Thank you, Meg, for your empowering Caesarean birth story with us and HUGE congratulations on the birth of baby Jack.
“Here’s my birth story, a bit late, but I think it shows a different application of CBS as I never actually went into labour…..
Jack was born by Caesarean section on 15 June 2016 weighing 8lb 3. He was 8 days ‘overdue’. I hadn’t had a chance to do as much breathing practice as I would have liked but I had watched all the videos, had my bag packed, mp3s loaded, and was ready for every eventuality.
I had been to the midwife the day before and despite being told he was a big baby with a massive head (scaremongering much?) and not engaged, I refused induction as, having done my research, I wasn’t happy embarking on a medicalised birth pathway and wanted the chance to wait for things to happen naturally.
The midwife wasn’t pleased so sent me for a growth scan at the hospital where they discovered I had major unexplained excess water which carries a risk of cord prolapse as the head was not engaged even a tiny bit. Whilst on the monitor in the day unit a midwife came up and said ‘By the way, we’re inducing you tonight’. That kind of language p*ssed me right off as I felt it was hugely disempowering.
Not being consulted was my biggest fear. I may be a bit of a control freak but the entire pregnancy I worried I would not get the birth I wanted as I was sure medical staff would push us into decisions whilst I was vulnerable.
I was admitted and didn’t sleep on the ward all night partly because I was still annoyed, but partly because they couldn’t get a heart rate reading on the baby as he was constantly moving, so they were unable to start me off with the pessary as planned. A bedside scan in the early hours showed baby had turned breech since that afternoon, which obviously shouldn’t be easy at 40+8. He had loads of room and was swimming around in there!
At the consultant’s rounds in the morning baby had turned again! and they asked me what I wanted to do!! – I elected for a c-section rather than risk attempting induction with him not engaged.
The surgical team were amazing, putting up with my questions on suturing and surgical techniques (my husband was embarrassed but hey it made me feel in control) and sticking to my birth plan as much as possible (skin to skin, lowering the partition, delayed cord clamping etc). Despite never having even had minor surgery the whole experience was very calm. Jack is also a calm healthy and happy baby.
I must admit I was so hyped up by the idea of meeting my son that breathing all but went out the window…however the benefit of the CBS package for me was that it educated me about all aspects of birth that I never knew or had wanted to know previously!
Doing CBS also encouraged me to do further research and reading and as a result I felt totally informed and prepared, confident and able to ask questions and be in control of what happened as much as possible, which helped dispel the fear I had and contributed to a highly positive birth experience.
I had a comprehensive birth plan for almost every possible birth scenario and as a result felt empowered going into the surgery situation (clutching a copy haha) and am now completely comfortable with my experience.
Would I have liked to experience a natural birth? Of course, but I am at peace with the way things turned out and think this is an example of how you don’t need to have a traditional hypnobirthing to get benefit from the CBS course.
It was perfect for me, I’m very glad I signed up and look forward to the chance of possibly using the techniques and knowledge in a VBAC in the future. All the best, Meg”
To see how you can create your own calm birth please sign up here: www.thecalmbirthschool.com/freehypnobirthing-2016
