Bella Jane’s Peaceful Birth

I don’t think I ever did a formal introduction.  My name is Becky, I just turned 30 and this was my first baby [guess date 3/26].  I live in SLC Utah and am a registered nurse working in ICU.

I decided way back in nursing school that I wanted an unmedicated birth when the time came.  My experience in the ICU further solidified this thought after bearing witness to what modern medicine does when we try to fix something that isn’t broken.  I realized there is a time and place for medications and c-sections but not for a standard, healthy labor and birth.  I think so much of this is how you prepare for it.

I asked my midwife at 19wks how I should prepare for my birth and she immediately suggested hypnobirthing.  I got the book by Monagon that day and started reading it.  I signed up for a class at the hospital that wouldn’t start until I was about 32 wks along.  I had seen hypnobabies online but didn’t buy it.  To my total surprise my husband bought it for me for Christmas and after starting the program I was grateful for  it.  I was skeptical that the hypnobirthing book and one track was going to be enough.
I will admit I was not the model student.  The whole finger drop thing just didn’t work for me and I modified the cues and words to suit me. I made my own maintenance program up after the initial weeks were done with the tracks I found most powerful.  I worked a lot on my fear.  I was able to go limp when I needed but suffered bad restless leg syndrome during my pregnancy and ended up listening in center always.  The hypnosis worked just how I needed it to and my whole deep ingrained view of birthing was changed.  I believe the full perspective and frame of mind about childbirth that the hypnosis brought to me was what gave me the strength and will power when my birthing time came.  When the time came it was easy… I just did it.  My story follows.

Towards the end of my pregnancy I did more fear release sessions and we attended the hypnobirth class at the hospital.  My husband up till now was not involved in my prep at all but was VERY supportive of a natural birth.  We both found it very uncomfortable to read the scripts and laughed a lot when we tried to read them. I knew this aspect wouldn’t work for us and just went with it.  I told him what I wanted out of him during labor and he was amazing when it came time.  My word was release (I wasn’t too into the word relax- I felt that might annoy me). I printed out the birthing time cheat sheet and made a playlist on my ipod.
I decided to get some accupuncture at the end of 39 weeks (days 5/6)to try to help get things going but I felt that if she wasn’t really ready that it wouldn’t work.  After the first treatment all my practice labor came to a complete hault, which is opposite of what I was told would happen.  So I went back the next day for another treatment and still had no practice labor that day.  I found it to be so odd and thought “calm before the storm?” The following day was my guess date and i had an appointment with my midwife.  I requested to be checked (not previously checked) and was 1cm and 50% effaced.

I took the rest of the day off from anything baby.  I got a pedicure, went to lunch with a girlfriend, made a yummy dessert and spent time with my husband.  At 10:30pm that night as I was dozing on the couch I awoke to a sensation in my belly I had never felt before (definitely not a practice wave).  I went to the bathroom and had a lot of bloody show.  My midwife had told me to expect this from being checked so I didn’t think too much of it and went to bed.

I awoke again at 4am to the same feeling.  I again went to the bathroom and knew at that time that I had lost my mucous plug.  I then knew that was a wave and decided to just rest.  They continued to wake me and I timed them laying in bed at 8 minutes apart.  Around 6:30 am I fell soundly asleep and didn’t wake again until another wave around 8am.  I woke my husband and told him it might be the day but my waves were slowing and coming every 15 min.  During they day they slowed more to even 1 per hour at one point.  I didn’t stress as I had heard labor can start this slow or stop and start in the early time. We put the car seat in and packed the bag.  In the evening we visited some friends and I remained relaxed.  I knew my real birthing time was nearing.
Around 9pm I told my husband that I thought we should head home.  I can’t really remember if I had stronger/closer waves or if it was just a feeling.  I put on birth day affirmations for the car ride home and started crying because I suddenly became VERY nervous, down right scared.  My husband and I talked the whole car ride home and he was so good at reassuring me, by time we got home I was feeling a little better. We had discussed what exactly I was fearing and got it out. I drew a bath at home and did a fear release in the tub.  By time I got out of the tub I felt confident and calm.

I looked at the clock and it was 10:30 pm (24hrs from the first wave felt) and I state this as the start of my time because waves started coming every 5-6 minutes and did not stop.  I sat on my birth ball in the living room and layed over pillows.  At about 2am my husband retimed my waves and they were still 5-6 minutes apart and lasting 1 minute.  I really had to start focusing during the waves.  I had been listening to my birthday affimations but decided to listen to comfortable childbirth.  I decided I wanted to be in the bedroom although I could not lay down.  I remained on the birth ball and layed over pillows on the bed.  I dozed inbetween waves and told my husband to try to sleep.

At about 4am I put on the easy first stage track and the waves were gaining intensity.  I needed to exhale loudly during the waves.  By 5am I was letting out low moans during each wave. I still cannot replicate this sound as it came from somewhere deep inside.  The waves were not getting any longer or closer together.  I was getting tired and sat in bed with my back straight up against a wall.  Around 8am my husband called my midwife and the labor  and delivery unit of the hospital to tell them we would be coming at some point during the day.

Around 9 something (I had lost all track of time and length of waves, etc.) I told my husband we should leave soon but I wanted to shower first.  At some point around this time my waves became very intense and seemed to be coming faster (my husband later told me he was timing them by my moaning and they had jumped to 2 min apart and 90sec in a flash).  The shower was so difficult but worth it.  The car ride was not so fun.  We had a detour that extended what should have been 10 min to 20 min over a very bumpy road.  I must admit that I lost my cool in the car.  I felt overwhelmed and thought to myself that if I wasn’t past 4cm then I wanted an epidural.  I was so tired (12hr past the start) and the bumps in the car were too much.

Once to the hospital I regained my cool in the car (parked) before we went in.  My first check showed me to be 8cm and my husband and I both laughed and smiled a lot. My baby was going to be here soon!!  I never mentioned drugs, no one offered them and the thought never crossed my mind again.  After 2.5hrs I was rechecked with no change. I hadn’t moved or wanted to moved since we got there and I sat bolt upright on the side of the bed.  With a little convincing I got up to empty my bladder and sit in the jacuzzi.  Things definetly started to change in the tub because I felt that I needed to bear down during the waves and I felt worried that I was going to have a BM in the water (which I didn’t).  Another check after the tub showed me to be about 9cm and I got on all fours to try to help the front of my cervix go.  I really started feeling pushy and another check showed me to still be a 9 and I agreed to have my membranes released.  I was at a 10 in no time after that.

I layed on my right side and felt most comfortable there.  My midwife suggested I try pushing without making noise (purple pushing) and I will be honest- It felt good, it felt right, so I did it.  I could feel with each push the baby moving down and that motivated me to push harder.  I did ahhhhh push towards the end of each push.  My husband had put on the pushing track after I got out of the tub and I forgot to mention that I had hypnobabies tracks playing outloud the entire time at the hospital and I found it to be soo helpful.

I would tune  in and out to the tracks and I really focused on keeping my face and hands relaxed despite that I needed to low groan/moan for every wave.  Inbetween waves I ate ice, drank water and talked to my husband, nurse and midwife. I was never hungry during labor and had a hard time keeping up my fluids. I pushed laying on my right side and birthed my baby on my side as well.  4.5hrs at the hospital and 50 minutes of pushing and my baby was born into the loving hands of my husband.  My husband had been right by my side the whole time and told me how awesome I was doing the whole time (which is what I needed.)  Bella Jane was born on March 28 (40wks, 2 days), 7lb 8oz and 20in.
Hypnobabies gave me the confidence and frame of mind that I needed to birth my baby the way I wanted.  I got the birth I visualized and my midwife commented that I had a text book natural birth and they were really impressed with the hypnosis and the tracks.  I will do this for any future babies and feel so healthy right now.  My baby is so healthy and strong too
Thank you Hypnobabies!!!

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Hypnobabies – running/birth analogy

The Off switch is like when you choose to put the “good vibes” tape in your mental VCR when running:

you can choose for it to be a running experience where all you think about is how everything hurts (normal NCB way)

OR

you can choose to put the tape in about you flying through the air with the wind runnign through your hair and feeling empowered. (Hypnobabies way)

Hypnobabies feels a bit like this- you have to train to be able to achieve your goals and you have to make a choice: Your body can definitely do it, but you have to make sure your mind is going to follow along.

– I hope this is helpful for those doing this program.

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Win a Hypno-Doula Set

Over at Bellies and Babies, she is having a give away for Doula month!

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Success – even with induction

I was induced due to complications of HELLP Syndrome which caused my liver enzymes to become elevated. My wonderful OB in Germany caught it early enough that we were able to form a game plan that would still allow me the hypnotic natural childbirth I so desperatly wanted.
I was admitted Wednesday April 7th for observation and to begin the induction processes. I was to collect urine for a 24hr period to make sure that my kidneys were not also being affected by the HELLP. ( Boy did I shock the doc when I managed to fill 5 Liters full! He said I win the `PISSING CONTEST”) And had my blood levels checked again, which came back low enough that he felt we could be successful in a natural birth with the mildest of induction processes. We started with a Caster Oil Cocktail ( Caster Oil, Champange (yippy) and Apricot Juice)

I had semi regular pressure waves though out the day  and when I was checked my dialiton had gone from 2cm to 2.6cm, which I thought for caster oil given two and a half weeks pre term was quite good! (Considering it only works part of the time even in post term pregnacies) the contractions stopped that eveing and I had no further progress.  Wednesday, I felt a little panic because the doctor said he would speak to me about our further options when my husband was available. I paniced a bit thinking that my blood levels were worse and that a c section was eminint.

It turned out he was giving me a break before moving on to Cyctotec because it is much more intense and he felt we could still be successful with minimumly invacive induction.  Now I know a lot of you are not fans of Cyctotec because it is an ulcer medication not FDA approved for induction but it is well documented in Germany as having successful results with little to no side affects. We started with a 25mg dose (a quarter of a pill) dissolved in water which produced mild results, slightly higher than the Caster Oil, then three hours later my cervix was checked and I was at 3 cm and was given a 50mg dose (half of a pill) and was sent on my way.

That evening my husband and I attened the first of 2 Birthing classes we had been signed up for at the hospital in order to get a better grip on german  procedures  (what we could deny and what to expect from the staff and so on). My pressure waves were steady at this point, but with my Hypnobabies cues I was able to complete the class without anyone knowing what was going on. I sent my husband home thinking he should get some rest “in case”. However one of the midwives had said I don’t think you will go this week, it is too early and most early inductions  do not produce progressive pressure waves… boy was she wrong about me! I believe the cues from my birthing day script are what kept me in an active first stage. At 11pm I needed a hot shower on my hips and lower back to releive the intense pressure I was feeling there ( I do not believe I was having back labor, I feel this was a result of the Cytotec, as I was also feeling pressure in my groin and in my full uterus)

After the shower I had a rest (still regularly contracting but was able to be calm using my deepening script and My Easy First Stage Scripts) I even put them on out loud with my roomate who had never heard of Hypnobabies  but was also being induced and I had hoped the suggestions might help her along also (she is actually 2 weeks over due)  She enjoyed the relaxation from them but her PW stopped that evening while mine continued on.

At 1.45am I decided I needed a bath and made my way to the birthing ward. Before the bath my midwife Veronique wanted to check the fetal heart rate and my cervix. Alexanders heartrate was elevated so she asked me to move to the bed (I had been having the fetal monitoring while rolling on a birthiing ball) I moved to the bed and the PW were more intense, she checked my cervix and I was at 4.5cm, excellent progress! She asked me if I would like to call my husband and I said no it was not time and I was still managing well on my own, however when I asked for a bath she said I could not because she was the only one on the ward that evening and she had another mother with complications and could not be there to watch over me if I needed help, but if I wished to call my husband in he could watch over me in the tub so we chose to have him come in when I reached 5cm which was at 3.30am.

All throughtout this tiime  I was listening to my Easy first stage script and was managing my pressure waves very well. I was amazed at how wonderful I felt between pressure waves, smiling and laughing and feeling on top of the world. Every time I was checked I remembered to say thank you, even when cervical checks were uncomfertable.

My husband arrived and it was suggested that we walk a bit while the bath tub was filled (not the birthing tub, that is in a separate room and we were not near our time.
We went to my room and picked up the camera and my nursing bra and a few water bottles and some yogurt and cheese sticks for some protien power! Then  walked the halls for twenty minutes or so. My husband said later that people in their rooms probably think the Hospital is haunted because during my pressure waves I would turn to the nearest wall with a ralling, lean my head against the wall and brace myself on the raills, and would low moan… peace over and over again while truning my hips in circles or figure 8s as my husband applied pressure to my outer hips. ( I had made a `cheat sheet for my husband letting him know that during this time I may make sounds and noises that he has only ever heard from me in bed 😉  and maybe even like moo ing and not to be embarassed or alarmed because I wouldn’t be and I would be doing whatever my body needed me to do to get our baby out)

When we returned from our walk I was able to have a bath and relax my whole body for quite some time. It was just what I needed, again all the while using my relax and peace cues that my husband lovingly began low moaning chants of these with me to keep me from getting to high pitched and not focusing low enough, his low voice helped me come out of my head and into my uterus so to speak!

There was a shift change at some point and the midwife who was with me for the rest of the birthing time was Susanne. She checked my cervix and verified 7cm. My water had not broken at this point and my pressure waves were beging to slow, I was enjoying the break in the waves, it gave me a chance to rest. She said the bag was heavy and when it would burst it would gush! She gave us also the option to have her break the waters and I told her I was enjoying the break and to ask again later, as I knew it would bring on more intense waves that I was not sure I was prepared for. I also knew that I was desperate for a water birth and that they were having a busy morning in the ward (one other birth and two inductions that needed attending with only one midwiife!) and I felt the longer I could hold out on pushing the better chance I had of being able to use the tub, although I had prepared my mind also for the birthing stool which was made available to me as an alternative.

I felt a gushing sensation soon after the midwife left the room and I said to my husband I believe my water just broke! He went to get the midwife and when he returned to say she would be in  any minute I felt a second gush and asked my husband to take a look (I was still gushing and he was like WHOA!)  When Susanne returned she examined me and said… umm I think it is not your waters, as the bag is still full and heavy… I believe it was urine! All I could do was laugh! She asked me again if I would like for her to break the waters for us and I asked again for a little more time.  She returned in thirty minutes and I had not made dialtion progress and we went ahead and let her break the water.

I was still unsure if I could have my water birth as I had been told they were so busy that day. I was amazed at the power the next waves became and I really “let my monkey do it” I used birthing ropes to get my balance and tried several different positions  all while remaining very focused on what felt right for my body. My husband played an excellent birth partner roll, he kissed and carressed me when I needed, he kept me focuses and told me over and over what good job I was doing, he remined me to use my peace cues and moaned them with me thought each pressure wave, he used relax and release any time I seemed to be  loosing my focus. He even spoon feed me yogurt and held up water bottles to drink.  I am so blessed to have had him there to support me ( and I was  also worried he would not  step up when I needed him to in the way that I needed at the time, as he did little if any Hypnobabies preperation…. I was fighting him tooth and nail to just read the Birthing Partner guide!) He really stepped up to the plate and I am more in love with him now than ever before! It was such and amazing bonding experience for both of us!

After about twenty waves I began to feel the urge to push, I called for the midwife and the doctor came in and checked my cervix, I was at 9, she said try not to push just yet a few more waves and it would be time. I went to the bathroom, peed and felt again the urge to push, tried to fight it , they set up the birthing stool for me. I was disappointed that I was not in the tub but ok with our Plan B. I was checked again for full dialation and postion of the baby’s head. The doctor then left me and my husband on the birthing stool and changed the CD script to AHHH Pushing Baby Out. I pushed a few times and the midwife returned and informed us that if we still wanted the water birth it was now possible to fill the tub. I was thrilled beyond belief! I had come this far and now I was getting everything I had hoped for!

BOP may be needed here – however it is an improtant part of my story as it explains about un-addressed fears and how it affected my final stage… the pushing.

We moved into the Water Birthing  Room where they filled the birthing tub and I was submerged and releif flew through me. In my visualization of my birth I could never make it to the pushing part, so I was completley unprepared for the shear force of it all.  I  believed that I  could simply breath my baby out. After 3 hours of `breathing’ my baby boy down and repeating OPEN OPEN OPEN, I was beginning to get exaughsted and discouraged. I realized I had a deep inbedded intense fear of tearing…. I had never addressed this fear in any fear clearing session, so I annouced my fear outloud to the midwife, my doctor and my husband.  Acknowlaging that fear and saying it aloud helped me move past it and get down to business of pushing my baby out. The doctor said, tearing is usually minimal in water births which helped ease my mind. I decieded I needed more directive pushing than just my Hypnobabies, I wanted to meet my son. So with the help of the midwife and some perineal S T R E T C H I N G she helped me focus where I needed to push too. This was by no means pain free, I was just not prepared for the shear power  and I lost my focus several times here, but everyone in the room was so positve and helpful ( I found out later that when I was deep in my pushing waves  my husband was searching for answers in my doctors and midwives faces… he was conserned that it was taking to long and that I was losing focus, the doctor would then give him the thumbs up or a smile to let him know we were on the right track, this in turn gave my husband the ability to tell me what a fantastic amazing job I was doing and that soon we would be meeting our son, the doctor continued to say over and over the baby’s heartrate was wonderful and all was  ok, I think at this point it was more for him than for me but I did not know it at the time, I just kept saying, he likes the baths, we have been practicing them every night at home, my baby and I  that is)

Finally they asked me to reach down and feel for his head, they  knew that would be the inspiration I needed to finish the job, and give me an idea of how far we had come and that success was only an inch way, I could feel my baby’s hair! I  changed a few positions and began to bear down,  deep grunting groaning noises, sounds I had never heard anyone make in my life began coming from me ( I think I even damaged something in my thoat because the whole rest of the day every time I had a drink of anything it stung the back of my throat) my midwife put pressure on the perineum and said just a few more pushes and his head will be out. I pushed like hell!  Crowning was so intense I had to close my eyes, his head was out and they said push again and I did, one more time, and he was out. They put my son on my chest and he just looked at us, so alert and peaceful, he didn’t even cry or wimper, he just stared at all of us. I requested they wait to clamp the cord until it stopped pulsing, and they complied. I just stared at my newborn son and fell deeply  head over heals in love.  Once the cord was cut they moved me to the bed to deliver the placenta.
We handed my son to my husband who had taken off his shirt to provide skin to skin daddy and baby time while I was tended to. The doctor inspected the damage, I had second degree tearing ( I believed this happened when I lost focus and needed more `purple pushing’ to finish the job, but after discusing it with my husband he explained that I had no problems with his head it was in fact his shoulders that his elbows were bent up as if he was using his arms to pull himself out of the birth canal .  So it seams even with breathing him down, the position of his body made tearing unavoidable, again leaving me feeling if I had adressed the fear sooner his position would have been more favorable. Once I delivered the placenta there was some repair work to be done)
I asked for some time before having to push again and the doctor and midwife left the room gibbering to eachother in German. I had a pressure wave and a strong urge to push, the placenta was delivered in two pushes just as the doctor and midwife returned, I said, “IT IS OUT, IT IS OUT!!” They laughed and said they had made a bet that I  would do it on my own, and I had!  They showed us the placenta and how it had kept our beautiful boy nursished and growing for the last 9 ½ months, then they asked if we wanted to keep it, and I laughted saying
“I know I went all natural on this one but I was not “THAT NATURAL” LOL”  What the heck  would I do with the placenta? Bronze it? LOL anyways. It took about an hour for my stitches and we were able to bond with Alexander for an hour and a half before he was weighed or cleaned or checked over in any way, he never left our arms for that whole time, just me my husband and our beautiful child.
Alexander  Arrived Friday April 9th 2010 (almost one year to the day after losing our first baby to miscarrige at 9 weeks)  @ 10:55am. He was 2 weeks early and weighed  in @ 7lbs 14oz. 21inches long. I had a 12hr (3 1/2hrs of that was pushing) birthing time in which I was completely unmedicated, using only childbirth hypnosis to manage discomfort. With Ben as my excellent birthing partner we sailed through it, all smiles! I was able to give birth to Xander in the comfort of a wonderful birthing tub. Big thank you’s (Danke) go to Dr. Wetzker and Midwives Veronique and Susanne who made my dream birth experince possible by being present and only intervining when absolutely nessessary. Their exact words to me following Xander’s birth were “Thank you for allowing us to be spectators, proving to us that giving birth is truely mind over matter” Oh yeah and they also said for my next baby I could go to the woods and give birth on my own because I clearly didn’t need them!

Side note, The staff was so impressed by the Hypnobabies scripts they were offering it to be piped into the other english speaking mothers birthing rooms!! We were the talk of the hospital and the doctor said it is so rare to see a completely un-medicated birth (German or American). The fact that it was so calm and peaceful they said it was a joy to witness. In the end they were thanking me for the experience!

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My Surprise Breech Vaginal Birth

Even though it was my first pregnancy I felt very confident about the upcoming birth (thank you Hypnobabies!) I had a planned a home birth with a wonderful midwife team, and declined all offers of a last ultrasound to check on the baby’s position (there was always some uncertainty during my checkups, but they always concluded that the head was down).

My water broke at 8 am, 6 days before the due date, catching me a little off guard as I really did think my baby would be at least a few days late. The pressure waves shortly afterwards and immediately felt fairly strong and only 2-3 minutes apart. ***BOP warning: discomfort mentioned*** I knew my baby was not posterior, so I was surprised when I needed my DH to apply pressure with both hands on my low back to alleviate some of the pressure there, even though I was otherwise completely relaxed. Well, as a first timer I just thought that what I had was the normal back discomfort, and that back labour would feel way more intense.  By 4 pm I learned that I was 5 cm dilated, which I was really happy about. However, by 10 pm I had only progressed to 7 cm, and things were slowing down.  I was starting to get frustrated and rather bored.  At 2:30am my midwifes gave me two options; either go to the hospital and start oxitocin drip, which meant that my natural homebirth in a tub was out the window, or they would go home and leave me to go to bed and try to sleep, which would mean things slowing down even more. Since the baby’s heartbeat was great and my temperature was normal they were not worried about infections, and I therefore chose this option.

That night I actually got some decent sleep between my pressure waves, and by the morning my waves were about 45 minutes apart. We spent the morning between my occasional pressure waves (with someone pushing on my back with all their might) finishing decorating the baby’s room, doing laundry, playing cards, and eating a good size pasta lunch to give me energy for later. Who could have thought that giving birth to a baby could be so boring?!? My midwife came by in the afternoon to check baby’s heartbeat and my temperature; everything still looked great. Due to risk of infection she didn’t do an internal check, but she told me that she believed that I had a high breakage, and that it might even seal up on its own. Either way, provided that there were no signs of infections she was willing to let me keep going for days instead of transferring me to the hospital. It was all up to me. She packed up all her equipment and we joked about that would start my birthing time again for sure. Little did we know how right we were…

Sure enough, soon the boredom dissipated as the pressure waves got more regular, and the intensity increased. By about 8pm (24 hours after my birth started) I was having a hard time relaxing even when DH applied pressure to my lower back and using the relaxation cues.  I remember asking for the MW to come back, and if this wasn’t transition, then I wanted to go to the hospital for some drugs since I didn’t know how long I could deal with that level of intensity. I was never checked to confirm that, but I’m convinced that’s what it was. After I got in the pool I felt much better, and it wasn’t long before I started making an ahhhh-sound during my waves, although I only felt a huge urge to push at the very top of a few of the waves. I was in a bit of denial at this point, and thought I was still in transition, and when one of the MWs told me to reach down to and feel my baby I was in complete shock to feel it there just inside me. The softness of it confused me but was told it probably was the bag of water that hadn’t broken yet.

After a few more of those little pushes between my loud breathing I heard some kind of commotion behind me, and one of the MWs saying “that’s NOT a head!!!” They told me that by baby was breach, coming butt first, and since they didn’t feel comfortable delivering a breach baby they had to call an ambulance and transfer me to the hospital. This is when it started to get kind of exciting. The fire truck with the first responders arrived, asking me really stupid questions, even during my pressure waves. The most annoying part was that they would let me drink. I mostly just ignored them, swallowing the ice chips against their protests, and concentrated on my own work. It was hard to avoid pushing during the 5 minute extremely bumpy ambulance ride, but I generally managed.  They took me to the ER where luckily two of hospital’s most natural birth friendly OBs  were on call. Not a word was mentioned about c-sections to my immense relief. My hospital used to have a policy of automatic c-sections with breach babies, however, had earlier that week (!!!) changed its policy to attempt some breach vaginal deliveries (although it was much controversy regarding the lack of experience with such births). I guess my two doctors thought that this was as good a time as any to try it out;) The tiny ER room was filled to its maximum; two doctors for me plus an anesthesiologist, `just in case’. There were also a bunch of nurses and 3 people from the NICU for the baby. In addition there were lots of people that didn’t seem to have a purpose at all, just standing around (including my DH and MW). Maybe they just wanted to witness this rather unusual event? All in all there were about 15 people crammed into this little room. When I was finally given the go-ahead to push I couldn’t stop. First I tried the exhale pushing like I’ve been doing all along, but was told to hold my breath to get her out quicker. When I did that, things started happening fast. DH told me later that for every push she would slide out a little further, but then slide almost all the way back in again. When she got far enough out, the doctor grabbed her hips, preventing her from sliding back in again. During the next push, she first grabbed one leg, did a little twist, and pulled it out. Then she did the same with the other. After baby’s cord and chest was born, she did basically the same with the arms. As far as I remember that all happened during one contraction. During the next one she put a finger in baby’s mouth, tilting the chin towards the chest, and twisted the baby while easing the head out. That was the only time I gave a little squeak, as it felt like I was majorly tearing (although I only got a slight tear that only got three tiny stitches for `just in case’). According to my MW it was a perfect textbook breach delivery.

From the time we arrived at the hospital to Sofie was born at 10:10 pm it was only 9 minutes, and considering it took them a long time to get the ER room ready, I think I actively pushed for no more than 3- 4 minutes. I immediately got the baby on my chest, and the doctor announced that we had gotten a girl! It didn’t take long though before they took her away since she hadn’t started breathing. The NICU team sprung into action, doing their thing and intubated her. It was barely in though before she started to breathe on her own, and although her 1 minute APGAR score was only 3, by 5 minutes it had increased to an impressive 9. The anesthesiologist commented how extremely calm I was, and how moms with planned births are usually more nervous than what I appeared to be.  This is despite my failure of actively using hypnosis during the last stages (but it shows that something must still be working on the unconscious level nonetheless).

Unfortunately they still felt the need to take her to the NICU, so it was actually a few hours till I got to see her again. But at least her daddy was with her for as much as they would let him. When I finally made it down to the NICU I started bawling, but it was tears of utter happiness and relief. Everything felt so surreal, but I knew one thing for sure; if I got to choose to do it again, I wouldn’t have changed a single thing about Sofie’s birth. Although it didn’t go totally according to my plan, it was perfect nonetheless, and I felt truly blessed and incredibly lucky that I got to do it my way despite a few bumps in the road. I truly feel that Hypnobabies gave me the confidence and tools I needed to have the birth I wanted.

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Hypnobabies For Life at the dentist!

I want to tell you about how Tanya’s story inspired me.

I found out I was pregnant very early (4 weeks). That same week I had a dentist’s appointment for a filling, cleaning and xrays. I told the dentist I thought I might be pregnant and he said we would just do the cleaning since the anesthesia is a vasoconstrictor and is not a good idea for women in their first trimester. So I got the cleaning and he told me I could come back after the first trimester.

I immediately got my hands on Hypnobabies Self-study course (8 weeks) and began practicing. I never thought at the time it would have anything to do with my impending filling. When, I studied the part about creating anesthesia however I thought there maybe a way around this whole filling and a narcotic business.
Then, I was lucky enough to read Tanya’s story about her mole biopsy while nursing and the way she used her Hypnobabies technique. Then, I watched the other links Sheridan had shared about the woman getting dental implants sans anesthesia with hypnosis and I knew I could do it.
Now don’t get me wrong; I questioned whether I could do it. What if it didn’t work? What if I felt pain? Would it be the same for my birth?
So I set up my dental appointment at 16 weeks (today) and I let the assistant know that I would not be using and shots and I had a technique for discomfort. She told me they had an anesthesia for pregnant women, but I told her I didn’t want anything except for the insert used to hold people’s mouths open during procedures when the patient was unconscious. She raised her eyebrows, but said she would let the dentist know. Fortunately the dentist and I are long time friends and he said it would be no problem.

I asked him to give me a minute to put myself under- “this is it,” I thought. During the procedure the assistant said “You’re doing great Tonya, they are going to love you in the delivery room!” The dentist responded “Yeah, you will have to come back and teach this to all our patients!”
Within what seemed like two minutes they were done. The dentist asked if I was ok and I said “Oh yeah-didn’t feel a thing!” (I absolutely meant it-well I felt like I had to pee because that is just a constant lately!) He said he had gotten some fillings done before with out anesthesia but nothing like that and not without a flinch like I had just done. He said I was AMAZING!

I told him it was Hypnobabies and I would send him the links on the dental procedures with hypnosis. YEA HYPNOBABIES! Now I won’t know for quite some time how my birth will turn out but I definitely feel more confident than ever!

Comment by Sheridan – Hypnobabies is meant for preparing for birth.  Not all moms would be able to do this (convert what she was learning for birth and use it for dentistry), but how awesome that she did!

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Terry in Indiana – Hypnobabies Instructor of the Week

Terry Blankenship HCHI,DONA(CD),CMT,CR
(317) 322-1300
pblankenship1@indy.rr.com
www.WhereLoveAbounds.net
Indianapolis IN

If you know the kind of birth that you want, Hypnobabies is for you. Come share my passion for birth, with other couples who also have the same vision of their birth, make new friends, and enjoy your classes together.

I have a Wellness Center in Indianapolis, and I offer:

• Massage
• Pre-natal massage
• Doula services
• Hypno-doula
• Hypno-doula training workshops
• Hypnobabies childbirth education classes (group & private)
• Infant Massage classes (group & private)
• CPR classes for infant and adult
• Happiest baby on the block (group & private)
• Cranio sacral
• Myofascial release
• Brain Gym (group & private)

Classes ongoing, call or e-mail for more information

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Great Video of 11 pound baby being born with mom using Hypnobabies!

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Wonderful fast birth for first time mom!

My baby was due March 8, I started listening to “Baby Come Out” 4 days before. I had visualized having a good night rest, enjoying a nice breakfast and having my baby mid-day. And true enough it happened that way. I wrapped up at work on Friday evening to start my Maternity leave and she arrived the next day 🙂 My labor started early Sat (3/6) morning though I didn’t realize it was so close at the time. I made breakfast with my husband and Mom but didn’t have a full appetite. Realizing I was having somewhat regular waves I asked husband to time starting mid-morning them. Much to our surprise they were coming about every 6 min by then.   I wouldn’t say I followed the lightswitch technique as much as I had planned – but thanks to the practice sessions during my homestudy, I think it worked subconsciously.  I had also visualized a farm near where I grew up as my special place but soon realized as the day progressed that  my real special place was pressed up into my husband’s neck as the waves intensified. I began to realize that hugging him during each wave all the way to the end was the most comfortable way to ride them out.  My Dr had instructed us to come into the hospital when I could no longer speak during a wave. I never got to that point.

Eventually we decided to head in more out of curiosity on the progress. To our great surprise I was already at 5 cm (mind you I was still just 1 cm and only 20% effaced just a couple days earlier at my checkup).  During the triage when we arrived I was disappointed because I thought my waves had stopped or slowed down. But when they hooked me up to the monitors, they said I was having strong waves all along – but I didn’t feel them again until we got settled into the delivery room. We were admitted and the nurses told me they’d come check on my ever couple of hours on the progress. We didn’t give them the time though. It felt like every 15-30 min we were calling the nurses station as things happened. And when they realized just how fast I was progressing, they finally called my Dr to inform her I was quickly reaching the point of pushing the baby out. Indeed within 3 hours of arriving at the hospital, she was born.  The nurses were shocked how fast things happened and that I was smiling and laughing with my husband between waves with no medications of any type.

The only part I did not visualize during my home study was the pushing phase and I should have because that was the most difficult for me.  Coupled with the fact that the nurse by my side was working against everything I had learned in Hypnobabies and commanding me to push on her queues – it made for a more disruptive and challenging final stage.  Unfortunately the hospital did not have any natural birthing nurses available and they had never encountered anyone using the Hypno method before.  But despite that we were able to make it through thanks to the practice at home and tremendous support from my husband and Mom (even though he only read the birth partner guide as a crash course that same morning before we drove into the hospital :))

Because it was such a quick, natural and “easy” birth we were released to come home within 24 hours.   My sister is expecting now and she is planning to follow Hypnobabies too after this great experience I had. I thought I might struggle more because like so many others here, I did tend to fall asleep frequently during the tracks. But just as promised, you do still develop the right hypno-anesthesia skills despite thinking you slept through the instructions 🙂

Thanks again for all of the great guidance and support here! I couldn’t be happier with the results and have a beautiful and happy baby girl from the moment she arrived as a result!

Cheers,
Stephanie

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Warrick’s Birth Story

My little one Warrick was born on March 2.  He weighed 8lb 3oz, and was 18.9 inches long–just perfect size!  Even though our birth plan was changed a bit at the end, I am happy to say that I gave birth to him naturally and owe it all to Hypnobabies and my supporters, hubby Scott and doula/instructor Katherine.
Our original plan was to have everything be as natural as possible, staying at home for the early birthing time, no drugs at the hospital, etc.  As I approached my due date I started to have issues with high blood pressure that would only go down when I laid on my side, so I was put on bed rest.  Then a few days before the due date, my midwives and I decided that the best option would be to induce, since the blood pressure problems were not resolving themselves, and I was already dilated to a 3 with mild pressure waves.  (Anticipating this, I had been listening to the Come Out script, doing fear clearing sessions, talking to my baby about coming out, and taking EPO capsules).  So we checked into the hospital (wonderful Baylor All Saints in Fort Worth) on a Monday evening to start some cervidil.

I was able to get some sleep that night, and in the morning realized that I was leaking fluid!  Throughout the day my pressure waves got stronger and more intense.  We played the cds out loud in the room all day, while I alternated between the birth ball and a hot shower.  My wonderful doula and husband also rubbed my back for hours on end with lavender oil–it works great and makes the room smell awesome!
That evening, my midwife broke my water the rest of the way (it had not fully released on its own, just leaked a little) and things picked up even more!  Unfortunately I stalled a little bit at 8 centimeters, and so I had a dose of Pitocen in the evening, and soon after was ready to push!  It is amazing how your body just knows what to do and does it.  I found that making low moaning noises during this time really helped me to focus and breathe out during the waves.  My helpers continued to give me the peace and relax cues, and put wet washcloths on my face and neck.  Even the nurses got into the Hypnobabies vibe, repeating the cues and parts of the scripts to me (they later told me I seemed very calm and composed, and that they couldn’t get the scripts out of their heads!)

We hit another snag when, as my little guy crowned, he got stuck.  After about half an hour in that position, we opted for a small episiotomy to get him out–very rare for a midwife to perform, but he needed to come out and I simply wasn’t stretching any more.
And the rest was wonderful!  Warrick came out alert and healthy, with just a little bruising on his head from being stuck for so long.  He was placed immediately on my chest, and nursed within half an hour like a champ.  The midwife and hospital staff were wonderful, allowing us plenty of time with him and following our birth plan and baby plan perfectly–he was able to stay in our room all the time.  Looking back on the birth now, I remember it as very intense at times, but I was so happy with the experience overall that I wouldn’t change a thing!  My little Hypnobaby is now a month old, and we are all happy and healthy.

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