17 Dec Hypnobirthing enabled me to give birth without drugs despite artificial induction
George’s birth story
The birth ended up being a very positive experience, although didn’t start as if it necessarily would be. I had be very restless and uncomfortable Saturday evening and wasn’t surprised when my waters broke in the middle of the night. However straight away I knew from the colour of the water that there was meconium, and that meant I had to go straight into hospital. I called Stoke and we were asked to make our way in. This was off ‘plan’ as we were hoping to enjoy the early stages at home followed by a midwife led water birth.
On arrival to hospital about 3am I wasn’t having contracts yet, just period like cramps. On examination it was confirmed that the waters had gone with meconium, and that my cervix was closed. We were told I would be induced via the hormone drip. Induction was something I was not keen on, and given the above was concerned I was in for a long birth. Despite this I did feel surprisingly calm at this point. I thank that to the positive induction stories we have recently heard in class. I was determined to remain relaxed and use the hypnobirthing I had been practicing the past months. Due to the meconium I was no longer allowed to birth on the midwife led unit and needed to wait a few hours to be moved into the labour ward. I made my peace with the fact the lovely water birth I had imagined was out the window!
The hormone drip was started around 8am. I put my eye mask on, started the relaxation breathing and other hypnobirthing tools. Hubby grabbed a beanbag and had a very important 40 winks at this point.
Unfortunately baby needed constant monitoring and with being attached to the drip also, I wasn’t really able to get into the labour positions I had hoped for. I did request a wireless monitor but it kept needing to be adjusted so it ended up being easier to stay put on the birthing bed.
By late morning I got my Tens machine on as the surges were ramping up. I concentrated on breathing through them. What amazed me throughout was that during the rests periods between surges I felt almost euphoric. I’m not sure if the exact timings however from my first early afternoon examination I was 4cm. Shortly after this though I had strong urges to push, in fact my body was just doing it at the peak of each surge. 45 mins after the first examination I was checked again and was fully dilated. I burst into tears with relief that I could really start pushing as I already knew my body was ready. One hour later gorgeous baby George arrived with us. It was incredible, I felt completely in control, thanks to the breathing and visualization techniques. The tens machine was amazing, and I had no desire for any other pain relief, I had it on from the very beginning to end! Top tip during the pushing stage is have your birth partner to press the boost button during a surge.
I cannot praise the hypnobirthing and the yoga classes enough as they gave me the tools to have such a positive experience, despite there being a few hiccups. I found during my birth I was thinking about other inspirational stories that I’d heard.
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