
Hypnobabies also helped me with the after birth pw’s. These are always more intense than pre birth pw’s for me and even more so after surgery since I couldn’t move or sway through them. I used the relaxing breathing and imagined my uterus doing what it was meant to do for healing which made that so much easier.
I encourage everyone to do whatever possible to have natural vaginal births (having had both, there’s no comparison), but do know if circumstances change and you need a cesarean, Hypnobabies really helps!
Thanks for letting me be part of this group!
kim

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Mina’s Cesarean Birth due to being a surprise breech!

Our Beautiful Birth Story

The arrival of our precious little girl finally came about!  Mina was born on Wednesday evening, June 25th at 9:23 at Bethesda North Hospital, Cincinnati, Ohio. “Mina” is pronounced [Mee-nah).  Mina weighed 8 pounds and 10 ounces.  She came in at 22 inches long!  She came straight out with an impressive big cry out to the universe and to her very happy and relieved parents.  “I’m here!”  We were so happy to see her little toes and her little fingers and her impressive head of hair, beautiful little face.  It was the most precious moment of our entire lives.

Mina went all the way up to being two weeks past her estimated due date. I spent the final two weeks getting acupuncture, massage, private hypnosis, reiki and chiropractic care to get the labor started.  I bought a Baby Come Out CD from Hypnbabies and started listening to it.  I played my Hypnobabies tracks all night long on my i-pod. I was very dedicated to waiting for spontaneous labor.  At our 42 week appointment we had an ultrasound to confirm that we were ok to continue to wait for spontaneous labor.  The ultrasound indicated that our baby was still healthy and doing well but that she was in breech position.  We were very shocked as it had seemed Mina was in an ideal position for birth  up to this point.  After we found out that Mina was breech and that my water had already broken with the days of mild labor, we left the doctor’s office and went straight to the hospital where our wonderful doctor performed our medical miracle c-section.

Our birth story is still a beautiful one.  It is a different story than we had imagined it would be but it turned out just the way it was supposed to.  My husband and I had taken Sharon’s Hypnobirthing classes, Bradley Method Classes and the homestudy Hypno-Birthing course.  We were planning a beautiful unmedicated birth with self hypnosis.  What we got was a medical miracle in the form of a c-section.  We still had our self hypnosis techniques in place and we still had our Doula and our wonderful doctor we had chosen because he is the best doc around for natural birth in this area. These were all things we STILL had even though there was a major change in the way things played out.

While we were disappointed that we didn’t get to have the natural birth story we had so desired we were very excited to see our little girl.  We are now just so happy that Mina is safe and sound and that she is in our arms and we used self hypnosis to help with the c-section process. It was very helpful throughout the pregnancy, in the fearful hours before the c-section, during and after the c-section. It really helped with the spinal and with the anxiety before and during the procedure.  Having a c-section was actually one of my worst fears and I had worked in the private hypnosis session to help deal with this fear.  This was very helpful.  It is also helping me cope with my recovery now and with breast feeding which was a bit of a struggle after the c-section but which is going really well now!

We are so happy that we had the knowledge and skills from our birth education experience. We are planning a future vbac.  Our C-section was done in such a way by our request to make this possible.  I will use self hypnosis and all that I learned in my wonderful classes for our next birth.  I feel like I grew as a person and that this experience was made more beautiful by the fact that I had more knowledge and tools to use for an event that came up that I had never expected.

We are so very blessed and happy and in love with our little girl and happy to share with you her beautiful birth story because it was so beautiful and such a blessed event that has changed our lives forever.

Blessings and Best Wishes to all you Hypno-Moms and Dads and to your Hypno-Babies and remember the hypnosis is not to be used JUST for the ideal birth scenario.  When a change of plans comes it is just as important to use your skills and to remain positive.  All beautiful birth stories are not the same.  That’s why we love to read them! They are all different and all beautiful just like our little babies!

Bridget, Eric and Mina Shen

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Induction and Cesarean – but happy mom

Great story of how Hypnobabies can help and work great in all different type of birth situations.

I am writing the story of Jonathan’s birth to help anyone who may be having anxiety over induction, c-section or unforseen birth plan changes.

****As a quick disclaimer, I chose to be induced.  So don’t read if induction/c-section is something you want to keep out of your consciousness.  This is a happy story though! : )***

So….

I was very faithful in my Hypnobabies practice.  I came in like many of you, a bit worried that I wasn’t doing hypnosis correctly, and then asking myself, would it really work?  But I decided to just trust in the practice even though I sometimes felt like I wasn’t “going under”.

Jonathan was 12 days overdue with no signs of coming out.  I know, I know, I could have let him come out when he was ready, but the fact is that I was waking at night and couldn’t catch my breath.  It was very difficult to find positions that kept weight off the vena cava.  In my heart, I felt I was causeing him undue distress.  So we made the decision to induce.  I knew all the what ifs, but because I felt prepared and had listened to “Affirmations” a million times, I was comfortable with whatever was to come.

My hypnosis worked exactly as I needed it to on the inducement/birthing day.  I chose only to listen to the track for going to hospital, as well as “Deepening.”    I had a plan to listen to loads of tracks in a specific order, but when I was actually living my birth experience, I found that letting go of what I “had to” do made things easier. The confidence to let go was a direct result of doing Hypnobabies for months prior to the birth. So I just listened to these 2 tracks because that is what felt comfortable.

I don’t feel that I actually went into deep hypnosis, but I think it’s because I chose to listen to Hypnobabies here and there, rather than really putting the effort into going into a deep hypnosis.   I was just so excited and having such a great time laughing and talking with my family, that I didn’t want to stop to listen to my iPod.  So perhaps I actually was under hypnosis…I’ll never know!

I labored for about 8 hours.  It was not pain free, but the pain was certainly manageable when I used my breathing and finger drop.  When I learned that Jonathan was indeed having difficulty in the womb (meconium present, difficulty breathing) my doctors were  supportive of whatever decision I wanted. He could have been born vaginally, but he would have had to go through a lot to do so.   In the end it was me who decided to receive a c-section.

I immediately put on “Change of Plans.”    I did feel a bit panicked at first I admit, because I never visualized a c-section, but that track was really comforting.

When Jonathan was born, both eyes were full of blood, he had meconium that was a few days old on his little body, and a large hematoma on his head from straining to come out.  Again, I know many will say that this could have been avoided, and is just a natural part of the process and I truly respect that.  But I have to say that my reasons for a c-section were that I just wanted my little baby to have as few hurdles as possible in coming out.

After the birth, all the nurses marveled that I refused pain killers and left the hospital a day early.  I was not trying to be a hero, I truly felt well.  And baby Jonathan was/is just a perfect little miracle.

I just want to present this different perspective on birth because while I did not forsee an inducement or c-section, my experience was joyful, beautiful and full of love all around.   We all tend to focus on worrying what will happen during the birthing waves and transformation; “Will Hypnobabies work?  What if there’s pain?!  How do I know the finger drop is working?”  And of course, these are extremely valid worries!

But, in my humble opinion, it’s important to remember that Hypnobabies works in so many other ways during the entire birth experience.  Talking confidently to doctors, taking control of yourself and baby, and actually enjoying the birthing process are all part of the birth experience.   Additionally, all the physical benefits of meditation/hypnosis have been well documented.

So to anyone who is worried about inducement, just remember that Hypnobabies doesn’t necessarily have to be an “either/or” choice.  It works very well with whatever type of birth experience you have.  The preparation helped me to be confident, joyful, positive and healthy.

All the best to everyone.

Denise

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