Virginia's Birth
The birth was an amazing experience - something I never thought I would be able to truly say. I'm so fired up about it that I want to tell everyone about hypnobirthing! Why would you do it any other way? It's just fantastic.
I'm still blown away by what a wonderful experience it was. I honestly never thought I would really manage it. I was hoping for the best, but preparing myself for a similar experience to last time, which I would hopefully handle better and would come to you afterwards for some EFT!
I won't pretend that I was totally calm and collected the whole time, but the strategies you gave me helped me to turn it around. When my midwife confirmed that my waters had broken and that we were going to be having another premature baby I did panic a bit, but our work together made me realise that I couldn't continue to think that way. This baby was coming and it was up to me to make it as good as an experience as it could be. I was disappointed that we wouldn't be able to use water for birthing as I had planned and was a little concerned about how this might impact pain management etc, but I worked on changing my image of how it would go and this helped enormously. I spent the morning at home, listening to the Rainbow Relaxation while my husband got everything organised and my other child went off to his friends. I think I'd been holding on until then, because it all started to ramp up shortly afterwards. We had a rather uncomfortable car ride to the hospital, with me feeling every bump in the road.
Again, I did have a little fret when we got to the hospital, but I managed to turn my thinking around and get back on track. As soon as I was through the door it was fine. We ‘made the room our own’, as you advised, with music and aromatherapy. My husband was wonderful communicating with the obstetrician. He (the obstetrician) had been pushing for induction and epidural before I had even got to the hospital, but when he came into the room, he realised that it was our birth and that we would do it our way. And we did!
My husband and midwife supported me through my contractions with some massage and breathing. They were already pretty intense, so I couldn't do the 'filling up the balloon' part of the surge breathing, but the ribbons falling was very effective. I felt totally able to ask my support people for what I needed from them (I would definitely have struggled with this without the hypnobirthing workshops) and also able to say no. My husband was also totally empowered and confident which helped me enormously.
My contractions were short and intense but totally manageable. I didn't need any pain relief, Somehow all of the hypnobirthing skills came into play at just the right time, without me having to actively think of them. My body seemed to know what position I wanted to be in and what to do. The 54321 breathing technique helped a lot when things started to get more intense. I asked my midwife to let me know how I was going, because if I had only progressed a cm or so then I felt like I was going to need something to help me through to the next stage. I couldn't believe it when she said I was 7cm - this was already the hard part, and it was totally manageable! From then on my body moved really quickly and baby was on her way. I didn't need any pain relief at all.
I can't describe what an amazing feeling it was as she nudged her way down. I thought I was grabbing onto my husbands hand, but he said that I was totally relaxed and limp. I really wanted my midwife by my side at this point - I think putting her in the room for the visualisations (before the birth) was a great tool - and she was amazing at guiding me through and I trusted her completely.
As I say, I still can't believe it. Our baby Virginia was born after just four hours of active labour. In fact I spent the first 20 minutes or so asking people if I really had had her. I kept waiting for the hard part! I cannot begin to tell you how healing this has been after our first experience and I am so grateful for it.
We got to spend some time with our wee baby before she had to be transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit. I managed to keep in control of my thoughts and not let emotions run away with me, because I understood this time how that can happen. I kept 'grounded', if that makes sense. We spent a week in hospital before encouraging the staff that we could go home, as she was really only under observation for weight gain at this point. She is doing really well and putting on weight like the proverbial mushroom. I did need to use some of the tapping exercises when we were in SCBU, but what a great tool they are too.
Anna, I could never have had this wonderful experience without you and the techniques you showed me. I am still overwhelmed by the support team I had on the day - and I count you amongst that. So many past hurts have been healed through this and I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is to look at your newborn baby and only feel joy. I am incredibly grateful.
Thank you so so much for all of your care and support over these past few months. You really have a wonderful skill and ability to make people feel so comfortable around you to share their deepest fears and thoughts.”
I'm still blown away by what a wonderful experience it was. I honestly never thought I would really manage it. I was hoping for the best, but preparing myself for a similar experience to last time, which I would hopefully handle better and would come to you afterwards for some EFT!
I won't pretend that I was totally calm and collected the whole time, but the strategies you gave me helped me to turn it around. When my midwife confirmed that my waters had broken and that we were going to be having another premature baby I did panic a bit, but our work together made me realise that I couldn't continue to think that way. This baby was coming and it was up to me to make it as good as an experience as it could be. I was disappointed that we wouldn't be able to use water for birthing as I had planned and was a little concerned about how this might impact pain management etc, but I worked on changing my image of how it would go and this helped enormously. I spent the morning at home, listening to the Rainbow Relaxation while my husband got everything organised and my other child went off to his friends. I think I'd been holding on until then, because it all started to ramp up shortly afterwards. We had a rather uncomfortable car ride to the hospital, with me feeling every bump in the road.
Again, I did have a little fret when we got to the hospital, but I managed to turn my thinking around and get back on track. As soon as I was through the door it was fine. We ‘made the room our own’, as you advised, with music and aromatherapy. My husband was wonderful communicating with the obstetrician. He (the obstetrician) had been pushing for induction and epidural before I had even got to the hospital, but when he came into the room, he realised that it was our birth and that we would do it our way. And we did!
My husband and midwife supported me through my contractions with some massage and breathing. They were already pretty intense, so I couldn't do the 'filling up the balloon' part of the surge breathing, but the ribbons falling was very effective. I felt totally able to ask my support people for what I needed from them (I would definitely have struggled with this without the hypnobirthing workshops) and also able to say no. My husband was also totally empowered and confident which helped me enormously.
My contractions were short and intense but totally manageable. I didn't need any pain relief, Somehow all of the hypnobirthing skills came into play at just the right time, without me having to actively think of them. My body seemed to know what position I wanted to be in and what to do. The 54321 breathing technique helped a lot when things started to get more intense. I asked my midwife to let me know how I was going, because if I had only progressed a cm or so then I felt like I was going to need something to help me through to the next stage. I couldn't believe it when she said I was 7cm - this was already the hard part, and it was totally manageable! From then on my body moved really quickly and baby was on her way. I didn't need any pain relief at all.
I can't describe what an amazing feeling it was as she nudged her way down. I thought I was grabbing onto my husbands hand, but he said that I was totally relaxed and limp. I really wanted my midwife by my side at this point - I think putting her in the room for the visualisations (before the birth) was a great tool - and she was amazing at guiding me through and I trusted her completely.
As I say, I still can't believe it. Our baby Virginia was born after just four hours of active labour. In fact I spent the first 20 minutes or so asking people if I really had had her. I kept waiting for the hard part! I cannot begin to tell you how healing this has been after our first experience and I am so grateful for it.
We got to spend some time with our wee baby before she had to be transferred to the Special Care Baby Unit. I managed to keep in control of my thoughts and not let emotions run away with me, because I understood this time how that can happen. I kept 'grounded', if that makes sense. We spent a week in hospital before encouraging the staff that we could go home, as she was really only under observation for weight gain at this point. She is doing really well and putting on weight like the proverbial mushroom. I did need to use some of the tapping exercises when we were in SCBU, but what a great tool they are too.
Anna, I could never have had this wonderful experience without you and the techniques you showed me. I am still overwhelmed by the support team I had on the day - and I count you amongst that. So many past hurts have been healed through this and I cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is to look at your newborn baby and only feel joy. I am incredibly grateful.
Thank you so so much for all of your care and support over these past few months. You really have a wonderful skill and ability to make people feel so comfortable around you to share their deepest fears and thoughts.”