Charlotte & Baby Henry's Birth
September 2016
Thank You, thank you, thank you...Sammy and I would like to thank you for guiding us with the tools/training to have such an incredible birthing experience. I have and will continue to tell everyone about Hynobirthing.
On Saturday morning at 10am my surges started but they were mild...we had planned to go out for brunch so we went ahead with our plans. By about midday they started getting stronger so we decided to get home and stay put. Then by 15:00 the surges were 'stop in your tracks' strong so we started the Hypnobirthing breathing techniques and phoned the midwife who advised to phone back when the surges were 2-5mins apart. In the meantime we used two things...the TENS machine and Sammy applying pressure to my lower back. It was time to phone the midwife again at 19:00. Unfortunately, our chosen hospital LGI was full when we phoned back so we were directed to St James. This was incredibly disappointing and had been something I had worried about, but we were relaxed about it as we had learnt to be prepared for changes that may occur out of our control.
We handed over our birth plan and allowed the midwife to assess me but explained that this was to be the only time I would allow this, feeling confident about making my own choices following our classes. We were moved to the birthing pool suite which was very modern and the perfect environment. Sammy and I were excited and calm about the whole experience working through each surge. I was soon in the pool and Sammy prepared the Hypnobirthing music and we continued our breathing techniques. Sammy and I were so focussed on the breathing techniques we learnt with you that we forgot about using gas and air (the only pain relief I wanted to consider), so I had no pain relief! We listened to the CD that only has the music and no talking, and although we didn't read through the scripts I 100% feel that subconsciously I was able to stay focussed and work through the surges based on our training. The midwife was on hand but not intrusive and used the appropriate Hynobirthing language. It was all relatively quick and Henry was born on Saturday night at 22:53.
The midwives respected my birth plan. I wasn't induced at any point, there was limited monitoring and talking. I'm proud to say it was a pain free experience and I will remember it in a positive way for the rest of my life! I can't imagine doing it without Sammy, and the Hypnobirthing classes were as beneficial to him. He was amazing and the perfect birthing partner (although he's now spoilt with such a good experience, ha!). We had taken NCT antenatal classes as well and we found that Hypnobirthing provided us with a different outlook on the birth and actual training for the 'marathon' ahead of us, which we think has more relevance towards a successful birth. Thanks to Charlotte we went into the labour fully informed and felt knowledable and prepared about how and what we wanted from the birth. Also another great outcome is being one of the first to have a baby out of my friends of a similar age, they already feel more confident in my experience and are inspired to follow the same path. Thank you xxx