I worked with Anna from Hackney Hypnobirthing ahead of the birth of my son in Summer 2020.  As this was my first child, I was nervous about birthing, and wanted to equip myself as to how the process would work, and what I could do to make it easier and feel in control.  

Anna’s outline of how hypnobirthing could help seemed to align with my needs perfectly.  My husband (a sceptic, now convert!) and I had 4 sessions with Anna, and in understanding the benefits of birthing in a ‘safe place’ to help with a calm and relaxed birth, we opted for a home birth, ordering a birthing pool to help with pain relief.  

As the due date got closer we had a practice run with the birthing pool and I filled the lounge with giant post-its with the birthing statements that most resonated with me, which I kept reading in the days ahead of the baby coming.  I practiced my visualisations and breathing everyday and was listening to the audios each night.

A couple of days ahead of my due date I thought my waters had started to leak.  I spoke to my midwife who advised I go to the hospital to get it checked out; my waters were intact, but while I was there I was offered a sweep which I accepted as through my research and preparation I was confident could help bring on labour without affecting its course and driving a raft of interventions.  

I went to bed wondering what might happen, and noticed my baby was even more active than usual as I settled down to sleep.  I woke with some lower back pain in the early hours of the morning, I wondered if it might be the surges of early labour so got up, went downstairs and put on some comedy to help pass the time.  As the back tightening continued, I undertook the breathing and visualisations we had worked on with Anna, and things passed smoothly.  So much so I wasn’t totally sure I was in labour!  After about an hour and a half I started to time the surges I was feeling and realised I was having 3 surges in 10 minutes and it was time to wake my husband to call the midwife and inflate the birth pool.

The breathing and visualisations were giving me control through the surges, and my husband was surprised how happy and relaxed I was given the situation.  He was a little more tense as he undertook his prep on the birth pool etc.  The midwife was with us in less than half an hour and I agreed to a vaginal examination (VE), and she confirmed it was labour(!) and that I was 5cm dilated.  It was about 2.5 hours since the surges had been coming in earnest.  Whilst examining me, the midwife inadvertently broke my waters, and the surges instantly became more intense.  I continued with my up breathing through the surges, and hopped into the pool which was really soothing.  The medical chatter continued around me.  My husband was great, and was calm and helpful, conversing with the midwives and I to keep things light but focussed and ensuring I was well hydrated and comfortable.  He even managed to keep his cool with a door to door salesman who chose the wrong moment to visit!  

By midday the surges were coming quickly and the feelings were intensifying (though manageable) and I consented to another VE and it was confirmed I was fully dilated.  I was feeling calm and confident that the baby was coming soon.  

I stayed in the pool and was focussing on my breathing, visualisations and the building pressure as I felt the baby descending.  The midwives were keeping an eye on mine and the baby’s heart rate, but kept a respectful distance from coaching me, to allow me to practice the hypnobirthing approach.  Things progressed slowly and with time ticking on, the midwives suggested I try to birth the baby out of the pool as they worried the water was relaxing us too much and not enough progress was being made.  The midwife could see the baby and could see there was space around the baby’s head, but it wasn’t making progress.  She realised it had been some time since I had emptied my bladder and inserted a catheter to try and create more room for the baby, but nothing came – both my bladder and the baby were creating pressure that meant neither could release.   The baby turned back to back to try and descend, but it was not making progress.  The baby’s heart rate was still good, and I was still calm.

The midwives went into the kitchen to discuss the approach, and my husband and I quietly talked through the situation.  We felt a transfer into hospital was the best course as it maintained our options for a healthy birth.  The midwives came back to give their advice that we should go to the hospital – we were all in agreement but my husband and I felt we were still in control of decisions having had the time to discuss the situation and what felt best for us.  

An ambulance arrived to take us to hospital and I hopped in and continued trying to birth the baby on route.  We went straight to a maternity ward and were met by a consultant.  I and the baby were both put onto heart rate monitoring and whilst I didn’t feel stressed, the shift in situation was causing a change in my breathing, and I was advised the baby’s heart rate was dropping.  The fastest route to deliver the baby would be with an episiotomy.  I was getting tired having been actively birthing for 3 hours, so my husband and I agreed that we wanted the baby in our arms while I was still strong enough to deliver it naturally, so we agreed to the procedure and our baby was born moments later.  

As the baby was born, it was still calm and gave a squawk to let us know they were out (no crying) and the baby was placed on my chest for immediate skin to skin.  My husband checked the sex, we had a lovely baby boy.  

We had a few moments of peace as we all gazed at each other and felt that magic surge of emotion and love that goes with the arrival of the baby.  I also had such a sense of pride and elation that I had done it.  Pain relief beyond the birthing pool hadn’t even crossed my mind, I felt tension and pressure, but thanks to the breathing and visualisations, I didn’t have awareness of significant pain.  

The hospital staff were keen for me to birth the placenta quickly given the pressure that I had sustained with the baby in the birth canal for so long, so I was advised to have the oxytocin drip to hurry it along to ensure a safe delivery of the placenta.  The clock started on the 30 minutes that were allowed for it to take effect, and the fantastic midwives worked on me to try and release the placenta, advocating for me to the consultants to let me birth it rather than follow their preferred option to give me an epidural and transfer me to theatre for removal as the 30 minutes was reached.  I was determined that having had a drug free birth I wasn’t going to have an epidural after the event, so with some pushing from me and some pulling from the midwives the placenta emerged just before the consultant called.  The birthing of the placenta felt more painful than delivering the baby – perhaps the pressure of being on the clock and without the surge of joy that followed the delivery!

Given the trouble in birthing the placenta, there was concern I was at higher risk of PPH, so I was given the clotting drugs to ensure nothing happened.  I quickly went from happy and alert post birth to feeling woozy and foggy given the rush of drugs, but my husband had some skin to skin time with our son whilst I had a nap to bring me back to earth.

One happy, calm little family created.  

I am convinced that our happy, chilled little boy is the result of the calm, natural entrance he made into the world.  Whilst the birth veered a little from our home birth plan, the preparations we went through with Anna in our learning, practice and birth planning all contributed to our sense of control and decisioning throughout the birthing experience, and my ability to deliver our son without pain relief.   I am so grateful to Anna for the help and support she gave us in the lead up to our birth in readying us for the event, and in the warm support she has shown and great practical advice she has given in caring for myself and my baby since the birth.  Thank you Anna – you’re a legend.  Xx

Sha’s thoughts on hypnobirthing…

When Catherine suggested hypnobirthing, I was sceptical of the process and how effective it would be.  But upon meeting Anna, and giving it the time it deserved, I came to understand the logic behind the methodology and the info is very useful, both from a theory and a practical perspective.

My wife was super chilled, she was well prepped and confident ahead of the birth, and the breathing and visualisation practice meant she was in control of the situation when the big day came.  I won’t deny there were times I was worried, but it would have been worse without knowing what was going on and how to help; and seeing my wife give birth to our beautiful, calm little baby with no pain relief was so inspiring.