Charlotte and Phoebe- FREEBIRTH
We joined Katie’s hypnobirthing course when I was around 22 weeks pregnant; although this was our third baby, we didn’t feel prepared during the previous pregnancies. I had very medicalised births, induction with first baby and c-section with second, and the thought of birth this time around was a little scary. We didn’t know much about hypnobirthing and I wanted to learn some coping mechanisms for birth and how to cope with the pain a little better. I dragged my husband along to the first session and his view at the time was ‘why do I need to come; you’re the one giving birth’. This view only lasted 30 minutes of the first session as the course was very inclusive to birthing partners and the very big role they have in play in preparation to birth and birth itself.
During the 4 week period of the hypnobirthing course I had a big relapse with my mental health (PTSD); I was triggered by something that happened at the hospital and the thought of having to go to hospital to give birth to our baby filled me with anxiety, panic and dread.
Katie helped me to unpick this experience with Three Step Rewind and although this did help to process the experience; the fear of going back to hospital was still too overwhelming.
During the second Hypnobirthing session we were talking about birth preferences and discussing where to give birth; my husband said to me ‘why not try for a home birth?’. This thought had not crossed our minds before but the idea of being in our own home where we could control the environment, I would be in my safe place and I would be with my husband at all times was all very appealing, but I wasn’t sure if it was safe for me (I had been classed as ‘high risk’ from the midwives due to previous c-section and bicornuate uterus).
We also discussed informed decision making to help us make decisions about our care and being 100% responsible for these decisions. We researched the risks around a home birth with my specific risks in mind and spoke to our midwives. We also looked into freebirthing and emergency birthing courses in the event our baby arrived before the midwives, or if no midwives were available to come out to us. We both decided a home birth was the best option for us, the previous feelings of dread and panic faded and were replaced with positivity and excitement. I was preparing for my home birth.
In preparation for birth I listened to the hypnobirthing tracks supplied by Katie alongside other meditations on youtube I related to. I practiced breathing techniques and visualisations that I could use during birth and I prepared a positive affirmations board and reminded myself of these daily. Myself and my husband prepared our birth preferences and we spoke daily about how he can support me in birth and afterwards; I was worried my hormones would get the better of me and make me have a wobble with my mental health.
After weeks of prodromal labour; when I did eventually fall into labour I didn’t believe it! I was 41+6 weeks and I experienced surges walking home from the school run and brushed it off as more prodromal labour or Braxton Hicks. Twenty minutes afterwards the surges became more intense and needed my attention to breath through them; I called my husband who was at work and said I might be in labour and really needed him to come home to help me with our other two children.
Active labour lasted around 2 hours and I used the breathing technique of counting to 60; as after I got past 30 I knew I was over the worst of it. I tuned into my body and what she needed from to me to help get through the surges; I found remaining upright, leaning on the kitchen sides and doing a standing mountain climber whilst counting to 60 helped me to manage the intensity of the surges. I also had my headphones in and listened to the hypnobirthing tracks.
During this time my husband called for our youngest child to be collected, prepared the birth pool and set up calming lights near to the pool. The home birth team were also called to request a midwife to attend; we were told the midwives were currently at another home birth but should be finished for when I needed them. I had a little wobble at this point as we ran out of hot water for the pool so husband resorted to boiling the kettle and boiling pans of water; I remember thinking to myself ‘I can’t do this much longer, It’s too painful and I need something else’. This transition phase only lasted a few moments as I refocused on the hypnobirthing tracks, refocused my breathing and allowed the negative thoughts to pass.
Shortly after this the pool was ready and the warm water and the lightness of my body in the water felt bliss!! As soon as I got in I had the ‘rest and be thankful’ stage where it was 10 minutes of bliss and I bobbed in the water whilst my husband cuddled me and told me how amazing I was and what an amazing job I was doing.
At this point the midwives still hadn’t arrived but my body was starting to push; I knew in this moment our options were to stay at home and crack on, or to transfer into hospital. My husband and I looked at each other and there was a silent understanding between us that we’ve got this; our baby is on her way and we can do this. During the ‘pushing/breathing the baby out’ phase it felt like I was just a passenger on this journey and my body completely took over and I was there for the ride. I wouldn’t say I ‘hummed’ the baby out; it was more like a throaty gurn (which my husband later said I sounded like I was mooing, lol!) but I couldn’t stop the mooing even if I tried. I did try to replace it with the birth hum, but it just wasn’t working for me.
After 30 minutes of pushing, our baby was born still in her waters bobbing in the pool. It was a calm and serene moment as her eyes were open and she was just looking around. Once she was completely born; her daddy lifted her out of the water and I broke the sack and cleared it from her face and rubbed her down to trigger her breathing. There were many tears shed over how amazing the whole experience had been, how pleased we were to meet our little girl and how proud we were of ourselves for what we had just achieved! We had skin to skin in the pool and her eldest brother was able to meet her when she was just 2 minutes old.
The midwives arrived 15 minutes after she was born. Thankfully it was our community midwife who was aware of our birthing preferences and respected these which allowed the amazing, calming and peaceful birth to continue.
Our beautiful baby girl is now two weeks old and I still look back on our birth with a big smile on my face. The birth was incredible, primal, humbling, powerful and simply beautiful! It was one of the best experiences of our lives and we have been in a sort of ‘birth bubble’ since and I’m pleased to say my mental health remains in a positive place!
I never thought I could have a birth like I did prior to attending the hypnobirthing course and we had assumed we would be having a hospital birth as ‘prescribed to us’ without questioning this. The hypnobirthing course encouraged us to advocate for our own views and wishes, make informed decisions about my care and to be wholly responsible for these decisions.
Thank you Katie for planting the seed for a home birth; that seed certainly grew and led to the most perfect way to welcome our baby girl into the world. Your course also transformed husband’s initial view of ‘why do I need to do it’ to being fully involved in any decision making, birth and having the confidence for a home birth and even delivering our baby!
