This week’s birth story comes from a lovely Veronique who followed TCBS Online Hypnobirthing Course.
Veronique shared this gorgeous story with us via email – she’s already looking forward to baby number 2!!
“Baby Ernest was born in the comfort of our home in Ottawa, Canada on September 12 2021 at 7:47 am.
On Thursday, September 9, I was 39 weeks pregnant and had my third acupuncture session. The practitioner suggested that we do a session more focused on labour induction. After the treatment, I left the wellness centre feeling so calm and relaxed. During the evening, I noticed some bloody show and mucus in my underwear. Without any expectations, I felt confident that I was going to be in labour sometime in the next few days. On Friday, I went on with my day, sipping on raspberry leaf tea, eating dates, and listening to the Calm Birth School affirmations mp3. Throughout the day, I noticed even more bloody show and watery discharge. I did a swab test that my midwife had given me to check if I was leaking amniotic fluid and I was happy to see that it turned out negative.
On Saturday, I started feeling irregular surges, one or two every hour or so. My husband and I decided to go apple picking in the morning. It was a great activity to keep me active and distracted from what was happening. After spending the afternoon peeling apples for jam and pies, I rubbed my belly with a clary sage massage oil blend and took a nap with a feeling that things were about to progress fast. Contractions were about 20 minutes apart and were getting closer until I went to bed.
Around 12:30 am, surges started to kick in 3 minutes apart. I decided to take a bath and call the midwife. 30 minutes later, our midwife was at our home and proceeded with a vaginal exam. I was already 5 cm dilated. Despite the intense pain during surges, I was able to relax and accept the situation as it was. I enjoyed the freedom of walking around naked in my own house, taking showers and baths when I wanted, and making sounds. Around 3:30 am, the transition phase started. That is when I experienced intense pressure and discomfort in my lower back and pelvic area. I also had diarrhoea and vomited. As uncomfortable as it was, I felt relieved and serene that things were progressing well. I said to myself: “This is all bringing me closer to meeting my baby”.
The second midwife arrived at 4 am as I was in the active labour phase. I then received another vaginal exam to find out that I was between 9 and 10 cm dilated. During the exam, my membrane ruptured, and it was soon time to breathe the baby down.
The pushing stage was for me the hardest part of labour. I was so exhausted, and I didn’t really know how to push. I reminded myself of the birthing breathing techniques and it helped me stay focused on my body. While directed pushing (with hands-on) was uncomfortable, it was part of my birth plan and it really helped me feel “where” I should be pushing towards. I tried various pushing positions, including standing, squatting, all-fours and surprisingly, laying on my back was the most comfortable position for me. I pushed for 2 and a half hours until the baby arrived in a posterior position with his tiny hand squished on his cheek! I had a small 2nd degree perineal tear, which I did not feel in the midst of all the sensations and exhaustion.
The feeling of having my baby on my chest skin to skin was surreal but work wasn’t quite done. I had to give birth to the placenta and since my iron levels were low during pregnancy and I had already lost some blood, I agreed to have oxytocin injected to induce contractions. Pushing the placenta out was to me the ultimate relief that the work was done, and I could finally rest for a bit with our little one and my husband by my side.
The transformative power of birth is real. Hypnobirthing offered me the tools I needed to trust my body, have confidence that I could have a home birth, surrender to the waves of the process while staying physically and mentally relaxed. I am grateful for having had the chance to birth at home for our first baby. It was such an amazingly empowering experience that gave me strength as a woman and as a new mother.
Many thanks to The Calm Birth School for the course! The tools and techniques provided throughout the course really helped me gain confidence in my birthing experience”.
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