Oct 2009

So I thought that nearly 17 weeks later it's time to get my birth story down, before I forget any of it. Our son Daniel was born on the 5th June at 12.25am, it was a totally natural birth which I really, really wanted (even though everyone told me to be flexible I was determined not to take drugs or have an epidural). I was aided by my fantastic gentlebirth CD and my also fantastic TENS machine. I had a really positive experience and I can honestly say that I didn't really feel any pain once I put the cd and TENS machine on, only pressure and the will to push like the bejasus.

So the day before Daniel arrived I'd been swimming in the sea and washing the windows in about 27 degree heat! It was SO hot that week and I just wanted him out. My friend called round to check on me and gave out that I hadn't packed my bag for the hospital, choosing to wash windows instead...There was a part of me that knew things were happening when I was standing on the chair with the cloth in my hand! 'Eh this is a bit mad' I thought. On our way him from the swim James and I stopped for chips and I wolfed them down but I was feeling a bit restless and couldn't get comfortable in the car.

The next day I had a check up with the doctor who assured me that though Daniel was in position he probably wasn't ready to arrive yet, sure he was due in a weeks and as I was a first timer I was more than likely to go over. After that I went and met my friend and off we went to the spa where I visited the steam room, hammam room, cold showers, hot showers, warm recliners and the indoor and outdoor pool. Looking back on it, what chance did the poor child have! No wonder he came early! Then off we took ourselves to the pub for lunch. After I'd polished off a pretty gross cheesecake (didn't stop me eating it all) we were getting ready to go and I stood up to go to the toilet. Halfway across the room I felt that my trousers were all wet, 'Ah sure that'll be all the water I was in this morning' I thought to myself foolishly. I went to the toilet and the water was still coming, quite alot of water too! At this point I kind of wanted to go home but my friend wouldn't let me drive, so we had to pick her daughter up, bring her partners mum into town and then bring me up to my husbands work. I was really nervous and excited so I put on my cd but wasn't really able to concentrate so I took it off and tried to relax and enjoy the view from the car, sitting on her raincoat so as not to ruin the upholstry! Eventually we got to my husbands work and then we had to drive back into town to pick our car up! Waaahhh! Never had I been so happy that we'd moved to Cork from Dublin before, it's so much smaller and easier to get around.

At this point fluid was still coming out but not very quickly and it did have a slight red tinge but I wasn't worried about that. I rang tracy and she hold us to go into the hospital, get checked out and then I could come home to labour. Ho Ho Ho. We came home and pottered around for a bit (packing my bag!) and then I felt it was time to go. I started feeling surges in the car on the way but I wanted to stop on the way to pick up a pyjamas...we went around New Look and then Penneys, I found a cool pair of white pj's with big pink stars on but then I had to find a matching top. All the while my surges were about 3 minutes apart. While we were in the queue to pay I started to really feel that I needed to get to the hospital and I think I pay have sort of shouted at the cashier who was really slowly putting my stuff into the bag that 'I had to go to hospital NOW!'

Off we headed across the road to the hospital where I had to wait for AGES before they admitted me. I walked up and down while I was waiting, my husband finished off his last essay for college in the waiting room! There were three kids in the waiting room running round and screaming and it was doing my head in so we moved to the main reception. At this point I hadn't put on my TENS or my cd and I started to feel a bit out of control, the sensations were starting to get stronger and I was kind of bent over. I felt like I couldn't do it and I started crying. My husband at this point was great, he made me put on my cd and the TENS and within 5 minutes I was walking around chatting again. Then a midwife came out to examine me and I kept saying I wanted to go home, I wanted to go home to labour. She did an internal which after she told me would make the surges stronger (thanks for telling me beforehand!) and then about 10 mins after that things really started to kick in. A doctor came out to give me the all clear to go home, she took one look at me and said 'you're not going anywhere, you're in labour and you'd only have to come back in once you got home'. First I was saying that I wanted to go home but then really quickly I figured she was right and I was in the best place. After this they wanted to put a trace on me and there was NO WAY I was letting that happen. I just couldn't have laid down no matter what. It's such a shame that most women think thatthey have to have the trace put on cos I reckon it really makes things harder. I said that I wanted the doppler used and that if they really wanted to know when my contractions were happening then I'd tell them. So they eventually agreed but I had to sign a waiver form (imagine!). I was very happy and confident to do this. Then after awhile we went up to the ward where I tried to walk around a bit but just couldn't the pressure was too much, the poor girl I was sharing a room with, I was being pretty vocal about the whole thing, but not out of control. I just felt I needed to make some noise so I did.
I kept listening to the colour part of the cd, which brought me to the field that I walked round alot with the dog when I was pregnant. It was amazing how relaxed it made me feel, I thought about the dog alot too, weirdly!

We then got ready to go down to the labour ward, the nurse tried to get me to sit on the wheelchair, of which there was no chance. Then she said I'd have to walk so, I tried a step or two and that wasn't going to work either. In the end I kneeled up on the chair facing backwards, she wasn't happy about that at all and I had to promise I wouldn't fall off. I then started feeling like pushing, it was such an unusual feeling, it just came on me, I didn't have to know that I was 10cms dilated, I could've told them I was. So I started to push. And push and push and push! After about 10 mins of being in the labour ward the nurse said 'get a baby gro and nappy, the baby will be here very soon'. That kind of put the fear of God in me and I felt a bit shakey for a bit but then refocused on the cd and kept on with the TENS. James gave the midwife our birth plan and we'd had the lights dimmed. They were very receptive to our wishes and I felt very relaxed. At one point the midwife said did I want to feel his head so she took my hand and I touched it as it crowned! So off I was pushing and pushing and pushing. And pushing. And pushing. About an hour later the midwife said that she knew we didn't want assisted pushing but she really felt that the baby needed to come out as his heartbeat was slowing down a little bit, we had a go at that but nothing happened. Eventually the doctor came in and said she was concerned and wanted baby out pretty much now, she gave me the chance to push through 2 more contractions and then we all agreed an episiotomy was for the best. Two pushes later and the little fella was out, all 8.10lbs of him. A grand big lusty fella. I was so expecting a girl that after I was actually able to look down my first words were 'Oh my god, look at the size of his balls!' I think they were a bit taken aback by that reaction! Then he was put up on my tummy and we waited for the cord to stop pulstating. I wanted to wait and deliver the placenta but by then I was cold and tired and just wanted to get it over with so they gave me the injection. The midwife also offered me gas and air for the stitches! Jaysus I just gave birth to a baby without it, I think I can handle a few stitches! I got a local anaesthic for that but it was a bit sore anyway. I breastfed him just after he was born and declined the vitiman K injection (so we have to give it to him orally every month now till I stop breastfeeding.

It was an amazing, challanging and sometimes unnerving experience but like I said I felt totally in control and didn't feel much pain, just pressure. It's taken awhile to get used to our new life but I'm reallly starting to enjoy him now, we still manage to go out for dinner most weeks and have a few glasses of wine now and then so that's good enough for me! I have to say I think the hypnobirthing not only helped me in the labour but has also helped me become a more confident, positive person all round, I still practice affirmations and listen to the parenting cd. Daniel is also a very happy, smiley, relaxed baby and I'd put some of that down to all the work I did with the hpnobirthing when I was pregnant.

Good Luck to all you expectant Mams!

July 2009

June 2009

Oct 2008 - Dad's Testimonial

Dear Tracy,

Our beautiful amazing son Patrick Thomas was born on Monday evening at 6.52.  And we are still in a state of total and complete amazement.  Orla will be in touch when she’s back to earth but our experience was extremely positive and we will never be able to thank you enough for your advice.  I don’t think we fully appreciated how much help your techniques would be in the weeks before the birth but they really were and Orla used the CD and relaxation methods constantly since we met you in Galway.

Orla had a very long build up with baby surges starting on Sunday morning at 7.30.  We spent the day in gentle birth mode and all went really really  well.  As it got into Sunday evening we decided that, as we live so far from the hospital that we should head down to be checked out, just in case things had progressed further than we thought.  In hindsight that was probably not the best plan because even though Orla was only a couple of centimetres dilated the mid-wife advised us not to return home.  In saying that we stayed in gentle birth mode and Orla bathed and used the CD and the night went well for her.  We had a second exam on Monday morning and things hadn’t progressed to far.  Despite that we were moved to the labour ward as surges were really strong at this stage although concentrated in Orlas back.  The mid wife (who was fantastic in fairness) actually didn’t believe Orla was  in full labour because despite surges which were peaking on the monitor, at one stage Orla was actually dozing with the CD on!!!

As the day wore on and things still progressed slowly I could see the signs from staff that they were anxious to move things along but Orla still did not want any intervention.  In the end she became completely exhausted.  Surges continued to increase in intensity, she had been going since the previous morning, and the staff were insisting that “an epidural followed by breaking the waters” was the best way to go as she was still only 3-4 cm dilated”. 

So that is what happened in the end and Patrick arrived 2 hours later.  Again, hindsight is 20:20 and even though I could see what was happening was exactly as you’d described, when we were actually there with midwives (we’d gone through 3 shift changes at this point!!!) and obstetrician telling you that this was their advice, it really became difficult to continue to argue. 

We still feel that we would never have gotten so far so comfortably (in relative terms) without GentleBirth and are certainly in a better position now if we’re lucky enough to go down this road again.  And our baby is the calmest, most relaxed little thing you’ve ever seen, something which again we attribute to the relaxation techniques during the pregnancy and the fact that he stayed calm as well until the last 2 hours of the process.

As I said Orla will be in touch with her version of events but from my perspective, I owe you one big time!! 

Sept 2008 - Holles St.

Baby Alice arrived in Holles St on 22nd Sept. :) She is magic - we are over the moon.

Firstly I had a very calm pregnancy. I put that down to GentleBirth. It even changed my attitude to things outside my pregnancy, like stuff that was annoying me in work. It was great.

Now baby Alice loves the music and your voice and is very soothed when I play the CDs. I really enjoy CD 2 & 3 now and find them very helpful. Though I used them before giving birth I mainly focused on CD 1. Everyone remarks on how calm Alice is, which I also put down to GentleBirth making me much more calm.

I was due on 19 Sept. I was anxious when I went over my due date that I would end up being induced. I tried to focus on the affirmation about my baby arriving at the perfect time.

On Saturday at 2 am I woke having a surge. When I checked the time again I was still having a surge and is was 3am. I thought that can't be right, they are only supposed to be short.. and then penny dropped that I had about 4 or 5 surges in that time but had fallen asleep between them, so I must have been pretty relaxed.

I woke my husband Stephen at 3.30am, he got my birth ball, got me some water, we were pottering about all excited and then we looked at each other and said what the hell are we doing up, lets get some sleep while we still can. So we got back into bed and stayed there til about 9.30am, I would just fall asleep between surges, and I may have even slept through some of them.

We phoned Holles St and the midwife listened to me having a surge and suggested I stand for them with my knees bent and rock, to help with them. I started doing this and the surges got much more intense. I got a bit panic-y but Stephen stayed with me the whole time and would remind me about the breathing and he was so calming it made me calm. I didn't want to eat but I had some flat 7up.

At about 12 midday a midwife called to the house, checked me, and said I was 1cm dilated. She said I could go to Holles St whenever I felt the need, but I might be best to labour at home until 2 or 3pm. I treated that as a goal and thought to myself that if I could stay home until 3.30 or 4pm that would be great.

We put on the GentleBirth CD and I got on the birthing ball. I did find the surges very intense and tiring, but I would lay down sometimes and fall asleep between them. I would hang on to Stephen for them and breathe through them, and I didn't panic, I was very focussed, and I knew that in a moment it would pass and I would have some relaxation time.

In fact hypnobirthing almost worked too well, as then I suddenly felt the surges in my thighs and had the urge to push, and we weren't even at the hospital. It was 3.30pm, we phoned Holles St, and in we went.
We got there round 4pm, and had a fantastic midwife called Katie who really inspired confidence. Although I had brought the GentleBirth CDs, we didn't use them in the hospital. They would have allowed it, we just didn't really get the chance.

Katie asked me if I wanted an epidural and I said no. GentleBirth had given me the confidence to realise that although the surges were not a walk in the park I could handle them and it would be better for baby and for me if I didn't have interventions. Katie checked me and I was 8cm dilated. My husband couldn't believe it, he thought she was going to say I was 2cm gone..

I had the gas and air. If I had twins I would have called them Gas and Air, that stuff is ace.

We chatted to Katie about GentleBirth. I would stop mid sentence if I felt a surge coming, honk on the gas and air for a bit, and then pick up where I had left off, bare rear in the air, on my knees, on the bed. It was surreal. Katie said if she has a baby she would like to do GentleBirth.

So then she said when I felt like pushing we could go for it. At 5.40pm she looked at the clock and said, we'll have this baby out by 6. And we did. At one point I heard her ask Stephen if I did a lot of horse riding.. [har har insert lewd joke here] which was also a surreal moment. He said no but she cycles everywhere. She said ok yes she has a very muscular perineum, I don't want you to take this as a threat but I am thinking we may need an episiotomy, if things don't progress we can talk about it. I had done perineal massage and I think that stood to me, and also the advice I had heard about smiling while pushing, cos I smiled, relaxed, and out popped baby Alice, all 8.4 of her, at about 5.55pm!

Katie checked me and I only had a small tear and didn't need stitches.
I only had to labour at home for 14 hours, 8 or 9 hours of which was so easy that it was just like period cramps and I slept through it, and in the hospital for 2 hours. Oh, and in the car for half an hour..
scaring the other motorists :)

So a big *thank you* Tracy, GentleBirth made the whole experience amazing. I felt "confident, calm and in control".. and if I did start to slide then Stephen was an amazing birth partner, he really was there for me at every turn.

Wonderful Rotunda GentleBirth

Hi Tracy,
 
Baby Aoife was born in the Rotunda hospital on Aug 21st at 2.38am weighing 8lbs1oz & 15 days before her EDD.

It all started on Thursday morning, I got up at 9am to go to the loo and noticed little puddles of clear fluid forming around
my feet. I phoned my husband to let him know that there was something beginning and he came straight home from work.
We took our time, had breakfast, then lunch & made sure we had everything we wanted packed & ready for off.
We went into the Rotunda at about 3.30 and I was seen in the ER. I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't have to get an
internal exam but disappointed that I was scheduled for an induction the following morning at 10am. I asked for more time but
I was refused at this point.
 
We went to our favourite Japanese restaurant and I got the hottest chilli dish I could tolerate. We went to the beach near our home afterward & we walked for and hour & a half. I found it hard to settle to sleep as I was getting quite excited and expecting to feel something at any minute. At about 4am, I was feeling quite restless and noticed that I was getting some very gentle tightenings. I put on my hypnobirthing CD's and spent most of the night listening to them & some Enya thrown in for good measure.

We went to the hospital for 10am. I explained to the mid-wife that we were hoping to have a natural birth and was hoping for my labour to begin naturally and did I have to be induced seeing as I was having some tightenings. She spoke to the Doctor who then went and checked it with the senior Doctor. He came and spoke to me afterward and said that I would most likely go into labour myself, I was absolutely right to wait if that was my wish and wished us the best of luck! I was delighted, they did however inform us that I would be induced the following morning if I hadn't begun to labour myself.
 
I was shown to the ward and we were given lots of space by the staff. I was fed like a prize goose throughout the day & lots of the nurses had heard of and were encouraging of hypnobirthing. At 9pm we were informed that my husband would have to leave a visiting hours were up. I felt things were definitely moving along for me & I was shocked that my husband wouldn't be able to stay with me throughout this experience. After speaking with our midwife she explained that the only way for them to know whether I was in labour or not was to do an internal exam which they would not do as they preferred to let women labour naturally in their own time. As impressed as we were at hearing this we still had an issue of being separated. The midwife had a think about it and came back to us, she suggested that if we walked around the hospital my husband would not be in the way of the other women on the ward.. she said we could do this for an hour or so and then she would run a bath for me which he could be there for also and we could see how things were going at that point.
 
We walked and walked every inch of the hospital throughout the day the tightenings had strengthened & I had little designated resting points along our circuit, chairs window ledges, radiators etc. I got into the bath about 11.30pm & it was glorious. Within a very short time proper surges began. I was brought back to the ward & had the one & only internal exam of my labour. I was 3-4 cm's dilated & the babies head was still quite high up. They phoned the delivery ward but they were extremely busy so I was told I may have to birth in the ward which they said would be fine and for me not to worry it wouldn't make any difference to me.
 
I could really feel the surges intensify and although I felt very calm & in control I was starting to find this transition difficult to manage pain wise. I was given some gas and air at this point. I was wheeled to the delivery suite in a rush, there were quite a few obscenities en route I'm disappointed to tell you. When I got on the bed the Doctor said she could see the head & it wouldn't be long before our baby would be with us. We asked that I not be cut that I would prefer to tear, the Doctor said she wouldn't dream of cutting.

On the second push the babies head came halfway out, I was encouraged to continue pushing after that surge ended which I did not do, I waited for the next surge to bear down again & 2 surges later our baby was laying on my belly latched firmly to my breast. The Doctor checked me afterward & I had no tears so no need for any stitches.
 
From the period between the internal exam to the babies head appearing was very short, less than 10 minutes in total, it felt like just one long very intense surge which brought me from 3-4 all the way to 10 cms. Really this was the only discomfort I experienced throughout the birth. I was delighted with how we were treated by all of the staff in the Rotunda & was surpised at how Gentlebirth friendly they were. I was certainly allowed have the labour we had chosen with the full support and encouragement of the team there.
 
Our journey through our first pregnancy and birth have been wonderful, learning about Gentlebirthing and planning a birth that we were comfortable with was positively empowering & to have our beautiful baby girl at the end of it all is just magical. I enjoyed every minute of the journey and am adoring evey inch of motherhood even more. I was delighted to hear you have begun your midwifery training Tracy & I wish you every success along the way. Maybe we will be able to have one of our children in your Gentlebirthing Centre in the future. Many thanks for everything,
 
Yours Gratefully,
 
Aine

Cork Mum's GentleBirth - April 2008

Here is my birth story,it's a long one!! I can't believe I am writing this!!!!!

I was using hypnobirthing as I was very anxious that something would happen during pregnancy and labour, now that has just transfered to something happening now that he is here!!!

I was due on Sat 29th that night at midnight I started getting contractions said nothing to DH and went to sleep had them all through the night sometimes they would wake me up but I would smile as I thought baby was on the way. When I woke the next morning I still had them and told DH we were so excited they were ten minutes apart, went to the park with the dogs and during lunch they started to get more intense, had some birthday cake for the baby and then they dissapeared!!!! I was devastated couldn't believe it had been having them for 16 hours.
That night on the loo I thought some water had leaked and in bed there was a trickle doen my leg and I made DH feel it poor man. I had reduced movements and was a little worried. I was scheduled to meet gynae Tues so rang to see if I could go in that morning instead but she wasn't doing a clinic and mid wife told me to go to emergency room. I am so glad we did.

Baby's heart rate was way down, I was eating ice pops at ten in the morning trying to wake him up!!!! Had a scan and they said all was fine, they rang my gynae and she wanted another scan and someone else did it and my waters had been leaking and were really low Thank God gynae asked for another one.
I was scheduled for induction that day, I was dissapointed as I wanted to go myself but I knew that I had to do what was best for baby.
Arrived back to hospital and was given bed, gynae came at 3 and gave me gel, I was already 1 cm which she reckoned was from the contractions on the day before. She said she would break my waters in the morning if I was still there but that she would be suprised if I didn't have him that night. Baby's heart rate went mad after getting the gel and was far too high I had a midwife two consultants and my gynae all checking on it. I started getting contractions at half three tried to do my rainbow relaxation but with them all coming checking and the alarm going off I couldn't concentrate. Was on tracer for around 3 hours but DH had brought a mini dvd player and Faulty Towers as a suprise so that was a great distraction.

When I was allowed off the tracer we went for a few rounds of the ward and my contractions were getting stronger. Got back up on the bed and laboured on all fours for a while which was great. I called the mid wife and asked if there was somewhere else I could go as I was moaning on the exhale with my yoga breathing and was embarrassed as there was a lady next to me. She checked me and said I was 4 cm offered me pethadine which I declined and said I could go to labour ward or have a bath. I got into the bath and really progressed for two hours it was the best thing I did. I felt really sick after each contraction so was drinking loads of ice water probably about 3 to 4 litres during the labour!! At this point I was getting contractions for 2 minutes with one minute break and DH was pouring cold water on my forhead during contracions, I was getting really tired as they would peak at the start and then ease so I couldn't gear up for them. At 2.30 am I decided the time was here and I needed to go to the labour ward. Was wheeled down and got onto the bed and put on my hypnobirth cd, I just listened to the practice music over and over and asked for gas and air. The midwife went through our birth preference's with us and said we were her first hypno birth but she was fully open to the idea. I lay there relaxing and chatting away and the midwife went for her break I told her I'd try not to have the baby when she was gone. About half an hour later I felt the urge to push asked the midwife could I and she said she would check me. I was fully dilated and ready to go!!! My waters had not gone and I had on my preferences not to have them broken but I asked her to at this stage. I told my husband I am ready now to meet the baby. The other midwife came back off her break and my gynae arrived, she looked at how calm I was and assumed I had had an epidural, the look on her face was hillarious when they told her I was only using gas and air. Baby's heart rate was still really low and gynae said she was going to do an episiotomy I told her I didn't want one but what I didn't know was that the cord was around the baby's neck and she needed to move fast, in fairness to her she did try again but I was losing a lot of blood so she went and did the cut. Then she said she was getting the vaccum and there was no way that was happening I pushed so hard the midwife said he nearly hit the other wall!!!!I was only pushing for half an hour in total and my little man arrived 7 lbs 4 oz and amazing.I had asked for extended skin to skin contact and they let me hold him for a good half hour. It was also on my birth preferences to give him vitamin k oraly and they got the peadiatrician especially to look over him and agree to it.

The midwife was so nice and said she was sorry she couldn't comply with all our preferences but they had to do what they had to do.
They are so good in CUMH and I can't wait to have the next one!!!!
Definitely go in with a birth preference sheet I was really glad we did.

The hypno birthing and the yoga really helped me stay relaxed and focus I would highly recommend them. The best thing I did was ask not to be examined unless I requested it this way I was not dissapointed and was only checked at 4 cm and then when I was ready to go.

Thanks for reading!! Best of luck with all your births

Dee and Richie's Amazing Homebirth in December

A Healing Birth

Magical, profound, mysterious,  wonderful, inspiring, empowering. These are just a few of the many adjectives that spring to mind when I think of Peters birth. He is now ten weeks old and wriggling about in his sling as I try to write this with one finger. I have never been more relaxed and happy in my whole life and Im still feeling the positive effects of his birth.

So this is how it went

Thursday the 13th of December I spoke to Peter in the womb and told him to start labour proceeedings whenever he was ready cos I sure as hell never would be!

Just earlier that day I had been asked did I feel ready and I said no that I could continue being pregnant for another few weeks. I felt in no hurry to give birth and considering that my first baby was nine days over my approx due date and nine ponds six ounces I was happy to continue full and ripe! Later that day however I considered how did my baba in the womb feel, maybe I was giving him the wrong signal. I spoke to him at half nine that evening and at half ten my other son Seimi woke up (he had been waking up at exactly half ten every evening for about eight weeks prior to Peters birth) and sat crying at the top of the
stairs for me to sooth him back to sleep. I lay down beside him and rubbed his hair. Then I felt what I thought was my hip clicking but when I went to the loo realised it was my
waters releasing. I immediately  did everything I said I wouldn’t and got super excited, feeling loads of adrenaline and texting everyone. Richie was out with friends but bolted home within twenty minutes of me telling him. I decided to text rather than phone my mother who was out at a christmas due so as not alarm her, she was our back up for Seimi in case he woke up at an awkward time. I then got a call from her sounding excited,concerned and a little tipsy, with her friends in the background all saying they were thinking of me in slightly drunk voices. It was quite sweet but a little alarming and I was worried that if things really took off my mam would not be able to drive up to us, so we
phoned my sister in law for extra back up. Then Richie began preparing things for the birth just in case, also we were taken by surprise because Peter was not due for another week. At about one I sent Richie to bed, I wanted him rested in case I needed him later. I lay on the sofa for the night and had a feeling that nothing was going to happen for a while. I listened to my hypno birthing cds on and off all night and just focused on relaxing. I had braxton hicks all night but they were very comfortable and nothing unusual as Id had them for at least eights weeks. The next morning Seimi went off to Montessori and Richie and I decided to do some shopping and tidy the house.

  We spent two hours in Tesco, I really enjoyed taking my time and just wandering at a leisurely pace. We did a ridiculous amount of food shopping so we wouldn’t have to worry for a couple of weeks. I was feeling very positive and totally relaxed enjoying my time with just me Richie and bump. Then like a lot of pregnant women I found something to worry
about. I had heard that when your waters release early that its another signal for a posterior baby. I had a number of minor and major meltdowns because of the fact that Peter seemed a persistent op baby. I knew way too much and while walking around Tesco started feeling really down and hopeless and of course as all mothers do blamed myself for Peters position. I was imagining the worst, long labour, horrific back pain, hospital transfer and an emergency caesarean, plus everyone saying I told you so. So I rang one of my Doula buddies, poured my fears out, she told me to chill out and turn off my phone.

After that call I felt much better, but I could feel in my body that I was still holding onto stuff. We went home and just hung out, cleaning, relaxing and smooching on the sofa. My midwife arrived for a scheduled check up at four and was happy to leave me as we both felt nothing was happening. Because my waters had released we did have to discuss what might happen if labour did not start within a given time frame, so I did feel a little  under pressure. He said that Peter was still very high and op and suggested that I cleaned my skirting boards to get him in a good position. Richie dropped Colm to the dart so I was home alone, that’s when I really let go of all expectations and gave in to what will be will be. I really felt I had done my best by my baby and that I needed to surrender control and have faith in my body, my baby and birth.

I got down on my hands and knees and washed the floor and skirting boards in the hall. I felt fantastic, full of energy and free. My parents, Seimi and Richie arrived shortly after with my Mams home made stew. I was really hungry, I ate a huge bowl full and four slices of batch bread, yum! It was such a lovely evening, just being there with the people I love, so relaxed and upbeat. I was still having loads of braxton hicks but they didn’t effect my ability to chat and have a laugh.
My parents left, I could tell they were a little anxious but I was so relaxed and calm that I think they felt reassured. Richie and Seimi went to bed at half eight and I prepared myself for another night on the sofa with various cushion arrangements, popcorn and the dvd of the making of Lord of the rings. I must have dozed off about half ten or so and slept quite soundly. At about half twelve I was woken  two very very powerful surges. Then there was nothing for another hour or so, then I had five one on top of another, that’s when I knew something was happening. However I had no idea it was active labour because they were so inconsistent and easy to manage. I woke Richie at half one and had a laugh at his reaction. He was snuggled up close to Seimi so I gently prodded his leg, he opened his eyes looked at me and closed them again. I prodded his leg again, this time a little harder  and said Richie with some urgency in my voice.
This time ha sat up and looked bewildered. And this is the way the conversation went
I need you honey",
For what, said Richie
"Because I’m in labour", I said with a somewhat sarcastic tone in my voice.
Again Richie looked bewildered. I started laughing really hard but didn’t want to wake Seimi..
Eventually Richie left his sleep in bed and trundled downstairs with me. I think the laughing really got my surges in sync because from then on they were much more consistent though very short, 30 seconds max. I was sitting on my birth ball and leaning over the sofa and each surge was getting more powerful. I started to panic a bit and told  Richie that I would need the birth pool and to phone Bridget but not Colm because I felt like I was not in established labour. As soon as he did that everything stopped, I felt under pressure and felt a bit observed. Then Bridget arrived twenty minutes later and I felt awful for getting her up out of bed, she was pregnant and had two young children at   home. She was great though and she really got me laughing.  I had a rice sock tucked into
the front of my skirt and we were imagining Colms reaction if he arrived and we had placed the rice sock horizontally over my tummy with me saying "I think the baby might have changed position, do you think you could check?" We laughed solid for about ten minutes, but my surges had disappeared. Thats when I decided to lay on some cushions on the floor and listen to my hypno birth cd on my ipod. I got comfy and closed my eyes.

I could hear Richie and Bridget pottering about in the background and then Bridget lay down to sleep on the sofa right above where I was lying. My surges started again, this time they felt different, more like waves, I visualised myself being carried under water by each wave and I felt very relaxed. Everytime I felt one coming on I reached out and held Bridgets hand, opening one eye to signal to her what was happening. Her face was one of complete love, in her own quiet way she was by my side for each wave, I could tell by   the look in her eyes she knew how I was feeling. After each wave I would tell myself that the next one would be easier and that I would go with it more and manage it better. It felt  very tender and intimate with Bridget, like we were walking together in my labour land.

In between waves I dozed off and felt very relaxed. At about three fifty am I suddenly felt sick and really hot. I threw the blanket off me and ran to the loo, then I thought I needed to poo and I had a leg bending surge in the loo. I was full of energy and my whole body felt electric, my legs and hands were really shaking. It felt good to shake but my hair was bothering me and I remember wanting a bobbin with some urgency. Bridget gave me hers  and I asked them to phone Colm, something was happening. What happened next was the
most amazing few experience of my whole life. I fell to the ground in the corner of the living room half under the kitchen table (which had been moved to accommodate the waterbirth pool, more on that later!), I was leaning over a chair with my knees on the ground. My body (not me) started pushing and grunting and making very amnimalistic noises, I felt outside myself but I was still able to think. I remember thinking that it was happening too fast and I wanted to be able to have more control and feel what was happening, so instinctively I put my head on the ground and my bum in the air. Things slowed down a little and I could catch my breath, thats when I shouted for water, what I actually said was "drink", as Bridget described, father Jack style!

I was so overwhelmed with thirst, it was the only unpleasent part of my labour. Richie gave me a tiny glass of water but I was grateful, I still don’t know why he gave me such a small glass. While I was drinking the water I realised a few things, all my senses where heightened and I could feel every drop of water permeate through my body like never before, I also had developed some bizarre super human strength. I felt so strong, that I thought I would break the glass with my hand or bite it to bits. Richie and Bridget realised that Peter was on his way and they were trying to get me to move onto a shower curtain or towel. "Dee
could you move your leg honey" said Richie. "No" was my respnse, inside my head I was thinking " are you nuts, I’ve just grown roots". I literally could not move. I felt like an old oak tree, like my legs had grown into the ground and there was no way I was able to move, to hell with the carpet! I felt Peter coming out of my body, still thinking I was not in established labour and I found something to worry about. I between surges I said I  thought I had a cervical lip.

Poor Richie at this point was thinking, holy f**k , whats a cervical lip. It was a case of me knowing way too much and him not knowing enough, luckily Bridget was there to sort out my ridiculous paranoid moment. She laughed and said, Dee its your babies head not a cervical lip!" At that point I totally relaxed and just felt Peter come out. It was amazing, I felt every inch of him and couldn’t wait to hold him. After Richie and Bridget untangled him from his very long cord, they passed Peter through my legs and up into my arms. What utter bliss and joy I felt at that moment. He was perfect, his little body wriggling about in my arms and his mouth already looking for my breast. He latched on straight away and we were in love.

Richie and Bridget minded me so well until Colm arrived and in the meantime my own mother had arrived. Ill never forget the look on her face when she saw me. There I was naked and trembling holding  her new grandson, she looked so relieved and happy. She gave me a big hug and said well done, simple words but I knew they came from deep within her and I felt so proud of myself. Colm arrived about twenty minutes later and checked myself and Peter thoroughly. I had one stitch and became a complete wimp. I think I just wanted to be left alone and my skin felt quite raw all over my body. Everyone said I was doing great and I  think someone held my hand.
Oh yea back to the pool There it was sitting ready in the kitchen and Richie secretly cursing me, I had said all along that I didn’t fancy giving birth in water, its just not  something I’m attracted to. So I decided to put it to some use and had a bath in there with everyone around me drinking tea and eating toast, so it did have some use after all.

Hi Tracy,
Sorry for the delay in getting in touch but we've been busy getting to know our new baby. Emma Kate was born on 18th Jan 2008 at 13:31 weighing in at a healthy 10lbs 4oz.

Here is our story;
Braxton Hicks started about a week before the guess date. On the guess date I experienced surges throughout the day. I felt that something was starting but surges were still far apart and irregular. I decided not to say too much and we went for dinner that evening in Chan's of Bettystown (Highly reccomended). Got to bed that night at about midnight and was awoken at about two by some strong surges and a show. I woke Graham at half two and we started timing the surges. We were not sure if we were timing right as they were very close together but after quite a few we were sure they were about three minutes apart. I found the birthng ball very helpful and the surges manageable at this stage. Decided to get in the bath as the frequency of the surges made me a little uneasy and was hoping it would relax me. I listened to the hypnobirthing cd throughout as we tried some deepenings but the surges were coming so fast we couldn't get focused before the next one started.

At about 5:30 we decided to leave for the hospital before traffic started to get bad as we live quite a distance from the hospital. Left at 6:30, dopping off our daughter along the way and checked in at Holles St. about 8:30.

We were brought straight to the delivery ward and got examined. Slightly disapointed to find out I was two cm. We had discussed going to a hotel room if this was the case but again the frequency of surges was a little unnerving.

We gave copies of our Birth Plan to the midwives and were surprised and delighted at how well received it was.

Surges at this stage were only one minute apart and felt mostly in my lower back. I constantly changed positions over the next few hours and continued to listen to the cd as I still could not get through the deepenings. The cd helped me focus on each surge. Graham constantly massaged my lower back and some midwives were quite amused to see the rolling pin coming out but it was very effective! I didn't find the shower much help as I had to remove the headphones and lost focus. A hot water bottle was some use but staff were reluctant to refill it, probably due to insurance reasons.

At 11:30 I asked to be examined and was relieved to hear I was eight cm. I was experiencing a lot of pressure at this stage and had the urge to push. The midwife said this was because the waters had not released so being so far gone we decided to go ahead with having them released in the hope of easing the pressure. Another reason to go ahead with it was they wanted to monitor baby's heart rate for twenty mins and I couldn't stay still for that long. It was done at initial check in and I found it very irritating. They said that if the waters were clear they wouldn't need to do this. Waters were very clear and healthy. It did help but I felt that exhaustion was kicking in due to not getting any rest between surges. After an hour I was offered the gas to take the edge off the surges and I admit it did help relax me. They continued for nearly an hour more before I felt Baby was ready to come out. The head midwife examined me and confirmed I was ready to birth. The midwives helped me into a sitting up position and I was happy to do this as I had been kneeling for some time and my legs were very tired.

The actual birth lasted six minutes and at 13:31 Emma Kate was brought into the world. She was placed on my chest and because there was no excessive bleeding the chord was allowed to finish pulsating. Graham cut the chord. Emma Kate latched on to feed which helped deliver the placenta.

She was very calm and alert and was responding to our voices straight away. Fortunately I didn't need any stitches or have any tears. I feel this was due to listening to my body and knowing when it was right for me to push.

Afterwards I felt very proud of what I achieved without opting for pain relief and felt quite well with good energy. Comparing this with my first labour , this was by far the better experience(In brief, on my first labour waters were released at 1cm, meconium in the waters, epidural, oxitocin, continuous monitoring, directed pushing, stitches and feeling dreadful afterwards).

Looking back now:
The staff of Holles St. were extremely attentive and caring and I was very happy with them apart from one or two issues which are:

I was appointed a trainee midwife who was very caring but her lack of experience came to light on some occasions.

The head midwife was excellent as she was very reassuring and encouraged me to follow my body's lead.

I would advise anyone opting to breastfeed to be well informed in advance. Unfortunately there is no set standard among the midwives and conflicting opinions can be misleading and confusing.

Graham was very supportive with the hypnobirthing both during the pregnancy and the labour. He was well informed as we had put alot of time and dedication into the preparation. It was such a relief to know that he could talk for me so I could just focus on my surges. His encouragement and support guided me through some tricky moments. He truly was the perfect birthing partner.

I will definitely be going the hypnobirthing route next time!

Wendy and Graham

This is my account of the birth of our second baby

Our lovely little boy came into the world at 9.30pm News Years night, weighing 7lbs and 10 ozs.
I woke up at 6.30 that morning with mild period cramps. I’d had one or two in the days shortly after Christmas but this usually happened after I’d been walking for a while. We got up, DH, DS and I, and started our day as normal. The cramps were still happening and in the midst of them I managed to do a bit of housework. My first “nesting” sensations!!
I was very calm and relaxed, and took DS for a little ramble around our estate that afternoon to give DH a chance to catch up on some work at home.
The cramps had stopped mid morning and did not start up again until about 4pm. There was a noticeable difference this time, they were stronger and sharper – still perfectly manageable but I needed to use my breathing this time. There were a lot of visits to the bathroom and at times it felt like I was leaking rather than peeing and at about 5pm there was a lot of water released - this made me suspect that my waters had gone. DH was anxious at this stage for me to ring the hospital and let them know what was happening as it was likely that I would be going in that evening. So we did. And from then on things began to really speed up. I had to stop and breathe really deeply each time.

I contacted my sister who was on red alert to babysit for us. I told her at about 6 o’clock that there was still time but she had better hurry up just in case!! By 7 I was under a lot of pressure. The contractions were coming hard and fast and I was finding them quite painful but I wasn’t going anywhere until DS was in bed!!!!!
We were in the car at 7.25 and the drive down was hard and I found it hard to breathe through the contractions - walking and keeping upright is the way to go!!!! However, I did find that blowing very loud and long, high pitched raspberries helped a lot!!!

We arrived at the hospital at 8 and I had to wait for a strong contraction to pass before I was able to get out of the car. We went straight up to the labour ward and they were surprised at how close together the contractions were coming.
I changed into my nightie and they examined me and after all that I was told I was only 2cm dilated! To say I was disappointed is an understatement!! I was on the bed being monitored and I found this very, very difficult. What I really wanted was to get up off that bed when the contractions were happening. I just could not lie down, I needed to be standing up. At the next examination I was 5cm and I climbed off the bed and put my arms around DH and kind of lowed into his neck. It helped a lot as the baby moved down this way.

And within the next ten mins or so, I felt this incredible urge to push. The contractions had stopped and there was a big build up of pressure and a funny sense of relief with the next contraction. It really is amazing the way your body takes over and just does its job – this baby was coming whether or not I wanted it to!
Within an hour and a half of arriving at the hospital, our little boy was born! He was handed to me straight away and we had a really good cuddle and he had a nice cry for himself.

It was a fantastic experience!!!!

Throughout the latter part of my pregnancy I upped my listening to relaxation cd’s, read and reread Tracy’s book, plus the excellent Ina May Gaskin’s Guide to Childbirth. I logged on to this site several times a day and read all the positive birth stories I could get my hands on. I took reflexology sessions for the last month and just let my body do its job. It was a drug free birth although I have to be totally honest, I did want the epidural on hearing that I was only 2cm!! In the end, things progressed so quickly I didn’t have time and I was glad afterwards. Our little boy was still awake an hour and a half after being born.

I put him to my breast but he wasn’t really interested and he only really took it when we got back to the ward after midnight.

He is now almost four weeks old and a little treasure. I am really enjoying breastfeeding again and it is true what they say, the second is easier! His older brother is fantastic anyway, and all my fears concerning jealousy and not being able to spend one on one quality time with him anymore are unfounded! I am already thinking about our third baby!!!

12:30am on 3/12/07, I was in the bath when I felt a pop and got my first contraction. When I stood up to get out of the bath a few minutes later I had a show and my waters went. At this stage the contractions were 15 minutes apart, and we decided to make sure everything was ready in the hospital bag, and then go to bed and see if we could get a bit of sleep before things really got going. I started using the tens machine and rang the hospital to see which midwife was on duty. The contractions got closer together very quickly and we hadn't even got as far as bed yet, and they were 5 mins apart. I decided instead of going to bed, that I would have a shower and then we would head to the hospital. By the time I was getting out of the shower they were 4 mins apart so we left.

2:30am Arrived at hospital, was put on the monitor and then examined. Midwife advised I was 1/2cm to 1cm dilated. The options were to get into a bed in the hospital and send Tom home, or for us both to go home

3:30am Left hospital and went back home. Once I got home I got back into the shower as it was really helping with the lower back ache. After that I ran a bath and stayed in there for a while. I had tea and toast in the bath! I was still determined to get some sleep, so I got out of the bath, connected the tens machine again and tried to get into bed. At this point I didn't feel the tens was doing anything, and I was feeling the urge to push with the contractions.

6:15am We arrived at the hospital for the 2nd time. I was examined again and I was fully dilated.

6:30am We were taken into a room in the labour ward. We put the mattress from the bed on the floor under my knees and I leaned in over a birthing ball, rotating my hips. At this stage I used Gas and air for a little while. I'm not sure exactly what time I started to push.

7:25am I moved from the floor to the birthing stool

7:43am Baby Eliza was born at 9lb 2oz. No stitches needed. I didn't have the injection to bring on the placenta delivery, I just waited for it to happen naturally.

Overall I was extremely happy with everything and believe that the main reason it went so well was down to the fact that I was completely relaxed for the majority of my labour. Hypnobirthing helped me to focus on what I was doing and reinforced my belief that I could manage birthing without an epidural or any other kind of intervention. I found it extremely empowering to have a completely natural labour. The only stage where I had any doubts was when I arrived at the hospital feeling very tired and wondering if I had the energy to deal with giving birth. Once the midwife told me I was fully dilated this raised my spirits and I believe that it was just the fear that the contractions were going to get worse that was scaring me.

For anyone who wants to have a natural birth, I believe the secret to this is believing in yourself and that this is what your body is designed to do. Research how your body works in labour and as hard as it sounds given most of the stuff you have probably heard or seen about giving birth, relax. Its not like it is on tv shows!

Dec 2007

Galway Mum

The information and tips that Tracy provided were excellent and her ability to speak of her own and others personal experiences really helped to cement the beliefs I already held regarding the ability of everyone to have a calm, drug free birthing experience. Although I know I benefited greatly from attending the workshop I amazed by how much more confident my husband is about being able to cope with ‘the delivery’ of our baby (something that I know was playing on his mind a lot). He feels that he is now so much better equipped after the workshop.

The class was fantastic and has made an enormous difference to my expectation of a positive natural birth experience. I would highly recommend it. I feel it was definitely worth doing, even though I had already bought the home pack and had been practicing myself. It makes all the difference to do a workshop. It has given me a lot of personal confidence and confidence in the role of my birth partner during the birth process.

Excellent way of increasing my confidence for a natural birth.

I have just finished your book and for someone who had put off pregnancy because I had a huge fear of labour, I am totally cured and am now excited about the big day. I owe you so much already.

July 2007

My first birth was in the Rotunda 4 years ago. The birth was awful, I had a failed epidural and ended up in stirrups and with an episiotomy (which later became infected). My baby boy was pulled out using forceps and a vacuum. It was scary, humiliating (when I said I wanted to push they told me I wasn't ready - but I actually was!) and I felt awful (emotionally and physically) afterwards. Breastfeeding was very difficult and the baby took a long while to settle into a sleeping routine.

My daughter was born 2 years ago in Lourdes in Drogheda. There was only my husband, a midwife and me. She encouraged me to do "whatever felt right" during my labour so I went into whatever position felt natural and I had a good birth. No intervention, no drugs or stitches and baby was very content. I felt good afterwards and breastfeeding came easily but I did not like being in a noisy, busy (and unfortunately dirty) hospital.

This time I wanted a home birth. I wanted to go drug free and be relaxed and calm throughout so I practised hypnobirthing during my pregnancy and read Dick Grantley Read, "Childbirth without fear" where he writes how childbirth is not meant to be painful. I also read Tracy Donegan's "Better Birth Book" several times. I felt very prepared and was really excited about the whole experience.

I had my first surge at 2.30am. It was very bearable. They came 20 mins apart for the first hour or so. I went downstairs and sat on the birthing ball. Everyone else was asleep and I just concentrated on staying calm and timing the surges to see if this was the real thing. At 4.50am the surges were 10 mins apart so I called my midwife (Susan Cooney, who is absolutely brilliant, I would definitely recommend her 046-9433414). My husband was with me at this stage, holding my hand and telling me funny stories during surges. Whenever I had a surge I would close my eyes and focus on staying calm and breathing through it, while he tried his best to distract me with his crazy stories.

At 6am my midwife arrived. My mam and mam-in-law arrived too, to look after our children when they woke up. We had tea and toast and everyone was in good form. I was actually a bit worried that this was not real labour because I was coping so well!!

At 6.45 my midwife examined me and said I was 2cm dialated but that my cervix was very stretchy so things were progressing nicely. I decided to get into the bath. The water was lovely so I stayed in there for about 1.5 hours, topping up the water every so often. My surges were coming fast by this stage and they were getting quite strong. I still remained quiet and focused through each one - they seemed less painful than when I went through my first and second labours. At 8.30am I knew then it was time to get out as baby was on way.

I went into the bedroom we had set up for the birth and sat on the birthing ball again. I only stayed on for a minute as I felt baby was coming, so I climbed up on the bed and started to push. After a few pushes I felt I wasn't getting anywhere and I got a little bit stressed but Susan and my hubby urged me to relax and once I did, baby slipped out just fine. It had been hard to push her out because her hand was beside her head but once I relaxed, it was ok.

She was born at 8.53am. She let a little squeak and then I popped her up to my breast and she started smelling and tasting it straight away. We let the cord pulsate for a few mins and then Susan clamped it, my hubby cut it and I delivered the placenta naturally with one gentle push.

It was an amazing, empowering experience. I was completely silent during my surges, using the techniques I had learned with hypnobirthing. Because I had prepared myself, I managed the labour so much better than my first 2 births and it was definitely less painful - probably because I felt in control. My mam and mam-in-law could not believe a baby had been born so peacefully. They were in shock about the whole experience.

My children had slept through everything and when they woke at around 9am, they had a new little sister. It was so incredible seeing their faces when they came into the bedroom and saw April there.

Then Susan helped me take a bath and she put clean covers on the bed and even threw a load into the washing machine! She weighed April, 6lbs 14.5ozs and left us to have a rest.

The two nannies took the kids out and my hubby and I went to bed with our new gorgeous baby beside us.

April is 8 days old now and she's feeding great and sleeping great. She is very placid and I reckon the birth is one of the main reasons for that. Her brother and sister took really well to her, it was great that she was just here when they woke up last Tuesday morning. There was minimum disruption for them because she was born at home and I did not have to "go away" for a few days.

I would wholeheartedly recommend home birth. If I could go back in time I would have had all my children at home. It was truly wonderful.

Siobhan.

Deb Davis became my Doula in June 2006.  Already 3 months pregnant and struggling to find my way through the system to have a homebirth, Deb was like a breath of fresh air.  Deb’s relaxed and reassuring mannerism combined with her inner strength gave me a sense of security in my abilities to have the birth I wanted.  She kept in touch throughout the pregnancy, providing information as to people, places and books that would help me along the way.

Close to my due date Deb was in constant contact, letting me know her whereabouts if I needed her. In doing this I felt support was always close at hand, something I was extremely grateful for as I had no family in Ireland and a husband who still had to travel around the country. 

Once labour began, Deb was only a phone call away.  As soon as she walked into the house Deb created a calm and balanced atmosphere, something that was near to disappearing before she arrived.  My husband was my only support person so having Deb, a woman who had also had a homebirth, instinctively knowing what I needed or what may be of benefit was a huge relief to both my husband and me.  Deb was perceptive and respectful to our needs at all times, she managed to provide a high level of support without intruding on the special experience that my husband and I were sharing.

After the birth of my daughter Deb has kept in contact on a regular basis, providing friendship as well as much needed post-partum support.  I consider myself and my family blessed that Deb Davis chose to become a Doula and as a consequence a very special member of our extended family.

I took hypnobirthing classes earlier this year. I definitely recommend the program! Our little son was born in May and it was a wonderful experience. I won't say it was easy, but with the techniques I learned in the classes, it was definitely manageable, I was very relaxed (the midwives didn't even believe I was in labour) and got to have the natural birth I'd wished for. Worth every penny! Good luck   (Rollercoaster)

The Hypnobirthing course has succeeded in changing my vision of childbirth in just a weekend - Jan 2007

We were impressed with the whole course and we very much liked the fact that Tracy had worked with different hospitals and was able to give information on their response to Hypnobirthing. The videos were very good as a replacement of the visual images that are usually associated with birthing. Keep doing what you do! Brilliant work - Jan 2007

The course was over two days and being 34 weeks pregnant, I was quite tired etc. yet I remained completely focused and never felt the time passing because the course was so interesting and Tracy is a great instructor and the course was very relevant and interactive. Keep running the course as is, its bound to become even more popular - Jan 2007

HypnoBirthing in Waterford


On the morning of the 4th of December I attended the labour ward for a check up appointment with the Domino midwives at 10am. I was 1 week overdue. I was offered a sweep but refused. I felt fine, was in no hurry and was not willing to do anything that could constitute “helping matters along”. I was asked if there were any signs to which I replied “a few very dull aches that were barely noticeable on and off during the last couple of days” certainly nothing more than I had experienced during the last 3 to 4 weeks and so did not take much notice.


I collected my son from school, went home and carried on. While I was eating my dinner at about six thirty I noticed my tummy was tightening and rising, I remember having to sit back further away from the table. This happened every so often throughout the evening. I started to slow breath with each surge. Even though I was not in the least uncomfortable or ‘dare I say those words, “in pain”, I knew that it would help to speed up my baby’s journey. I went to bed at about nine, my husband joined me and we watched TV until about 11. It was a comedy show and I laughed all the way through whilst doing my breathing. ( I had planned on watching Gone With The Wind which was lying in wait in the DVD player as my last experience had been of comparative epic duration (2 DAYS)) but never got round to it.


I rested for about an hour and a half and then asked my husband to run a bath for me. I had practiced my relaxation and breathing techniques very often while in the bath so it felt so easy to actually do it for real. At this stages my surges were about 4 minutes apart, they had gone from 15 mins apart to 4mins apart in about 15 minutes. We called my midwife ( who was on call). I was so comfortable and relaxed that I worried that it was all just a false alarm and felt guilty about dragging her out of bed to meet me at the hospital. Needless to say I didn’t enjoy my bath for much longer when she heard how far apart my surges were. We arrived at the hospital at 2:15am. I remember a security guard and a nurse outside the side entrance said something like “Oh God love her” or such the like when I was going in and in the back of my head I was giggling. I felt like saying “you think I’m in agony but I’m not! I’m actually enjoying this! But they wouldn’t have believed me.

I had one internal check when I arrived. I was 4 centimeters. I then vomited but was otherwise fine. I was then put on the monitor for the mandatory 20 minutes. I was so comfortable there that I asked to stay. My husband was massaging the back of my neck quite deeply which really added to my relaxation. I could see the report printing from the machine with strength and length of surges. There were some that I didn’t even feel. After a while I went down to the labour room. I was just about to sit back on the ball when my waters broke. With this the surges came faster yet with less intensity, I could feel that my baby was coming so I sat on the birthing stool with my husband behind me and instantly started to breath my baby down. My midwife looked up from her paperwork and could see the head crowning from across the room. I remember greeting another midwife as she entered the room. I controlled my breathing and eased my baby’s head out past the perineum without tearing it. There was no stinging sensation, I did not push and I was completely aware of everything that was going on. Susannah was born at 4am on the dot. (Scarlet O Hara would have only been on her way back to Tara after the fall of Atlanta at this stage)

I’m probably one of the most skeptical people you’d meet but after my first experience in giving birth (every horror story you’ve ever read) I resolved to try anything that didn’t include taking drugs and having heard of Hypnobirthing through a very good friend of mine I decided to try it. I read the book over and over again. I practically knew what was on every page. I avoided reading or watching anything that was negative about birth. I practiced breathing and relaxation almost everyday for 25 weeks and having started at a relaxation level way to high for words, eventually with a lot of work and determination I managed to come down to what I would call zero. By the end I could get to that ultimate relaxation ‘place’ within 10 to 15 seconds. I practiced my breathing in the bath, lying in bed and as advised on the toilet which is why I was so comfortable with the birthing stool. After having this most positive and joyful experience I can honestly say that when they say let your body do its work, they are right. I just needed to train my mind to know what to expect. It isn’t often that you hear someone saying that they had a wonderful experience and that they enjoyed every minute, if you do they’ve probably used hypnobirthing