"By staying calm and listening to my body, I was able to be completely in control and experience this magical time in exactly the way we had planned"

 

Our Birth Story

 

Well, where to start. With our first child, I had a trouble free pregnancy and naively assumed that the birth would be similarly, straight forward. It wasn’t. I was very disappointed that I’d had to experience Pethadin, an epidural and an episiotomy. Possibly due to this our first did not breastfeed well for weeks and I took a long time to recover from the birth.

 

Second time around, I was determined to do things differently. I felt that if there was anything that I could possibly do to make it easier for me and the baby (and consequentially the rest of my family) I should try it. A friend recommended speaking to Lyn.

We were both skeptical about this ‘alternative’ method for birthing. Lyn was brilliant at putting us at ease and I have to say that undertaking the course with Lyn, was an extremely positive and confidence building experience.  It was nowhere near as ‘new age’ as we had anticipated, but was instead a programme of inspiring and practical advice that focused on positive thinking and advanced breathing techniques.

 

Two days before my due date and 6 hours drive from home, I was bridesmaid to my sister(!) On the day we were due to drive home, my contractions started. My husband and I kept this to ourselves, as we said our goodbyes and set off in the car. I sat in the back and settled into the routines I had practiced with Lyn in the classes.  I was quite shocked to find that I felt amazingly calm and excited about what was about to happen (I’m not sure that my husband could say the same!)

 

We made it back home and my contractions subsided enough for me to get a good few hours sleep. I then woke at 3am and knew that this was it. We spent a few hours at home on the gym ball and listening to music before deciding to head into hospital. We were keen to use a birthing pool and were lucky enough to get one. When I arrived, I asked the midwife to only give me an internal exam if it was really necessary, as I’d found these very upsetting with my first child. She happily agreed and the three of us spent the next few hours relaxed and chatting as I walked around and used the ball and Lyn’s advice through each surge. After a couple of hours, it started to feel slightly more intense so I agreed to let her examine me before getting into the pool. I used the hypno-birthing techniques throughout the examination and it was very straightforward. I couldn’t believe that I’d barely felt a thing! The pool felt very soothing and I took the opportunity to drink plenty and eat what I could. After a calm and relaxed hour, I was reexamined to discover that I hadn’t really advanced so the decision was taken to break my waters. This was simple and utterly pain free and certainly had the desired effect of progressing my contractions. I returned to the pool. At this point, I should point out that we had the most  lovely midwife.  Even in such a short time we’d built up a great rapport with her and she had won my trust. She completely understood what type of birth we were going for and never put any pressure on us to alter our plan.

 

A short time later, I started to feel the need to push. Instead of tensing and bracing, I completely surprised myself in being able to visualize the birth breathing. It felt great but the contractions were starting to hurt now and I asked for gas and air. The lovely midwife looked at me in amazement and said that I had about three more contraction to go before the head came out. I knew I could do it without gas and air and I did! The baby’s head emerged under water and he opened his eyes and looked around. It was a very strange to be able to feel him turning its head to take in the new world. Then before you knew it, the shoulders were out and we had a baby son.

 

It’s not an overstatement to say that I’m immensely proud of myself. Not least because I was quite surprised by how well it all went.  I knew it was possible, but I’d always wondered whether I would actually be able to give birth so naturally and peacefully. I am in no doubt, that for me, this was a great way to bring our boy into the world. He is a very chilled wee soul and I like to think that his contentment is at least in part due to his relaxed and beautiful birth.

The midwife was also utterly delighted with the process saying that she’d heard that these births were possible but had never actually seen anyone breathe out a baby. The techniques of hypno-birthing encouraged and prepared me to have a birth that was manageable and tranquil. By staying calm and listening to my body, I was able to be completely in control and experience this magical time in exactly the way we had planned.

 

Thank you Lyn!