Birth story - Helene and baby boy

I have just given birth to my second son in this crazy world that we currently live in and have genuinely had the most positive experience in using your hypnobirthing tools and materials to help me achieve this!! Our little Easter Egg hatched 3 days early and came into the world on Good Friday in a very much unplanned home birth in our spare bedroom!!

I had my first son just 18 months ago and was terrified of giving birth. So much so, my friends introduced me to hypnobirthing. Admittedly I was very sceptical and thought that something like this just wouldn’t work with me. However, I did another type of hypnobirthing face to face course and used many of the techniques. However, the birth was long and it kind of went out the window in the latter stages of my long labour.

When I fell pregnant again, 9 months later, I knew I wanted to dedicate more to this and use hypnobirthing again, but properly this time. Someone recommended your book ‘practical ways to make your birth better’ and the Freya app. I used both from about 35 weeks but the book, especially, gave me a new insight and understanding into hypnobirthing that, for whatever reason, hadn’t quite clicked with my first. I practised and practised and read and re-read and used the positive affirmations daily and it just really clicked. I watched so many positive birth videos and really hoped this labour could be like that.

Due to low PAPP-A levels diagnosed at 12 weeks, a consultant was trying to get me to commit to an induction on my due date or soon after- at each appointment and growth scan I declined these. I was desperate to avoid an induction and was willing myself to go into spontaneous labour before another consultant appointment the following week to discuss things further. Additionally, restrictions at the hospital due to COVID meant that I was nervous my husband wouldn’t be able to be with me and that my original plan of a water birth would go out the window given the current situation.

Luckily, my waters broke just before 5:00 am on good Friday (I was due on Easter Monday!) and I started to get mild contractions immediately. These ramped up and I began using the Freya app to time them. I was desperate to avoid going into hospital too early and my husband not being allowed in at that point- so I waited and waited for things to ‘get worse’ as they did with my first before we made the journey. I convinced myself, even at 8:30, when a couple of contractions timed longer in between, that things were slowing down and I couldn’t possibly be in active labour. At this point, in hindsight, I must’ve been nearly fully dilated!!

When it got to 9:45 things changed and I knew it fast! I couldn’t keep up with the ‘up’ breathing using Freya and was confused with what was going on- I recognised this then as transition and knew I’d left it too late. I was never making the journey, albeit very short, to the hospital now! The hospital advised my husband to dial 999 when they could hear me making ‘mooing’ sounds and saying I could feel the head descending. My poor husband was being coached through delivery by the 999 team on loud speaker when, luckily, the paramedics turned up at 10:15. They quickly assessed me and knew they weren’t taking me in so I crawled on all fours from our landing to our hideously undecorated and cluttered spare room and my body was doing what I knew it could do- it was pushing without me having to do anything. Something I was ‘coached’ to do with my first, most uncomfortably. It was such an empowering feeling and one I won’t forget.

A midwife team arrived at 10:30 and assessed and told me we were minutes away from meeting our baby and they’d arrived just in time! At 10:44, three contractions later, our beautiful baby boy was born. Our midwives had quickly read my birth plan (for what it was worth as I’d really wanted a water birth in the MLU at the hospital!!) and they gave my husband the baby who passed him up to me and told me the news that we had a second son which I was delighted with. I honestly felt so euphoric and couldn’t believe what I’d just managed to do, at home, on my own without even realising it!

It was a totally surreal morning and one I don’t think I’ll ever beat but there’s no way I’d have done it without the book and Freya- I couldn’t believe I had got as far as I’d got this time without genuinely realising it. When I’d read of people in that situation before I was very sceptical and thought that could never be me. Being at home was actually wonderful, in hindsight, and added to my relaxed state throughout I’m sure.

Thank you ‘positive birth company’ for helping me fulfil the dream of a relaxed, safe and much easier labour!! I couldn’t have done it without you.