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16 Hours Had Gone By – Hypnobirthing At It’s Best!

This week’s birth story comes from the lovely couple who attended a TCBS Hypnobirthing Course with Karis Johnson of Open Hand Birthing, in Switzerland.

Thank you for sharing such a positive birth story with us!

“Before meeting Karis I felt quite anxious and afraid about birth as there was so much about birth and my own body, I realised I was ignorant about. After attending the Hypnobirthing Course I felt calm, empowered, knowledgeable and confident in myself and my ability to advocate for myself during the birth process.

My due date came and went after weeks of my doctor telling me the baby could come any day. The days and weeks before birth I was feeling frustrated and getting really impatient. I tried to focus on the process and continue preparing for the big day – I practiced my breathing and affirmations, worked out, did acupuncture, ate well, did perineal massage – you name it I did it all!

1 week past my due date i agreed to an induction – I felt excited I would soon meet my baby! I was at the hospital with my husband since 8 am but we could leave and move around. The hospital was in my town so every 2 hours we went to the lake, took a walk, had lunch, laughed, got caught in the rain and had a really amazing time! I was in a park under some lush trees when I started feeling the first strong waves – I breathed through it and moved around, leaning on a wall covered in musk – it was lovely being in nature and realising I might be meeting my baby later that night!

The maternity unit I was at was extremely modern but embracing all of the things I really wanted for my labour and birth. I was eating, moving around and changing positions on the ball, rabozo, and stool. I could freely move as I pleased and tried different things. The breathing techniques Karis taught me were the absolute number 1! I had practiced it a lot and was really surprised how easy it came to do both the even wave breathing and the relaxation breathing in between surges – it all came so natural and even as the surges intensified, I rode through them with ease. This was my first baby and the midwives were very impressed and as I was going through it so well they just let me get on with it and do my thing while my husband chilled in the birthing suite with me. In between surges we ate, laughed, and joked and it was overall just a good time.

As things got really intense later that night, i managed to stay in my space and put my headphones on to listen to my affirmations as I walked around the birthing unit and just moved my body and mind through it. The unit was completely empty, and we were alone so it was great to feel so comfortable with the environment.

As things intensified, I just breathed through it and honestly did not even realise many hours had passed as it felt time was really flying. At no point did I feel the need for any comfort or pain relief as the movement and breathing really kept me in my own place – drifting between my head and the birthing suite. My midwife was incredibly supportive and also joked around and chatted with me in between surges, making sure I felt supported but also had my space and privacy – she was incredible! She respected my wishes, did not try to offer or force anything on me, just asked me whether I still wanted the birth pool so she could get it ready on time. She was very encouraging and supportive of my choices and how I was managing through it.

By the time I was 7 cm I got in the water and before I knew it, it was time to push (how did time pass so fast?) As I was trying to breathe and push the baby out at my own pace, the midwife noticed baby’s heart rate was dropping. She was so professional and made sure I did not panic and could stay in my headspace, but she got me out of the water and meanwhile called the Doctor, meanwhile still making sure I would stay in my zone. In the end, for the well-being of my baby they helped get him out with the vacuum. The little guy had properly wrapped the umbilical cord around his neck on the way out and was struggling. Both the Doctor and the midwife were absolutely lovely, used calming language and made sure I could stay relaxed as they helped the little one out. I only felt pressure as he made his way out and before I knew it, he was snuggling on my chest – finally earth-bound.

I could not believe he was finally here! The hours of labour leading up to his birth just felt had gone so fast and I could not believe a whole 16 hours had gone by. I was so happy to finally hold my baby – so soft and perfectly healthy! I remember feeling so excited about the whole experience and incredibly happy with myself and how I had managed it. I was grateful to the midwife and Doctor and how supportive they had been of my wishes.

We spent quite some time skin to skin, and my husband cut the cord after the blood had flowed back. I love this hospital as they embrace a lot of the things I wanted as a standard (skin to skin, delayed cord clamping, no washing babies, etc). They left my husband and I in private with our baby and even while the Dr was checking the placenta and clearing things up they made sure they were not disturbing or interfering – it was great!

My husband was great! he knew what I wanted and really supported me. He made sure I stayed hydrated, emptied my bladder, could laugh between surges, and at the right times, when the surges were intense knew exactly what to do to upkeep and increase oxytocin.

I would absolutely recommend hypnobirthing. My birth experience is one that I really don’t want to forget – it was exciting and fun, and I feel so confident in my abilities and body after seeing how I managed through it. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if I had not taken the course and had gone into birth ignorant as I was before. I felt so empowered and strong and incredibly grateful to Karis for everything she taught me. This was such a life changing experience, and I am so glad I can remember my baby’s birth as an exciting journey and a super fun day with my husband and a fantastic birthing team. Investing in this course was a real game-changer and I feel like I know myself a lot better and have tapped into so much inner strength! The tools I learned will help me in so many other areas of daily life but I am so grateful I can look back at a birth journey I can be proud of – will cherish the memory forever!!”

If you want to create your own positive birth you can start today!

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