Felix’s positive birth story
Jilly & Raymond’s Hypnobirthing Experience for their Second Baby
Jilly and Raymond took part in one of my online Hypnobirthing courses as they wanted to have a more positive experience for their second birth. Needless to say, they absolutely smashed it! I was so thankful to be able to support them during their journey.
I was terrified at the thought of labour
At eleven days past our expected due date, although Claire had shared techniques to stay calm, we were starting to think our baby would never arrive! Our first came only a couple of days late and we expected this one to be the same, but he was obviously very comfortable and not quite ready to come out! We had decided we didn't want to be induced, so it was really just a matter of waiting.
On Tuesday evening it did feel that things were starting to happen though, and I woke up at 1AM with milder surges that fortunately were allowing me to try and doze in between, with the breathing techniques definitely helping a lot. By Wednesday morning these surges had ramped up a little, but we had breakfast with our toddler and got him to the childminder as normal which prevented any stress potentially waiting on family to arrive for childcare. We arranged for my mum to pick him up later in the day and stay at our house with him until we got home. I had a shower and got ready, then we watched something light-hearted on the telly to relax, with surges still irregular and less intense.
Facing Challenges
Around 12PM they started to become slightly more predictable and at that point we phoned MLU to check and agreed with the midwife we spoke to that it might be better to come in at that time as second pregnancies can move quickly.
We arrived at The Vic at 1PM and met our midwife who read over our detailed birth plan and was really responsive to the hypnobirthing approach. The lighting in the room was kept low, Claire's relaxation tracks were played whenever we felt we needed them and as requested checks on us were kept to an absolute minimum, and everything explained clearly to us.
I was given a vaginal exam at 2.30PM and the midwife said I was 3cm dilated. She offered a sweep at this time, which I consented to. She said that usually she would offer another VE in four hours but could wait up to six if I preferred. I asked for her to wait six hours.
The induction process
initially I had written on my birth plan that I wanted a water birth, but I changed my mind in labour as I was enjoying the freedom to move around the room, changing positions on the ball and the bed. I managed to do a little bit of crochet while we listened to comedy podcasts. At this point I was beginning to feel I needed something to help with the surges in addition to using the breathing techniques, so Raymond set up the TENS machine we had borrowed from a friend, which worked well. I asked the midwife for gas and air, but she reminded me I had written in my birth plan that I wanted to try not to have pain relief if not necessary and that she could see I was coping well with the TENS machine and breathing techniques. I was grateful that she was supporting me to stick to my plan and decided to hold off on the gas and air for a bit longer.
At 5PM the surges were becoming more intense and closer together. The midwife came in to see how we were getting on and stated I was now in active labour. We put Claire's 'Positive Affirmations' relaxation track on a loop, which played until our baby arrived.
At 6.30PM I was beginning to find the TENS machine irritating between surges and it was no longer as effective, so I requested gas and air again and the midwife set me up with it. I found this really helpful in managing the surges and I felt proud I had managed to hold off on using it for a couple of hours after I had first thought I wanted it.
At 8.45PM the midwife asked if it was okay to do a VE, I accepted, and she said I was now 8cm dilated. Immediately after the exam though I felt the surges were at their peak and close together, with very little recovery time in between. This felt different and we realised our baby would be here soon. My waters broke and there was some meconium in it, but this was put down to our baby being overdue as opposed to in any kind of distress. I began feeling the urge to push and the midwife called for a second midwife to join her. Our baby was born at 9.08PM and he was immediately placed on my chest. We decided his name - Felix Andrew Martin (it had been between two options) and then at half an hour old he breastfed. We had an hour and a half of skin-to-skin (in which time Felix managed to pee and poo on me!) before the midwife checked him over and weighed him. Felix was healthy, as was I, I didn't need any stitches or anything and we were allowed home the next morning. It was lovely to be reunited with our son, now a family of four.
This time I felt confident, empowered, and supported
This time I felt confident, empowered, and supported
The entire labour and birthing experience felt very different to my first birth, which involved me lying flat on my back, hooked up to multiple monitoring machines in brightly lit room surrounded by lots of people doing things to and around me. I had possible sepsis, so had a cannula to administer an antibiotic drip. I also had an episiotomy, a kiwi cup delivery, and stitches. I felt that everything was beyond my control, and I didn't fully understand what was happening to me at the time. This time I felt confident, empowered, and supported and I put a lot of that down to what we learned with Claire in her hypnobirthing course.
- Jilly and Raymond, Group Hypnobirthing Course