Hospital Hypnobirth in a Birthing Pool:
At the end of May 2010 I attended an amazing HypnoBirth (as a Hypno Doula) in a birthing pool at Frankston hospital and it certainly had the midwives talking .
Why? because it was a totally natural birth with no medication and no intervention.
The entire labour and birthing was calm and quiet with mother remaining focused.
HypnoBirthing breathing techniques were used as she laboured in the arms of her partner in the warm water.
Special music, dim lighting, flickering tea lights and aromatherapy oils were burning in the tranquil room as the midwives just observed the silence and reverence of these sacred moments.
Then the baby's head emerged along with the left hand, mother reaches down to hold her baby's hand.
With her next surge she breathed her baby into the water without any forceful pushing.It was such a gentle transition for the baby coming from water into water.
Mum then scooped up her baby and brought him to her bare chest.
Father,Mother,Baby = Bliss xxx
Sandy Riley HypnoBirthing Practitioner and Doula (Hypno Doula) at Frankston Hospital)
From the mum herself:
HYPNOBIRTH – WATERBIRTH
RHYS WILLIAM CALVO – BORN 26 MAY 2010 AT FRANKSTON PUBLIC HOSPITAL
PARENTS – CAITLIN O’CONNELL AND ANDREW CALVO
Early on in the pregnancy we spoke to some close friends who had recently had a positive birth experience using the Hypnobirthing method. I was keen to find out more and after some research I phoned Sandy Riley – a Hypnobirthing practitioner and Doula who lived in our area. We started our hypnobirthing classes at around week 32 – 5 classes of 2 and a half hours duration. We were lucky enough to have Sandy do the classes in our own home which was great.
Our prenatal classes started a week after and we found that the information Sandy gave us helped us understand the prenatal information and more importantly, our options a lot better. We felt very well informed and confident about the labour and birth. The breathing techniques, relaxations and visualisations practiced in our Hypnobirthing classes were a huge factor in our overall positive labour and birth.
My total labour was 21 hours – only 5 of which was active labour. Using the Hypnobirthing techniques which Sandy had taught us played a huge part in my relaxation throughout the labour and we were also helped immensely by having Sandy as our birth Doula so she was present right through to help me stay relaxed.
We set up the birthing pool room with relaxation music, battery tea lights and dimmed lights which set the scene for a very relaxed space. Throughout my labour and birth we did not have any intervention or pain relief and our little boy arrived safely in the birthing pool with myself, my partner Andrew, Sandy and two lovely encouraging and supportive midwives present. It was a peaceful and sacred moment for us all !
I would strongly encourage anyone who is wanting a calm, natural and pain free birth to use the Hypnobirthing methods – it is well worth it and you will have the most amazing, empowering experience you could imagine! I know we will definitely do it again if we have another baby in the future!
Corinne and Mishy from Chelsea Vic. 2011
Throughout the day the 'cramps' became stronger and by the time Mish got home in the afternoon around 2 or 3 I couldn't sit still. I wasn't in pain but I was uncomfortable sitting in the same spot for any length of time. I started timing the surges and they were 15 mins apart and lasting about 5 mins. At 6pm I went to the toilet to take a leak and the mucous plug came out! I looked online to see how long after this the labour would start and lots of people were saying it can be hours or even days so I didn't really pay attention to this, I still felt rather comfortable and figured I was just in practise labour which I had had for months before the day. I kept needing to go to the bathroom to empty my bowels and realised that we had talked about this in class and realised 'this is it!', excitement!!! At about 9 the surges were 5-10 mins apart and Mish phoned the hospital. Got to the hospital at 12:30 am on Monday Morning. They hooked me up to the fetal heart rate monitor and were a little concerned about his low heartrate. They found that he was sleeping after having me hooked up to the thing for like 2 hours. I had chosen to use the shower as my pain relief method and they couldnt get the wireless monitor to work so they hooked me up to the other which meant I had to stay on the bed! This was very hard for me as my body just wanted and needed to move and get under the water. We worked very hard to stay focused and relaxed but the stress of worrying about a potentially stressed baby started to get to me. Mish was such a fabulous birthing partner and continued to reassure me that I was doing a great job at staying calm and that our baby was just fine. At about 330 am I told the mid wife I needed to push and she basically told me I was being ridiculous and that no I wasn't ready ( I imagine she thought I was just in transition). Because I refused to let her do an internal examination she wouldn't have known how open my cervix was. I persisted with the 'I am going to breathe this baby out' monologue as she now was pretty much ignoring me until she looked down and saw that something was coming out!! I got on all fours and hugged the top of the bed and distinctly remember telling Mish and the midwife that I could feel the babies head nudging out and that it was an incredible feeling. About 5-10 mins later his head popped out in the bag of waters which she had to cut open, about 3 big j breaths later he was out!! It was the strangest feeling ever! But no tearing or episiotomy just a perfectly easy birthing process!! Mish told me at first that he was a girl because the umbilical cord was covering his penis and then the midwife moved it and he told me we had a boY!!!! Mish was so emotional and I was just staring in amazement that the rather large baby I was holding just came out of me.Charlie Fredrick Cinatl was born at 4 am on Monday the 10th of January weighing in at 8lbs 4 oz (3.83kg) and attached beautifully to the breast after only 5 mins. His first feed lasted a whopping 40 mins. I am so pleased we learned hypnobirthing, it was such an amazing experience, one that so many women don't realise they can have.
Thankyou so much Sandy!! xxoo Corinne, Mish and Charlie
Carolina and Ian from Chelsea,Vic.
We really wanted a calm, gentle and loving birth for our baby. We feel very lucky that we are able to look back on our baby’s birth with fond memories and pride. We really feel that we owe that to hypnobirthing and in particular, Sandy. Sandy was so informative, caring and helpful. We learned so much from her. She was so passionate; you could tell that she always had our best interests at heart.
I had a 6.5hr labour; the last 3.5hrs were quite difficult and I may have resorted to drugs if it wasn’t for hypnobirthing as our little bub, Kiandra, was stuck in the canal for a long period of time. However, because I had Sandy there, as well as my husband, Ian, who had been prepared from Sandy’s classes, I felt supported and was able to remain calm. I was also focused on what I had learnt, such as controlled breathing and relaxing, as well as trusting that my body would know what to do on its own accord. Even though my body was pushing for 3.5hrs before Kiandra came out, her heart beat showed that she was at no time under any sign of distress.
With Sandy by our side as our Doula, it gave us a feeling like we were a team with a clear focus and goal. With her there, it gave us even more belief in ourselves that we would be able to execute all the things we had learnt from her previously. We were confident because of our extensive preparation, which was over 6 months, and on that night we felt like we were in control of our environment, the room, the breathing, the lighting and most importantly, ourselves. Everything was as we had planned and worked towards. We had set it out clearly on our birthing plan which Sandy had also helped us with. Sandy communicated well with the midwives, who were also so wonderful and supportive. We were very fortunate and honoured to have the people who were there in the room with us that night and who helped us do what we wanted to do, the way we wanted to do it.
We highly recommend Sandy and hypnobirthing to anyone wanting a natural, loving and gentle birth.
Carolina and Ian xxx
Alex Osuch - A VBAC (Vaginal Birth after c-section)I know this sounds weird but there isn't much to say about the birth- which in my case, with my history, is absolutely wonderful! My waters broke spontaneously on the 31st at 8:40pm and I phoned L&D at 9:20pm to let them know, but explained that the surges were ten minutes apart and totally bearable, waters were clear etc. etc. and asked if it would be ok to stay at home even though I know they'd rather see all women who's waters have broken- they were fine (and grateful I think as they were run off their feet!) but said call back in an hour or so.
So at 10:20pm I called again and we both agreed that I would slowly make my way in to the hospital where I would be put on a monitor and have a quick internal and then be sent home if all was well. So, we dropped Oscar off at a mates place and leisurely made our way in.
In the day unit they put on an external monitor and checked Jack's progress (Paul loved watching the numbers go up and down). No internal yet at about midnight but there was talk of me going up to the ward for the night. I said no, unless Paul could come too- they agreed. So, then, the internal happened sometime later...we-ell..
That just kicked everything up a notch- from low level surges, ten minutes apart, we quickly escalated to regular 4 minute surges and I went to five centimetres in two hours (from 1-2)! After that, we motored along with just one threat of vontouse at the very end as Jack was just sort of sitting on my pelvic bone for a bit but the threat was enough to give me the final urge I needed and minutes later he was there! Paul helped to deliver him (and I used his hip for a bit of leverage) and he quietly emerged no fuss. No crying (only from me!) and he only made a noise when the midwife checked his testes (and who wouldn't eh?). Strangely, all I wanted to do at that moment was give Oscar a big cuddle and wished he was there too.
He obviously started as he means to continue as he is the coolest, most chilled out baby. He feeds beautifully and wakes just once at 2am for a feed before going back to sleep until 7am! (Ask me again in 3 weeks ;)
The midwife I had was AMAZING. She knew I was adamant about a VBAC and there were moments when she could have rushed me along, or suggested intervention because I slowed down but she stuck by me and even fought my corner when the attendings were suggesting otherwise- I love her!
It is now day 12 and I feel great! As I said, we were out and at home that afternoon and I was outside taking Oscar to playgroup just three days later!
We are all madly in love with Jack (though Oscar took some convincing) and I am blown away with my birth experience. The experience has meant that I have been able to come to the most difficult bit- the parenting bit- happy, healthy and with so much joy that it is impossible to be anything but elated. I am convinced that it was hypnobirthing that gave me the strength to do so.
Thank you.
With love from Alex, Paul, Oscar and Jack.
Carli 1st time mum;Homebirth/waterbirth.
I gave birth to my beautiful baby girl, Holli, in November 2008, my first baby. I had the most amazing birth experience thanks to Hypnobirthing.
I am usually quite a worrier, often worrying about things that might not even happen. At the beginning of my pregnancy I was completely set on having my baby in hospital – I preferred the idea of being close to medical facilities should they be needed. However, once I had attended the first session of Hypnobirthing, I did a complete u-turn and decided I would like a home birth instead.
Even one session had given me the confidence that I could have a completely natural birth, free of any intervention.
As part of the Hypnobirthing training, I listened to a relaxation CD daily as I drifted off to sleep, whilst practicing the relaxation techniques.
I truly believe that this daily relaxation not only helped me on my baby’s birthing day, but also throughout my pregnancy. I was always getting comments on how relaxed and well I looked, and I felt great too!
Throughout my pregnancy I kept visualising how I wanted my baby’s birth to be – at home, in a birthing pool with dimmed lights, candles burning, my relaxing music playing, and no medical intervention.
This is exactly how my baby’s birth turned out. I was so relaxed that the midwife said she couldn’t even tell I was in labour, and at one point my birth companion thought I’d fallen asleep! Holli was born under the water after a seven hour labour, and let out a healthy cry when she was scooped up.
It was such a wonderful experience, and my little girl is such a chilled and happy baby, which I put down to her calm arrival into this world.
I cannot thank Birtheasy enough for giving me the Hypnobirthing training, and enabling Holli and I to have such a wonderful, pain free, birth experience.
Carli x
What to expect when you take a HypnoBirthing Antenatal class by Rona Moss;teacher and 1st time mum.
We asked one of our mums-to-be to tell you her views about her HypnoBirthing classes and what she most gained from taking a Birtheasy HypnoBirthing course.
“Initially, my husband and I were rather sceptical about the whole idea of hypnosis. But we knew we wanted a calm, natural birth and the only classes that seemed to focus on this were HypnoBirthing classes, so we decided to enrol with Birtheasy.
During the first session, I felt a little self-conscious; it’s not every day you try to go into relaxation with a bunch of strangers! But very quickly I felt totally comfortable and began to really look forward to our weekly sessions. Learning how your body is built to birth instinctively was a real turning point for me. Suddenly, what had seemed so scary had become the most natural thing in the world. Being in hypnosis felt great – I felt so relaxed, like I didn’t have a care in the world. Yet I still felt alert enough to laugh to myself at the effectiveness of hypnosis in convincing me my leg was so heavy, I could not lift it! Learning how being relaxed helps you avoid interventions and have a natural birth was also fantastic. At the end of our sessions, I genuinely felt sad; in fact, I would love to have started over again!
The classes left me feeling relaxed and actually looking forward to my baby’s birth day. I was delighted by how they brought my husband and I together as a team and how the course had given him a defined role in the pregnancy and birth. As they say, knowledge is power and the knowledge my husband and I gained on our course has truly left us feeling that we have been empowered to have a calm, positive and wonderful birth day.
During one of the sessions we focused on connecting with our unborn babies and understanding how aware unborn babies are of their surroundings. We knew that what I ate crossed the placenta, but we did not realise that babies also feel our emotions and are aware of things going on outside the womb. Babies are so much more aware than I thought and actually remember birth. I approached HypnoBirthing as I wanted to have a calm and natural birth for my self I never really thought about this as such a benefit for my baby and how important for my baby it was to enter the world in a gentle and calm way. They say HypnoBirthing babies sleep well, feed well and are just better natured babies in general. I think learning HypnoBirthing for this reason alone is enough to convince me that I must birth using this method.”
Rona Moss, teacher and first time mum.
