Birth Story - Ruth and baby Lauren

My Positive Birth Story

This is my 3rd (my first 2 births were fine, wouldn’t have gone again otherwise but I didn’t know about Hypnobirthing and it made all the difference in this birth)

Thursday the 20th, 40+4, I woke with surges, I had been getting strong Braxton Hicks for the few days before so I just thought it was that again. I dropped my little girl to school, went to town and did some shopping etc. Around 11.30 the surges were strong and I knew it was labour so I came home and told my husband & arranged childcare. I then chilled out around the house, listened to my music, practiced the up breathing. At 4 the surges were coming 3 in 10 so we went to the hospital. I was put on the continuous monitoring for 40 minutes and I didn’t have one surge, the midwife doubted I was in labour and I just laughed and said I’d been practicing Hypnobirthing and also the waiting room was mental so that probably frightened my labour away. I was sent back to the waiting room, it was quieter now and my surges started again, they examined me then and I was 3 cm, this was my only internal exam. The surges were very manageable with the up breathing.

I got a bed around 6, then started using the tens machine at 7ish. I went to labour ward at half 7 and baby born at half 9! I used the gas towards the end and actually disconnected the gas and just used the mouth piece to focus my breathing. Midwives were lovely, left the lights low and let me do my thing, they read my birth plan, I spent most of it on all fours on the floor rocking, after my waters popped I got onto the bed on all fours and I breathed my 9lb 10oz baby out with only a small graze.

Honestly as this was my 3rd when I was doing the course I really thought this ‘breath the baby out‘ was wishful thinking but it’s not at all! I knew Hypnobirthing would be helpful but underestimated how much so. We had delayed cord clamping, immediate skin to skin, it was perfect.

Thanks so much for making this course so accessible! Can’t recommend it enough.

*I had measured big at 39+4 at a routine appt (where I declined a sweep) I was told baby was 9lb 12 and that I wouldn’t be ‘allowed’ to go too many days over, this unnerved me but managed to get my head back into the right space after a day or 2. I accepted a sweep at 40+3.