“Our positive birth at 41+5 – when hypnobirthing mattered most!
As I approached 40 weeks, then 41 weeks, and eventually 41+4, I honestly don’t know how I’d have coped without you, Janet. The reflexology sessions became so much more than appointments, they gave me the opportunity to relax, talk through how I was feeling and process the emotional challenge of waiting.
The WhatsApp messages and voice notes were such a comfort too, particularly as the pressure from well-meaning family and friends grew.
One thing I’m especially grateful for is that, despite nearly reaching 42 weeks, I never once felt pressured by my lovely midwife or anyone else to have an induction or even a sweep.
Thanks to my sessions with you, the hypnobirthing course and devouring Sara Wickham’s books in that last week, I felt informed about my options and confident to make decisions that felt right for me.
The waiting was by far the hardest part of pregnancy emotionally, but in the end my waters broke naturally at 41+4, just a couple of hours after my final reflexology session with Janet!
After the course, my husband and I felt confident choosing to begin labour at Helme Chase. When medical circumstances meant we needed to transfer to Lancaster a few hours in, the knowledge we’d gained through the course helped us understand the clinical reasoning, talk through our options together and make an informed decision.
Realising our baby was back-to-back, we agreed that being at RLI was the safest choice and, rather than feeling disappointed, we actually felt more relaxed knowing that additional support was immediately available if we needed it.
We also made sure the birthing pool and wireless telemetry to monitor baby was available, so I was happy that whilst the ‘venue’ was changing, we were still able to follow our preferences, just with a slightly bumpy ambulance ride added into the mix!
This was the first of several moments where our birth moved away from the “plan”, but we were completely comfortable with the decisions because we understood why they were being recommended.
Every member of staff we met at Helme Chase and Lancaster, from the midwives and ambulance crew to the obstetricians, anaesthetists and student midwives, treated us with kindness, respect and compassion.
They had clearly read our birth preferences and they communicated every recommendation carefully and involved us in every decision. Even as more intervention became necessary, we never felt that our birth preferences had been abandoned – they just evolved alongside the changing clinical situation.
After many hours of labour in the birthing pool, using the breathing techniques and gas and air, the baby was still in a back-to-back position and I was just shattered from the intense back labour and the urge to push too early on. I chose to use remifentanil which helped enormously and because it’s self-administered, I could use as much or as little as I wanted while still working with my breathing techniques. It made a huge difference and I knew that it’d only be in my system for 10 mins so wouldn’t impact baby if she were to make an appearance soon (ha, if only!).
After my labour had slowed significantly and there was worry of an obstruction, we agreed to a syntocinon drip to help things progress and give us the greatest chance of a vaginal birth. When our baby’s heart rate later dropped unexpectedly and an emergency button was sounded somewhere, the team of folk who came flooding into the room calmly explained our options.
We agreed that because I was now fully dilated I could have a forceps birth with a spinal and episiotomy, rather than an emergency caesarean section.
If you’d told me during pregnancy that my birth would involve ambulance transfer, medical intervention, bradycardia, spinal, an episiotomy and forceps in a surgical theatre, I imagine I’d have felt terrified and disappointed. Instead, I can honestly say I feel incredibly proud and positive about my birth experience.
The breathing, relaxation and visualisation techniques became even more valuable as labour became more complex, particularly as we moved from the dark, calm atmosphere of the birthing suite into the bright lights of the theatre.
I just felt so calm and rather than feeling like things were simply happening *to* us, we understood what was happening and why. We felt informed, involved and respected throughout every stage of labour, and that made all the difference.
Once we were in theatre, the anaesthetist and the midwives talked me through everything was happening – they were amazing. The moment she arrived was just the happiest of my life.
One of the things you said throughout the course was that hypnobirthing isn’t about achieving a “perfect” birth, it’s about having the tools and confidence to navigate whatever birth brings.
This was absolutely the case for us and everything we learned, we used – it was just so invaluable. It gave us the knowledge to ask questions, make informed decisions, adapt when circumstances changed and remain calm throughout.
Without it, I genuinely think I would have experienced my birth very differently and may even have chosen induction/a sweep much earlier simply because I didn’t understand my options or what the cascade of interventions might end up being.
Thank you, Janet, for the reflexology, the hypnobirthing course, your encouragement and your unwavering support.
You gave us the confidence to approach pregnancy and birth feeling informed and empowered, and that changed our experience completely.”