Birth Story by Lauren, Hypnobirthing Mum
“I realised now there was no leaving, that window had passed. I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t hold her any longer. The safest thing was to keep going. My body was doing what it was designed to do and it was doing a great job!”
My hind waters began leaking at 7am, a slow constant trickle. I had plans to meet a friend for a beach walk so I ate a big breakfast and kept this engagement to encourage contractions (of which there were none).
Michael came home from work at lunch. We called the hospital as instructed and they asked me to come in. The ward was having a record day for the number of births in 24hrs. I waited in a tearoom with 10 people chatting for close to an hour. I was asked by random visitors “are you in labour?” and told “you look nervous.”
We were finally moved to an assessment room where I had a disagreement with a midwife about the possibility of meconium in a pad I’d been wearing (I knew this to be dried blood). I agreed to stay and fill a new pad to provide a fresh sample but on my terms – I’d do this outside the hospital. Better than laying on a hospital bed, I took my shoes off and walked barefoot in the grass by the Tweed River as the sun set. This was a lovely time for Michael and I. Our baby would be here soon.
When we returned to the hospital I waited nearly an hour to be seen. When no one came to see us I decided I needed to leave the hospital. Contractions hadn’t started and I’d been leaking for close to 12hrs and the vibe here was way off. I found a midwife and told her I was going home, I’d be back in 12 hours in labour. She wasn’t impressed but I was confident there was no meconium, just amniotic fluid and rosey blood from my mucus plug.
We got home at 7pm. My friend had come over and lit candles, turned off the lights, put essential oils in the diffuser and heated lasagne. I ate dinner, sat on the exercise ball, did some cat/cow yoga stretches and cuddled Micheal on the couch. It was such a special time. I had planned for a drug free physiological birth where I’d labour at home for as long as possible and head to hospital with Michael and my Doula Nicole to give birth in the bath or shower. I had engaged a doula after failing to get into the MGP program. I understood the benefits of continuity of care and having lost my mum to cancer I knew throughout my pregnancy I’d benefit from having the presence of a familiar woman at my birth.
I didn’t have any surges until 9pm – when they came they were short, intense and very irregular. Micheal put the Affirmations track on and I lent over the ball or stayed on all fours. During intense surges Micheal would apply acupressure to my lower back or feet. I found moving my hips in a circle brought relief while on all fours or being embraced by Micheal and swaying. I’d visualised bub in the optimal position “head down, hands to heart, chin to chest, facing my back” for weeks and did so in these moments.
My body felt the need to empty so I moved to the toilet. I also threw up at this point which felt a lot better. After this I moved to the shower where Michael had put my yoga mat on the ground to protect my knees and I stayed there on all fours with the water on my back.
The gears changed at approx. 11pm. Micheal called Nicole who was on standby in Brisbane. I was trying to pace myself. She’d be here in an hour and we’d go straight to the hospital 15mins away. The car was packed. The surges were intense but I was prepared for a long night. I noticed my surges had double peaks with little to no break between. I was surprised by the intensity so early and did wonder how much more power each surge could bring. All my focus was on surge breathing which meant I couldn’t communicate. I left the shower and laid on my side on the couch and listened to ‘Surge of the Sea’ on REPEAT!! Every surge was a wave and it was much more comfortable to let go and surrender. Each time a surge would build, I would release and let go, loose and limp, relax my jaw and do surge breathing. The relief was immense. Every surge was bringing me closer to meeting my baby. Embracing them was much easier than fighting. I’d done enough reading prior to understand the role of oxytocin and the impact of adrenaline. I suspect I transitioned here on the couch. I remember shaking and a big gush of water which would be my fore-waters breaking.
I moved back to the shower and asked where Nicole was – she was 20mins away. I’d wait till she arrived and we’d go to the hospital. I didn’t want to get there too early and slow down the progress I was making. Bubs felt so low in my birth canal and I suddenly felt an urge to push. My instincts told me any change from what I was doing would cause her to get distressed. I realised now there was no leaving, that window had passed. I couldn’t talk and I couldn’t hold her any longer. The safest thing was to keep going. My body was doing what it was designed to do and it was doing a great job! The only conversation I was having was with my baby. There was no break between surges. Nicole arrived and I announced “she’s coming, fill the bath.” I was so in the zone and focused on my baby and body doing their dance nobody could tell where I was at. Micheal helped me into the bath. I lent against him and my body began pushing on its own. Until this point Michael and Nicole were unaware that I was about to birth our daughter in our little unit! There were now longer periods between surges and I didn’t push with them, I let our daughter take the lead in her own birth. She was born at 2am with the second stage lasting maybe 45mins. I changed my breathing style from Surge Breathing to Bearing Down, this felt natural and helped. I thought I was moaning very loudly but Michael says I barely made a noise and I looked like I was in a trance. I was.
I’d done a lot of preparation for birth – positions to labour in to encourage optimal position of bubs, strategies to manage the intensity of surges but the most crucial tool was the ability to stay calm from listening to the Hypnobirthing Tracks. Understanding the physiology and hormonal component of birth allowed me to trust the process. It also needs to be said.. I could not have done it without Michael’s support. He stayed calm and held my weight physically and emotionally. Having a doula and my friend present allowed Michael to stay by my side the entire time.
After I lifted Little Annie out of the water I held her to my chest until she took her first breath. We stayed like this for an hour just soaking in the moment skin to skin. I called 000 and the man on the phone asked me about my bleeding, bubs colouring and breathing and determined we were “not a priority” since the Ambulances were very busy and I had “done all the hard work.” He asked if I could drive myself to the hospital.
Since there was obviously no rush I moved to the couch with Michael and Annie to try and pass the placenta. The cord had gone white so we cut it ourselves with surgical scissors and used string to tie the cord. I moved to the bathroom and put a bowl in the toilet where I passed the placenta with a light tug.
As the sun came up, Michael and I put our new baby in her car seat and drove to hospital with my placenta in a Tupperware container. We were there for 3 hours to get checked over. We were both fine. The midwives were suspicious that we had intended to “free birth” on the basis that we were so calm and had done so well. While this was not the case, I agree… we did so well. While I didn’t birth in the hospital as intended, I couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful and positive birth.
Hypnobirthing played an essential role in allowing for such a positive birth. Kate was brilliant at directing me towards evidence based research throughout my pregnancy. Our journey wasn’t without challenges. At 3 different prenatal appointments I’d been sent to the hospital because bubs heart rate was elevated. At the hospital I’d be strapped to continuous monitoring for up to 5 hours! At 36 weeks bubs turned back to a breech position. Again Kate and the Hypnobirthing tracks helped me to encourage Annie back to the optimal position for birth. At 37 weeks I was offered a stretch and sweep and again at 38 weeks. I would always delay any interventions at these appointments by saying “next week.” One of the best tools Hypnobirthing taught me was the art of requesting more time. All the challenges helped me tune into bub and learn to advocate for myself. Not having a machine mediating our labour meant I was dialled into my baby. If any fear entered my consciousness I was able to overcome it with the confidence the Hypnobirthing tracks had given me.
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