Wonderful Birth Story Book for FREE!

Journey into Motherhood is a book recommended to all Hypnobabies Students, because it is full of wonderful, positive birth stories.  I am so happy to say that Sheri Menelli has decided to give this book away free!  I hope all moms take advantage of this and are inspired by these stories!

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Dylan’s Home Birth

Here is another great birth story.  Dylan’s Hypnobabies Homebirth 

(Warning, there is a swear word in the post, when her water breaks and startles her.)

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ECV (External Cephalic Version) with Hypnobabies

Here is one of the Hypnobabies Home Study Mom’s experience with ECV and Hypnobabies.

At 34 weeks, I found out Baby M was breech, and to say I was stressed
is an understatement.  So I did some research, and tried to find all
of my options.  I tried elevating my hips (broke my ironing board!),
played music in my lower belly, and ordered the Turn You Breech Baby
CD.  Then I called my acupuncturist.  Went to see her 3 times, and
while she got the baby to be very active, she never turned.  So then I
called the chiro and had him try the Webster technique last week, and
I was scheduled for another visit with him this past Monday.

I also had my 36 week OB appt that day, so when I went in, my OB said,
“She’s still breech, and if we’re going to turn her, we need to do it
today.”  I knew I was willing to try to ECV, but I was like, TODAY?
Um, OKAY?

So my husband and I had all day to weigh the options, and in the end,
we said, “Let’s do it.”  I did NOT want a C Section, and the ECV
seemed to be the best way to get me a natural birth.

Before the hospital, I listened to Fear Release and the Turn Your
Breech Baby CDs.  We went to the hospital around 3:30, and they
monitored me and the baby for 30 minutes. I put on my Deepening CD,
and the nurse came in a bit later and said I was registering as
“asleep” at the nurses station (great confidence booster, yay, it
works!).  Around 4, they wheeled me down to the Ultrasound, and it was
time for the version.  I kept myself in Center Switch, and my husband
said later that it looked like I was high/out of it.

The ECV took only about 3 minutes.  My OB tipped the table so my head
was lower than my feet, and he gave me a shot to relax my uterus.
Then he used his fingers to lift the baby out of my pelvis and then
turned her a bit.  After every turn, he watched her heartbeat (the US
tech held the US to me belly the whole time), until she was head
first.  The actual turning of the baby was no big deal.  The only pain
was with his nails digging into my skin, pplus the shot and lying at
that angle made me light headed and wanting to barf.  I also yawned
like crazy.  I got really sweaty, so the doctor had to use the balnket
to give her the final turn, which was sweet relief b/c no more
fingernails!

After I was done, they monitored us both for an hour, and they said
her heartbeat was strong, no problems.  I had a few contractions, but
they went away before bedtime.

I’m so glad we did it, because I can finally relax and get back to
concentrating on my HypnoBabies.  For those two weeks of wondering, I
would do the CDs and practice my finger drop, thinking it might all be
for naught.  Now I’m excited and really starting to visualize this birth!

So far, she’s stayed head down.  Please stay that way, Baby Girl!

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Hypnobabies in the Newspaper!

Lasi Leavy, a Hypnobabies Instructor in PA had a lovely article about her Hypnobabies classes in her newspaper.  It is a great article explaining about Hypnobabies and the benefits.  There is also a link to a video of Lasi!

Hypnosis used to help prospective parents overcome fear or anxiety

Enjoy!

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Great Twin Hypnobabies Birth!

Birth Story of Andrew and William

Their birth story began on September 20 when I was 33 weeks pregnant
with the twins. At 2am I woke with pressure waves (PWs) that were
strong and intense and 10 minutes apart. Within 30 minutes, they were
5 minutes apart so we headed to the hospital. When we got there, they
checked my dilation and I was 4 cm and 75% effaced. Since it was so
early, they immediately started me on Terbutaline, antibiotics, and
steroid shots. The Terbutaline didn’t have any real effect on the
PWs, so they next started me on Magnesium Sulfate. At that point,
delivery seemed imminent. The local hospital doesn’t have the
facilities for babies prior to 35 weeks, so I was transferred by
ambulance to a hospital about 60 miles away.

I stayed on Magnesium Sulfate for 3 days and then they turned it off
to see if the labor would restart. I had PWs the whole time but they
weren’t “productive”. I stayed in the hospital 24 hours longer and
when I didn’t dilate any further, I went home. It took 2 weeks to
recuperate from the Mag-Sulfate so my mom stayed with me and cooked
for me.

On October 14, labor started again. This time I was 36 weeks. After 4
hours of PWs that were 5 minutes apart, we headed back to the
hospital. I dilated from 4 cm to 6 cm in the triage area within the
first 20 minutes. The standard procedure for delivering twins is in
the operating room (which I was okay with) so we headed straight
there. After 30 minutes or so I felt the intensity of the PWs die way
down. After spending 3 hours in the OR, I finally told the MW that I
didn’t think the PW were productive anymore. We headed to a regular
room to rest and see if the PWs picked up again. The next morning,
they were completely gone. We spent that day in the hospital, walking
the halls and seeing if we could get things going again. No luck.

At this point the OB was very reluctant to see me go home since I was
so dilated. We agreed to stay one more night and check again for
dilation in the morning. I was so tired from little sleep, walking
all day and the stress from being in the hospital again. My
confidence in my body was severely shaken with the starts and stops.
The OB on call that night came in to talk to us about doing an amnio
to check if the babies’ lungs were developed enough to induce labor.
I was so frazzled that I almost agreed. My DH was much steadier of
mind and reminded me that the babies should choose their own
birthday. There was no sign of distress in the babies and I was fine –
 why induce at 36 weeks?

So the next morning, our favorite midwife (she also attended the
birth of our daughter) checked me and since there was no change,
discharged us.

We spent the next week getting stuff ready around the house. We are
also house-hunting since we are currently in a 2-bedroom condo with
soon-to-be 4 kids so we looked through some houses.

On the afternoon of October 21, while looking through the house that
we ultimately decided to buy, labor started again. We monitored the
PWs for a while, but then had the bloody show and very intense PWs.
So we headed in to the hospital – again. This time I was at 8 cm at
check-in (no triage this time). In about an hour I was at 9 cm and we
headed to the OR again. All this time I had been using my hypnosis
tools very effectively.

One thing was very different from my DD’s birth. This time, the OBs
really pushed the epidural. The anesthesiologist came in to talk to
me and try to convince me that epidurals are completely safe and that
I should get one “just in case”. I refused, stating that I was
consenting to deliver in the OR “just in case”. He was sure to let me
know that he would be right there in the OR if I changed my mind.

It’s odd, but the operating room is icy-cold! DH and our MW (the same
one again), made sure I had warm blankets and tried to warm me up.
Slowly I noticed that the PWs were getting less intense and spacing
further out. After an hour or so I didn’t need to focus to get
through the PWs. I asked the MW to start some pitocin at a low level,
just get things moving again. Every 30 minutes or so, they turned up
the pitocin. I would get a couple of good PWs each time it got turned
up, then they would taper all the way down again. I was getting
discouraged – I thought pitocin was a sure thing; it never occurred
to me that it would not give me hard, intense PWs!

I will never forget sitting on the operating table at midnight in a
freezing cold operating room, singing great 70’s and 80’s rock songs
with the MW and nurses, dilated to 9 cm, maxed out on pitocin, and
feeling nothing. We were playing “name that song/artist” and chatting
about life in general.

Finally, at around 12:30, I asked the MW to break Andrew’s bag of
water. Thing got really intense after that. The PWs were definitely
uncomfortable at that point, but I went back to using my hypnosis
tools and stayed very much in control. I felt every sensation as
Andrew made his way out. There was pressure outward on my hips as
Andrew pushed past William. Once Andrew was out, William began to
settle into place, staying head down. William was still floating in
his bag of water, and the bag didn’t break until I was pushing him
out. It almost felt like he got “washed” out when the water
released!

Andrew arrived at 1:00 am, October 22 and William followed at 1:28
am. It was a wild ride from the water breaking to William’s arrival.
The intense cold of the room made it very difficult to relax the way
I wanted. I birthed them both laying on my left side, but the nurse
had to pry my right leg up to allow the boys to come out because I
had my legs clamped together. There were only two things that I
remember hurting – moving that leg and having the heart monitor
touching my belly. Otherwise, it was a very satisfying experience. I
felt like I was on a high for a while after the birth, even though
our babies ended up in the NICU before I could hold them. They both
had 1 minute apgars of 8, but then had breathing problems at 4
minutes. They were both in my room with me within 12 hours, doing
great! Both immediately nursed, having nice big mouths and perfect
latches.

Both the MW and the nurses thanked me several times after the birth.
Apparently it is so rare that twins are birthed naturally and even
more so that the MW gets to catch both. I’m pretty convinced that I
would have had a c-section if I had gotten the epidural. With that
and the pitocin, I would have had failure to progress and the boys
heart rates may have suffered. I am so thankful to my supportive DH
and HypnoBabies. None of it would have been possible without them.
Three weeks later, I am tired but still feeling so powerful – amazing!

Andrew – 6lbs 11oz, 19 inches long
William – 6lbs 6 oz, 19 inches long

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Mayim Bialik used Hypnosis for Childbirth

It is always wonderful to read about positive role models for birthing moms.  So I was excited to hear that Mayim used hypnosis for her last birth.   I love that in the picture it shows her wearing her baby and nursing in public!

Thanks for being a great example!

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Beautiful Birth Story

On a Hypnobabies Instructors Blog.  One of her doula clients had her baby.

Welcome to Baby G!

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CDs for an Easier Pregnancy

Hypnobabies has put together some of their best pregnancy related CDs into a set for pregnant moms. 

Hypnosis for an Easy Pregnancy CD Set

This set includes Eliminate Nausea Now, Peaceful Sleep Now and Joyful Pregnancy Affirmations. 

I think this is a great addition to the Hypnobabies Home Study Course, or for moms who aren’t sure if they want to do the Home Study, this is a great introduction. 

This set is not meant to help you during birth, but rather to help you have a more comfortable and enjoyable pregnancy!

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New York Times Article

on The Possibilities in Hypnosis, Where the Patient has Power. 

This is a nice article explaining what hypnosis is and how it can help people with many different issues.

In effect, hypnosis is the epitome of mind-body medicine. It can enable the mind to tell the body how to react, and modify the messages that the body sends to the mind. It has been used to counter the nausea of pregnancy and chemotherapy; dental and test-taking anxiety; pain associated with surgery, root canal treatment and childbirth; fear of flying and public speaking; compulsive hair-pulling; and intractable hiccups, among many other troublesome health problems.

Enjoy the read and open your mind to the power of hypnosis!

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Inland Empire Birth Film

ORGASMIC BIRTH showing! 
WHEN:  SATURDAY, NOV. 15.  3PM-6PM 
WHERE: Amazing Babies Midwifery Care,
ADDRESS:  13768 Roswell Ave.  #205,
                  Chino, CA  91710 
 
Please email me at:  jthomas@amazing-babies.com  for confirmation.
 
Come and hear panel discussion on local birth choices, opening of AquaNatal Birth Spa, and a report on the American Association of Birth Center’s 25th birthday bash in Tuscon in
September.  How & Why AABC is the “bridge” between the 2 groups of midwives uniting for the common good of mothers & babies everywhere.
 
Even if you can’t join us, please consider sending a $10 donation, so a birthing couple may attend free of charge.  We have quite a few young couples expressing an interest, but the $10 is hard right now for them.

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