JOSHUA’S BIRTH
"My waters broke at 39 weeks. I was scared but at the same time extremely excited, happy and inspired. My husband and I hugged, then called to the hospital to say that my waters had broken and they invited us in for assessment. The waters were clear and they said to come back when the surges become regular with 3 minutes between.
We came home, had lunch, and then at @4pm the surges started! I was trying to continue as normal: walk around, preparing baby things and watch favourite films...
By 7pm the surges were @ 4 mins apart. I was doing the visualizations, but I wasn't able to concentrate, the surges were coming so strong. But here came the main result of our HypnoBirthing sessions - I welcomed the intensity of the surges. I focused on the fact that the stronger the surge was, the closer our baby was to meeting us! So I was moaning and making noises, but happy.
We returned to hospital and it was hard to walk. When they assessed me I was dilated 2cm. They kept us in triage for @1hr and then to send us to antenatal ward.
We were practicing deep breathing, we were walking up and down the corridors, and I was really noisy. But I knew every bit of it was bringing us closer to meeting our beautiful boy.
At 9 o'clock there was no progress, so we were sent to antenatal ward. I was the loudest person there! I was moaning - low sounds like we spoke about. During every surge I was kneeling or squatting. It was another very important lesson of yours - to squat as it helps shorten the birth canal.
So we spent @ 1.5 hrs strolling around. J was amazing - calm and supportive (though he said he felt useless!). He helped me breath and he massaged my back. I was so concentrated on myself and deep in my body.
By 11 o'clock I felt I couldn't do it anymore (I remembered it was a good sign as this might be transition -soon fully dilated). I had another surge with a huge urge to push... They assessed me and said there was no surprise I felt pushy! I was absolutely ready! They transferred me to the labour ward and I began to bear down. During the surges I was on all fours. They said to push, but J said that we are “breathing” the baby out. Thankfully we had a very good team of doctors/midwives. They were open minded and on our side.
Then suddenly - I felt our boy was on his way! He appeared between my legs on the bed and I was the first to catch him!! He was a miracle!!! They wanted to cut the cord, but J asked them to wait til it stopped pulsating, and they were happy to! J cut it and then took off his t-shirt and put the baby on his chest for skin to skin contact and the doctors left us to enjoy our beautiful baby. They really were very supportive, saying that it was a wonderful natural birth, and I seemed in control.
It was very hard but I felt my power. It was extremely natural and it felt so right! You really gave us priceless lessons. I kept them in mind all the way through, even if I couldn't follow them precisely. I'm really really really happy and proud we had beautiful, natural birth and don't have words enough to say thank you, Stina - I'm extremely grateful for the preparation"
- M & J, London