“Hi Janet,
I wanted to email you Arya’s birth story from my experience. Mark is also planning on doing one too! I am happy for you to share it all or parts of it and Mark and I are happy to be named. I hope it encourages other people to start their own journey.
Thank you again for helping us tune into our instincts and for helping us realise we could have the birth ‘we’ wanted. I loved birthing Arya and our little family will always use the tools we have learnt through your teaching. Thank you again. Love a truly hypnobirthing family 💜
“Birth Story of Arya May Patricia Taylor, born 14th October 2017, at 02:05, weighing a tiny 6lb 4oz.
Arya’s story starts before I went into labor…
Mark and I completed a hypnobirthing course at 29 weeks gestation and since then we had a firm view on what type of birth we wanted for our baby, then named ‘Lime’. After the course with Janet, we practiced the relaxation scripts nearly every night, I listened to my MP3 visualization and mantras every night and when I could in the day. We listened to river dawn constantly and I practiced up and the down breathing. I visualized a quick labour; and an empowering and calm environment to birth my baby. This would be in water without coaching. I also visualized that Janet would be there and had been saying for a while I wouldn’t make it to 40 weeks.
So on the 13th October I went along to Helme Chase ( birth centre) to my 38 week appointment. All was well and baby had dropped down a little more. There was some talk of a sweep at 40 weeks but I said I wasn’t keen. I went off and did a food shop and had lunch with my mum. At 14:15 I was stood at a cash point and felt an uncontrollable leak. I got so excited. I’d had no surges, so I wasn’t completely sure if it was my waters.
I went home rang the midwife who said to go up to the maternity unit and they would see. So ever the organised person, I put away the perishable shopping and packed the rest of the hospital bag, just in case. I rang Mark and explained what had happened, he was shocked and excited. I said he could stay at work and I’d update him. All the while I’m still leaking. I get to the hospital and a big gush as I was getting a car park ticket. Then I knew it was definitely my waters, the midwife confirmed and explained my options, which I was aware of. I knew I’d have my baby by 24 hours.
I went home and relaxed, watched some comedies and tried to sleep, but I was too excited. I gave Mark an ASDA shopping list for after work and he got home about 17:00 with it … still no surges. We had a curry feast and watched the hangover and had a giggle and got excited. Between 18:00 and 18:30 I got my first surges and breathed through them, they were a breeze. I went to bed and Mark and i did two scripts, the hand stroke and hand on the abdomen as these are my favourite. I still couldn’t sleep and as the surges became more powerful and frequent, we called the midwife, Helen, at 8pm. We talked on the phone and she had been told that she may be needed, so knew we were hypnobirthing. Helen asked if we were ok at home for longer and I said yes.
She then told me that Janet was on call with her (my visualization was coming true). From this call my surges became more powerful and i found myself on my birthing ball, whilst Mark massages my lower back. Then when that wasn’t helping, leant over the back of the sofa, whilst up breathing and visualizing hot air balloons. All the while make more and more trips to the bathroom for some alone time. As the surges increased I began making some bizarre noises. At 22:30, Mark suggested ringing the midwife, but I said no. 5 minutes later after feeling like I had no rest between surges, we rang the midwife and agreed to make our way to Helme Chase, once she told us she’d arrived there.
We had a call from Helen at 23:10 as she had arrived. We left the house and I did my usual, “is the oven off” which made Mark laugh. I tried to get in the car, but had to get back out as the surges were becoming more powerful. Mark drove us to HCMU and as he pulled in, I shouted at him to stop the car as I needed to get out as I was at the peak of a surge. We eventually got into the unit about 23:30 and Helen took our notes and read the birth plan. She took my vitals and I had a VE, but we declined knowing how dilated I was. In my head i was almost at 10cm. It turns out I was 5/6 cm.
I then spent a lot of time hanging over the back of the bed up breathing and going back and forth to the toilet for alone time. Helen started filling the pool up. Mark was supporting me with breathing and light touch massage. I’m not sure what time Janet arrived but I know I was excited when Helen was ringing her (around midnight I think) as I knew this meant I would be meeting my baby soon.
Janet arrived and gave Mark a hug, I said hi and was strictly told to get back in the zone! The thing is at the time, i didn’t even realise I was in the zone, I was just following my instincts.
Around 01:00 (14th Oct) i came out of the toilet and the surges were so powerful I told Mark I couldn’t do it, he reassured me I could. I knew I could! I then grabbed the side of the pool as I had a pushing feeling. I was helped into the pool and it was the most amazing feeling. I positioned my self at the edge so I could be near Mark and in a comfy position over the side of the pool. I was still up breathing at this point, but also trying to push. Mark reminded me to J/down breathe and when I started this I felt so empowered with pushing that during my rests I was smiling at him.
I was visualizing the opening rose, as this was on my lounge wall for weeks. Janet positioned it so I could see it. I carried on visualizing and down breathing, pushing my baby down the birth canal. I knew exactly what point I was at with birthing my baby and remember saying “that’s the head” and pushed it out so easily and gently using down breathing. The use of pain relief didn’t cross my mind. I looked at Mark and smiled. Janet quietly suggested to Mark, about taking a picture of the baby’s head under the water and i was really enthusiastic, I wanted to know what it looked like … amazing.
Then there were some more pushes during the next surge and out came shoulders and then the next surge the legs. I had birthed my baby who was born at 02:05. Around an hour of pushing, which honestly felt like minutes.
The baby was passed through my legs to hold for the first time. I was in such shock and kept saying oh my god and I could see Mark all teary. After what felt like ages but wouldn’t have been, we realised we didn’t know what we had got … I looked and smiled at Mark then he looked and someone said a little girl. My heart lept.
What I hadn’t been consciously aware of is how much Mark advocated for and supported us. Such as giving permission to listen in to the baby, amongst supporting me with hypnobirthing techniques and using light touch stroking on my arm throughout. I honestly couldn’t have done it without him. The perfect birthing partner.
We had lots of skin to skin in the pool whilst the cord pulsated as I wanted her to have all her blood and to deliver the placenta naturally. The cord was clamped and Mark cut it. Delivering the placenta, involved lots more down breathing and after what felt like longer than birthing Arya, out it came, after an hour. We had far longer than the golden hour, it was amazing and the time flew by. I honestly had no concept of time. I was checked over and was absolutely fine, no stitches needed … the power of birthing my baby the way nature intended.
We had more cuddles, lots of tea and toast.
The birth of Arya was the most wonderful and empowering thing I have ever experienced. I was in labour for only 8 hours with only 1 of those involving pushing. It felt like far less. I don’t want to use the word is easy, but birthing my beautiful baby girl was close to easy. I am so happy with went on our hypnobirthing journey. We have one very calm baby who has experience no trauma during her birth. She was birthed really alert and ready to start her life in the outside world. Just amazing! 💜”