“Following the induction of my first birth due to Pregnancy-induced Hypertension and the resultant complications, my husband and I decided to join Janet ‘s two day KGH group hypnobirthing course. As firm believers in a woman’s ability to give birth naturally, we wanted to be more informed and empowered should we need to make difficult decisions this time.
The course was excellent and Janet ‘s extensive experience, passion and down-to-earth manner made it both informative and enjoyable. By the end of the first day I had decided I wanted a home birth and my husband didn’t take much convincing.
My blood pressure was again on the high side and started to cause me some anxiety, which of course only raised it. I started listening to the hypnobirthing cd in the parking lot before antenatal appointments and Janet recommended visualising a healthy blood pressure reading and this kept it under control.
Even before going into labour I could feel the benefits of my hypnobirthing practice. I slept very well almost every night right until my baby was born and it also worked wonders whenever my anxieties surfaced and I felt a bit panicky.
My blood pressure was closely monitored and my community midwife visited me at home every week towards the end of my pregnancy. All the midwives I saw were very positive about hypnobirthing, my wish to have a home birth and supportive of my desire to avoid induction unless absolutely necessary. When I reached my “due date” I felt very calm and empowered in the knowledge that my baby was going to be able to choose when to arrive this time.
Labour started with mild contractions on the afternoon of 40wks+11. My husband called for a midwife shortly after midnight. The first of two sets of two midwives arrived a few hours later and they were totally respectful of our birth preferences. I had been doing my KGH “Up” breathing, visualisations and had the cd on repeat in an upstairs bedroom I had prepared for the birth. Every time I felt like perhaps I may have needed some pain relief, the midwife reassured me that I was doing very well and gave me the confidence to continue without it. I had a couple of blood pressure readings which were too high and the midwives consulted with a doctor at the hospital.
Although not witness to these conversations, I understand that it was decided by the consultant and midwives that as I was hypnobirthing and calm, it would not be in my best interests to be transferred to hospital by ambulance. For this I am eternally grateful.
In the morning, my 3 year old son woke up and was told that mummy was getting ready to have the baby. He had his breakfast downstairs with the midwives and went to preschool with our neighbour. The midwives shift changed bringing my community midwife to our home, giving me that continuity of care which is so rare.
At 13.30 after just 12 minutes of “breathing out” our baby, our 8lb 9oz son was born. My placenta was delivered naturally almost immediately and the midwives remarked on what a “youthful” placenta it was considering our son was born at 40wk +12, and had I got my dates wrong? I didn’t need any stitches and we had optimal cord clamping and as much skin to skin as we liked in the peace of our own bedroom.
The labour was longer than we expected, and was exhausting and intense, but all the preparation paid off and I could not be happier with how it went and that I managed to achieve what I always believed I could!
The best thing was introducing our 3 year old to his baby brother when he got home from school. We all sat down as a family for a meal that evening, did bath time and read stories and had lots of newborn cuddles as if we had always been that way.”