Hypnobirthing birth stories

So after a few pains and some bleeding (2 days after a UTI diagnosis) I came back into hospital last night at 10pm and was asked to stay in for 24 hours to monitor heart beat and blood loss... a few hours later at 3.59am today we welcome a little cutie into the world at 33weeks and 2 days weighing 4lb and 2oz
He’s doing so well, in incubator but currently breathing unaided, bloods etc all spot on!!!!!
AND NO DRUGS!!!!!!!!!!!
You are a miracle worker.... I have no idea how you did it as I’ll admit I hadn’t done much homework yet as I thought I’d have quite a bit more time but you did it and I will recommend you and hypnobirthing to everyone I ever talk to 😍😍😍😍😍
Thank you so so much for all your help x x

Hello Sharon, 

Induced, so fairly controlled and quick. I had been told that induced births were more painful, not that I previous experience to compare it to but I found that the pain of contractions were bearable and I felt extremely calm. The midwives did everything they could to support the birth, the birthing pool was wonderful, with the assistance of calming music and low lighting in the room I felt very relaxed! The midwives allowed me to trust my own instincts and were not intrusive at all, my husband and I were very much in our own little bubble going through the process of birthing our daughter. 

Wonderful. It was everything I'd hoped for. It was so quick, I didn't get chance to listen to all of my MP3s or have a water birth (I did have a bath at home though!). I really only just made it to hospital in time for the birth, so there was no chance of them filling up a pool! But I was able to stay at home right up until the last minute and, thanks to Sharon, all of my contractions were totally manageable and the breathing techniques were an absolute godsend. A testament to that, is that I didn't realise quite how far my labour had progressed. If I had, I'd probably have got to the hospital a bit sooner!! 

Positive Induction

Second Time Mum.

9lb 11oz (Petite mother!!)

41+4

No stiches or intervention J. 

My first experience of childbirth involved induction and intervention. An experience I was keen to avoid the 2^ndtime round. 

I chose to do the hypnobirthing course to adjust my mindset and have a more positive experience. I hoped this time round I would have the natural labour and water birth that I dreamed of last time. 

My estimated due date came and went, so I was glad that I was aware that the due date myth is estimated and not totally accurate. The midwife offered me an induction appointment at 40 + 3 and I confidently turned it down. During the walk home I wondered if I had done the right thing. As the next week passed, I did my research, asked questions and came to the decision that I wanted to be induced again, even though I was worried that history would repeat itself.  

At 41+4 we started our journey to the hospital to find that the main road was shut. The detour round country lanes took us an hour. Thank goodness I was not in labour then as I was in charge of map reading and was uncomfortable enough without being in labour. 

I started with the prostaglandin gel and 6 hours later an ‘old school midwife’ broke my waters. She said that they would check on me at 10pm and then start the drip. I told her that I wouldn’t need the drip as I had done a hypnobirthing course and was going to quietly sneak off and have baby in the toilet. She dismissed my remark with a look that said “I’ve done this a million times it doesn’t work like that”. 

After half an hour of monitoring and not much action I took a walk to the car and back with my partner. By the time we got back to the room 15 mins later the contractions were coming every two minutes and lasting a minute. My body cleared itself out (careful what you eat before labour!!) I started breathing and put on the tens machine (which quickly got forgotten about). A new midwife and student came in and I could barely say hello for concentration on breathing through contractions. They were great and had read the birth plan. The lights were dimmed, hypnosis track was playing in background and gas and air were placed at hand. I was left to it. They offered the birth pool at this point, but I didn’t want to change rooms or disrupt the flow. 

After a couple of hours, I needed a rest so lay down. I felt that labour was well on the way and in the up stage, lying down would not matter (I don’t know if this is correct) for ten minutes rest. I say ten minutes I had no idea of time. I then felt my body start to push. The midwife said something about ‘Upright, forward and open, if you kneel on the bed’ which prompted me to get into that position. I heard in the background the midwife telling the student “no need for examination as I think she is close”. This was reassuring and motivating for me. The only words I spoke through the whole event were ‘water and jelly baby’ plus the thumbs up sign when hubby asked if I was ok. I don’t know how to describe this but the next thing I knew I was visualising the head appearing, followed by the midwife saying, ‘it’s a boy!’. It’s the weirdest feeling having a baby slip out from between your legs. 

This birth was one hundred percent a positive experience. I had no pain at all during the supposed ring of fire. Did I mention his hand was by his face and his head circumference was off the scale big? I did have to concentrate on the breathing the whole way through as if I got distracted discomfort ramped up. The gas and air did take the edge of. I just needed a few breaths as I felt the contractions approaching. 

I had the option to go home that night but couldn’t face putting my new baby in the car seat at 1am in the morning. I also knew that there was only one other lady on the postnatal ward. I was up and about and feeling ready to take care of a new born the next day. He is a calm, relaxed and delightful baby. 

Thanks to Hypno-birthing I felt far more in control this time.

Just to let you know that baby J was born 7 May at 0823hrs at Salisbury Hospital at 39.5wks and weighed 9lbs. I was in early labour with a back to back baby for 5 days before and I swear giving birth was easier than putting up with the back pain contractions beforehand! The hypnobirthing definitely helped my breathing on the day and baby naturally turned when I got into positions. I was lucky enough to get a pool and just needed a bit of gas and air on the day. My baby’s heart rate was throughout the birth and remains so calm and I think it’s because I had no fear about giving birth, I knew anatomically what was happening and I knew I needed to stay focused and calm. It paid off as I only needed a few superficial stitches and I’ve been out and about with the pram already so healing well. 

Just wanted to thank you again for the course - I tell everyone I meet about you and the benefits of hypnobirthing.

Hi Sharon, 

Just to let you know that Arthur Michael arrived on 15th March weighing 7lbs 6ozs. He was exactly 2 weeks late (!) and I was booked for induction at SDH on the 15th. I went into labour naturally at midnight on the 14th (I think he knew what was going to happen!!) but due to being booked in already I had to go to the hospital for checks. While Arthur was perfectly happy and things were progressing slowly there was a bit of a cloud around when my waters had broken as I hadn't had anything noticeable and the midwife could feel no waters round his head, only his hair. And then I said it could have been weeks ago as I did wonder if I had been losing some fluid. So while I had ideas about what I would like to happen it was taken out of my hands and I had to have the Syntocin drip to speed him along. 

Despite this I felt perfectly well informed, I used my Cartesian questions while discussing the plan with the Consultant and then with the midwives but also understood the urgency of the situation. The labour time in total was 18 hours as he started at midnight Weds 14th and he arrived at 18.31 on the 15th. This is the good bit though, despite contractions being the most painful thing I have ever felt, I had a few hours of no pain relief, then a few hours of Entonox. What was really interesting though is that on the heart monitors Arthur was very happy and relaxed all the way through and my blood pressure was as low as it has been all through my pregnancy. At about 5pm I said I had the urge to push into the contractions instead of breathe through them and the midwives I had said if that was the case then I could begin the delivery process. My body completely took over. So I had some morphine to take the edge off as my cervix wasn't quite dilated fully but I wanted to go with how I felt. I then took the advice from the midwives and what my body wanted to do. I had natural pauses and worked with it and he was delivered perfectly healthy and I had no tears or stitches. Not even a graze! So I was up and out of bed in an hour and spent the night on Post Natal for obs. Arthur was the quietest and most content baby (I thought it was due to the small amount of morphine) but he has continued to be a very happy and content baby. The midwives are astounded by him! He settles perfectly and also soothes himself, most of the time I don't even know he's there. He's just so relaxed.

His APGAR score at birth was 9 and rose to 10 after 5 minutes. 

While I didn't use the hypnosis to its full effect I feel that what I learned on the course and keeping calm and informed really helped and I trusted my midwives. I've felt really good since and have recovered well, so coping fine with the interrupted sleep. He only wakes twice a night to feed and change so I really do have an angel baby. Simon was also present the whole time and when I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere he used my anchor and it got me back and focused. I honestly feel it couldn't have gone better, despite the induction. 

My anchor was Mile 18 of the London Marathon. All the time I was running my aim was just to finish. When I got to Mile 18 it was the point I knew that I would finish (as people say if you can run 18 miles you can run 26!) and achieve a lifelong dream, so when Simon said Mile 18 I was right back at that feeling of euphoria knowing I could do it. And then I knew that I would be able to deliver Arthur safely.

So thank you very much for your course and your knowledge and insight. I fully believe it works and it has contributed to my very happy, robustly healthy and beautiful baby.

With love and best wishes, 

Anna xxxx

Although I was slightly panicked at times (mainly from the fact my partner took the dog for a walk made a cup of tea and was very calm even though my contractions were coming fast and we had a 45min drive to the hospital.) I have since spoken to my mum and said I think I would have been even calmer if I knew the pain I was having at home was as bad as it would get. Having said that I think I coped well and took things as they came, I'm one of worlds worriers and I managed to cope at home on my own for over an hour. I think the hypnobirthing really helped me to realise that my body knew what to do and all I needed to do was stay calm and let my body do what it needed. I was even calm enough to call the delivery suite from the car and arrange to be met from the car as contractions were every min. 
After arriving at the hospital it was only 15mins before my gorgeous little one arrived. It is a running joke in our family that my pain threshold is very low, probably why nobody believed I was actually in labour, unfortunately my mum who attended the classes with me didn't make it to the hospital in time to be my birth partner as planned (normally this would have sent me into a panic attack), therefore I think even though I wasn't conscious of using the techniques I had learned I must have done. I was terrified about labour and always said (prebirth) I would only do it once, looking back I can say I would do it again!

Can I just also say you have helped me to conquer my extreme phobia of needles, I used my ancher at each blood test and was was even calm about the thought of having IV antibiotics in labour. so thank you so much you have no idea how much that alone means!

We had our son Rex on 19th December after a 10 hour labour.  He was born in the birthing pool at home with no pain relief apart from a tens machine.  He scored a 9 at 1 minute on the apgar test and then a 10.  Monitoring of his heart rate throughout the birth showed him to be very calm the whole time.  I would give a score of 9 for how in control I felt.

  I don't think I could have done it without the hypnobirthing - I played the tracks throughout and drew on different visualisations and breathing techniques at different points. The hypnobirthing gave us both confidence and calmness in the birthing process, as well as a better understanding in what was happening and why and how to create an environment to encourage calmness. The midwives were brilliant and just let us get on with it- I even pulled the baby out myself and no stitches required!

I have been telling all my friends to try hypnobirthing as I really believe it changed my whole mindset towards birth and has made me a calmer person in general. Thank you very much for all your help with this!  I have also used the hypnobirthing post-birth to help with breastfeeding.

Thanks again Sharon.

All the best, 

Emma

Absolutely incredible, the most empowering feeling. I have a new found respect for my body and for female strength.
Childbirth is a miracle, I am proud of myself, my body and my baby, we all worked together in harmony and the result was an experience I can look back on and draw strength from.
I feel because I stayed so calm I was able to have a much more straight forward birthing, even when faced with being constantly monitored and sat upright, because of hypno birthing I accepted the situation and felt safe, calm and in control.
Following your experience, would you recommend this course to other mums-to-be? Would you be interested in sharing your experience in the form of a written description/birth story or to other expectant mums and dads-to-be? 
Sharon your voice and my breath were my constant companion throughout my labour, my iPod was on constantly during initial stages and the hours melted away, I stayed cool, calm and in control, even when aspects of my birth plan did not go how I imagined I was able to calmly adapt. No screaming, swearing, crying or drama, just me, my husband, my midwife all quietly working together supporting my body. I have Sharon and hypno birthing to thank for building my mental strength throughout my pregnancy and giving me the power to ensure my body and baby had a positive experience.
I would be happy with your instruction to write my birth story and also note the help that hypno birthing gave me throughout my pregnancy as I practiced and went to "labour land" every day prior to being induced it supported me through all my additional scans, monitoring, negative consultant appointments and the endless "what if scenarios" constantly explained at every appointment, the tapes always allowed me to find a safe and calm place to escape to and block the negativity. I have no doubt in my mind that hypno birthing is the key to allowing woman to unlock the negative associations and uncertainties with labour and leaves space to enjoy the miracle that birth truly is.
Thank you so much Sharon, I honestly cannot recommend hypno birthing enough it transforms pregnancy and I would not want to imagine what my labour would of been like if I had not done the course. I attended the course initially to help with my phobia of hospitals, I could never of imagined just how instrumental the tapes would be on my journey to motherhood.
I also know that the course prepared James for childbirth and gave him strength to support me, he stayed so calm, supportive and repeated the word calm throughout contractions and fully added to my positive experience. He ensured my wishes were met and had confidence to ask questions and support me every step of the way.

We have some exciting news- baby India Beatrice Windell was born yesterday at 2pm weighing 6lbs14oz. 

My waters broke at 4am in the morning, I went in to hospital at 9am & was already 5cm dilated with no pain relief, I then had the injection in my leg to help with pain as my contractions were very strong & she arrived at 2pm. No stitches & she's one healthy baby!! 

Thank you for all your help. It was the most relaxing calm experience ever!! Ellie X

My Birth Story:

I did not enjoy my pregnancy at all. I did not have any complications but I felt very sick and had no energy. I was worried about birth because I felt I couldn’t cope with the pregnancy and how on earth was I meant to survive 24 hours + in labour if I couldn’t even walk up the stairs! I attended the hypnobirthing course at the suggestion of my midwife and on a recommendation from a friend. I was 34 weeks pregnant when I started the course, and I wish I had started it earlier.

I felt my first contractions at 2pm on Wednesday, they felt like back ache, but they stuck around and by 8pm they were 5 mins apart, although not painful. I walked a lot and at midnight, the contractions were starting to be painful so I had a bath and listened to the hypnobirthing tracks, my husband sat beside me and coached me through the breathing.

At 1am the contractions were 2 mins apart and we drove to hospital – the birthing tracks were on in the car. We were admitted straight to a delivery room and I was 4cm dilated. I used a birthing pool and listened to my birth playlist, my husband massaged my back and coached my breathing. Visualising the baby moving down and my uterus opening up really helped me to feel in control of what was happening, even though it got very painful very quickly. I used gas and air whilst in the pool, but did not continue to use it when I got out. My waters broke at 3.30am and I was at 7cm. I stayed sitting up, either on the toilet or on the couch.

I started pushing at 4.07am and my daughter was born at 4.10am on her due date, weighing 7lb 3oz. Within two hours of birth I had had an hour of skin to skin, a first breastfeed and a shower – I felt incredible! – and I definitely put this down to having felt in control throughout, even when everything was progressing very fast! There were no complications with myself or my baby either during or after the birth. I was in hospital for 48 hours.

I have used self-hypnosis in the early days of breastfeeding, and I also listen to the hypnosis music as it helps me to relax enough to go to sleep.

I would definitely recommend this course. All my anxiety surrounding birth completely disappeared and I felt fully in control, working with my baby, so that ultimately meeting her was amazing.

Thank you for running such a fantastic course.

Best Regards,

Rachel

As this was our second I knew at least what to expect but all the whlie was much calmer and confident throughout which I do believe was due to the breathing techniques learned in the course and practice. My contractions started at 7pmisn at home. I had my audio sessions on headphones and felt I could cope/breathe through the contractions easily. I then had a show about 9pm so thought it was time to go to Frome-a 20min drive from home. On examining me the midwife said I was already 8cm dilated on arrival! Things moved really quickly, with the 2nd stage lasting about 10mins and little Vivi arrived at 10.30pm. I had no drugs or even time to get in the birth pool which I had hoped for as she was born before they could fill it up!

I didn't really use much of the visualisation techniques when it came to it as it all happened so fast, but I did have a better picture in my mind of how things were happening particularly when she was in the birth canal, crowning and head was emerging. It was at this point I managed to keep calm and relax and I'm pretty sure that's how I ended up with no stitches as I wasn't apphrehensive of the strethcing or tearing and I was consciuosly telling myself to 'trust my body' to get on with it and do the right thing. This was something I wasn't able to do with my first birth and probably contributed to having an assisted delivery with forceps.

The whole experience was exhilarating and I was on a totally natural high when she was born. Although we had a really comfortable night stay with a double bed I could not sleep a wink as I was so wired and full of adrenalin, utterly chuffed that it had all gone as well as I could have hoped for and that she was here snuggled in my arms.

I have already reccomended the course to a number of my expectant mum friends and definitely think it is a really essential part of preparing for the birth process. I think it is a case of not underestimating how much hard work you will need to do but to be fully preapred for it mentally, emotionally as well as physically and to give yourself the confidence to 'tune in' to your birth fully without listening to the external distractions. The indepth course for Easibirthing definitely contributed to this in a noticeable and positive way. It was also a really good way of helping the bond with my husband so that he could fully support me through the process and understand how I wanted to approach the birth. Although he did not do any practicing beforehand, the birth was real teamwork and he was rather impressed with how I handled it! 

I was able to get to 7cms before we went to hospital.  Started at 22:30 on Saturday night and had delivered our new baby boy at 1pm on Sunday with just gas and air in the pool.  

I was able to use the techniques in particular the colour of calm and tension which helped me to stay at home so long and then in delivery the flexible thermometer to breathe our baby out.  I only really had to actively push for the last 10 mins and as a result didn't have to have any stitches.

Even with it being my first they let me go after only 6 hours as I had done so well.

Thank you so much for your support and guidance it has helped me to have the birth I wanted from the very beginning and not waste any energy in being nervous or scared.

Thanks

Sophie

Hi Sharon
 
Wilbur Snell was born on 19th June at 20:39 by C-section.  All went very well and the team at Salisbury were faultless, they made the whole experience simple and stress free, we were very lucky to be in such good hands.
 
The surgeon who delivered Wilbur said my uterus was significantly bi-cornate and unlikely we would have turned him.
 
It all turned out well in the end and we have a very content, happy and healthy little boy who is a dream to look after and lets us get some sleep at night which is a bonus!
 
Your hypno birthing techniques came in useful at various occasions, particularly when we found out is was going to be a planned section and all I wanted was a homebirth - used the anchoring and found that helped me keep a grip on it all.
 
Fingers crossed that child number 2 is more obliging when it comes to delivery!

We just wanted to let you know about the safe arrival of our beautiful
little boy Rowan. He was born last Friday at home, and weighed 8lb
4oz.  

We very happily managed to repeat the serene water birth we had with
our daughter Seren, three and a half years ago. I have no doubt that
hypnobirthing played a huge part in enabling this and we are so very
grateful to you.  It was also a much much quicker labour than with
Seren and for that I am very appreciative! 

Rowan is completely chilled out, feeding well and we are all on cloud
nine. I'm sure when colin goes back to work life will get a lot more
hectic but maybe I will just use my hypnobirthing techniques to help
me stay calm then!  

Of course I will be recommending you far and wide and hope that you
can continue the fantastic work you do for many years to come. 

With heartfelt thanks

Luci, Colin, Seren and Rowan xxx

My waters broke at midnight.  I felt very calm as had been using the techniques taught.  I spoke to Salisbury Hospital and they told me to come in as they needed to check whether baby was engaged and whether my waters really had broken.  I was discharged by Salisbury around 0200 hrs and told that I was not in labour and that the pain I was feeling was "pre labour niggles".  The midwife did not examine my cervix and when I asked if I was dilated she said no, not at all!!  She did not wish to examine my cervix due to the risk of infection.

I live 40 minutes away from Salisbury hospital so we drove home, very slowly with me having strong contractions in the car.  I could not speak to my husband as in too much discomfort and needed to concentrate on myself!  I continued using the techniques taught on the journey home.  I then went straight into the downstairs bathroom and within 10 minutes of arriving home baby was born.  No pushing and only an hour or so of pain/discomfort.  I didn't even get the chance to use the Tens machine which I had bought!!

I'm very proud of my husband as he remained calm at all times even when delivering/birthing our little one. 

This wasn't the birth I had envisaged as I had thought I would be in Salisbury Hospital having a water birth.  Ultimately I do feel let down by the midwife who saw me on the night as she should have examined me properly after I complained of pain.  However I think after this experience we can do anything including birthing our own baby! 

However in summary a good news story.  I would never ever have believed that it would be possible to give birth at home without any medical assistance especially as we were all booked in for a hospital birth.  I had been having scans every 2 weeks since the 20 week scan due to the size of the baby  So a home birth was out of the question.

Hi Sharon

I just wanted to update you with our news. Samuel Isaac Stanley Dawson was born at home on Saturday 1st March at 7.43pm.

Although it was the home birth we were after it was a little different to the one I had imagined! Although I had been having contractions all afternoon, I thought it was false labour as they weren't that painful and weren't progressing beyond 1 in every 8-10 minutes.  I walked the dog at 4.30 pm and was in the bath with Freya, our eldest daughter, at 6.45pm, an hour before Samuel was born.

After Mark put Freya to bed, I got out the bath and my waters promptly broke. After that my body went immediately into push mode so I got Mark to call an ambulance as I knew Samuel was on his way.

As Mark let in the paramedics downstairs, I birthed Samuel's head upstairs, and the rest of his body quickly followed as the first paramedic came into the bedroom. He is healthy and well and I'm happy we could stay at home and didn't need to transfer to hospital for any additional checks.

I had a visit from the midwife today and she asked me how I felt about the birth. In answer , I feel pretty proud. I always believed it is possible to give birth at home, naturally, with no intervention, and that's exactly what we did. I had been listening to your CDs religiously and I'm sure they had a great part to play in building this belief and helping me keep relaxed and confident about the whole birthing experience.

Once again many thanks for your help

Best regards

Lucy Dawson

Hi Sharon

I attended your hypnosis course in June (I think!), just to let you know the great news Joshua John safely arrived on 11 August at 11.19pm weighing in at 7 pounds and 9 and half ounces. Due to your course which helped me I had him with just gas and air, unfortunately I was not able to deliver in the birthing pool and had to get out once it got to the pushing stage keeping me calm using the anchor technique I managed to get out and go over to the bed.

Thank you so much for everything you did my mum and partner were amazing also, remembering what to say at the right time. Joshua was delivered and was very calm, stage 3 went very smoothly also and breast feeding was like a duck to water. Thank you again for helping me to experience the actual joy of giving birth.

To say that I’m squeamish is an under-statement. I first fainted at school when I was 5 after I went with a friend whilst she had some dressings changed. I’ve never been able to watch casualty or similar programmes and even hearing about metal getting into an eye in a technology lesson resulted in me fainting and landing on the floor. Hospitals make me feel queasy-on many an occasion, when visiting relatives, I’d be found in the corridor taking a breather so that the urge to faint would pass. So when I fell pregnant I was slightly worried about how I would cope in a hospital let alone with the medical equipment that would be around me! Hypnobirthing allowed me to get over my fear of child birth. I can’t say that I used the visualisation techniques during my labour but I know that the course helped to remain calm during the process – and a 7.5 hour labour can’t be bad! Subconsciously I’m sure it allowed me to arrive at hospital 6m dilated. It gave me a strength that I didn’t think I could possibly have.

The very early beginnings of my labour started the early hours of Thursday 29^th May 2014. I woke in the night very wet. Luckily there was a towel ready on the bed as I thought my waters had broken. I then had a ‘show’. It was a very long night with what I thought were contractions. I was able to manage them lying in bed but it did mean I got very little sleep and the mucus plug was coming thick and fast!

I rang the midwife team first thing Thursday morning but by this time the pains had stopped. A midwife came to examine me and assured me that my waters hadn’t broken and I wasn’t in labour. I was to go about my normal business for the day as the baby could be a long time yet. With my hospital bag packed in the car, we visited my Grandma as it was her birthday, met a friend for coffee in Salisbury and visited my in laws for tea. I didn’t feel particularly comfortable that day and by the time we were at my in laws, I was having to pause whilst the pain came and went. I was still putting this down to Braxton hicks.

The rest of Thursday evening and early morning Friday is a bit of a blur. We went to bed but by 1am I was having contractions. The journey to Salisbury was a quick one as it was so early and a few speed limits may have been broken! When we arrived at the labour ward at about 5.40am, I went in by myself and my husband parked the car. Eventually I was examined and was found to be 6cm. I was quickly moved to a delivery suite!

I remember spending the rest of the labour until the pushing stage in a sort of trance. I can’t really remember anything eventful happening! My cervix was fully dilated at around 7.50am. The wait for the final contraction felt like an eternity but Beth was finally born at 8.27am. The placenta followed a few minutes later (I was completely unaware of this). It’s still a mystery as to when my waters broke as it didn’t happen at hospital.

Beth was put on my chest (I was still in my pyjamas!)

Our boy Bryn Meredydd John David was born on Wednesday 10th September at 2pm weighing in at a hefty 9lb 2oz. The labour was relatively quick 9hrs 9mins from very start at home to arrival. Labour had to involve an epidural in the end as Bryn was slightly on the twist. The hypnobirthing really worked, cannot thank you enough, the medical team were astounded at how calm I was, so was I!

The Hypnosis for Childbirth course significantly helped me before, during and after the birth. We are now the proud parents of a very relaxed and contented little girl.
 
As my induction day was fast approaching I started feeling apprehensive and worried. This became worse as my Consultant told us that I was unable to have a water birth and that I needed to be monitored throughout the birth. My apprehension was also increased as I rarely felt the baby kicking and on one occassion the midwife sent me straight to the hospital as she was unable to find the baby's heart beat.
 
We were then introduced to Sharon on a Hypno Birthing introduction night. During that session I relaxed completely and as I relaxed I felt the baby move. The evening was so positive that we signed up immediately for the course, it was the best thing in respect of the birth we could have done. The courses were brilliant and the CDs helped my to relax up to and including the day of the induction.
 
Due to the information and techniques we learnt on the Hypnosis for Childbirth course and the CDs both my birth partner and I were able to enjoy the birth. The hypno birthing installed a confidence in me that I could do it. It also reminded us to enjoy ourselves. The course also gave my birth partners confidence about his role. I was induced Monday morning and delivered Baby Isobel safely 6pm the next evening. I had over 24 hours of contractions. By relaxing and breathing correctly I was able to deliver Isobel with just the use of the Tens Machine and Gas and Air. Both my birth partner and I really enjoyed the whole experience and both agree that it was the hypno birthing that significantly contributed to this enjoyment. We were able to relax and enjoy the whole experience, right from walking around the hospital during the early stages to induce the labour through to taking the first photos of the baby.
 
The hypno birthing CDs also helped after the birth. I was having problems sleeping and relaxing once we got Isobel home. My Midwife recommended that I listened to the Hypno Birthing CDs. These helped significantly and as soon as I heard Sharon's voice on the CDs I was able to relax again and since then been able to sleep much better.
 
Both my birth partner and I would like to thank Sharon very much for helping us enjoy the birthing experience so much and for ensuring that the birth was so special and gave us happy memories that we can treasure for the rest of our lives.

Hi Sharon

I just wanted to update you with our news. Samuel Isaac Stanley Dawson was born at home at 7.43pm.

Although it was the home birth we were after it was a little different to the one I had imagined! Although I had been having contractions all afternoon, I thought it was false labour as they weren't that painful and weren't progressing beyond 1 in every 8-10 minutes.  I walked the dog at 4.30 pm and was in the bath with Freya, our eldest daughter, at 6.45pm, an hour before Samuel was born.

After Mark put Freya to bed, I got out the bath and my waters promptly broke. After that my body went immediately into push mode so I got Mark to call an ambulance as I knew Samuel was on his way.

As Mark let in the paramedics downstairs, I birthed Samuel's head upstairs, and the rest of his body quickly followed as the first paramedic came into the bedroom. He is healthy and well and I'm happy we could stay at home and didn't need to transfer to hospital for any additional checks.

I had a visit from the midwife today and she asked me how I felt about the birth. In answer , I feel pretty proud. I always believed it is possible to give birth at home, naturally, with no intervention, and that's exactly what we did. I had been listening to your CDs religiously and I'm sure they had a great part to play in building this belief and helping me keep relaxed and confident about the whole birthing experience.

Once again many thanks for your help

Best regards

Lucy Dawson

Hi Sharon

We had a little girl at the beginning of February - Florence Elizabeth. Birth was all very straight forward again thankfully. We are really enjoying having a baby around again....

1hr 24mins (1st stage) and 2nd stage (pushing) was only 3 mins!! She shot out still in her waters! However I had contractions building up to the first stage for about 9 hours although this was all manageable.

I tried gas and air but didn't find it of any use and it hampered my ability to breathe which made me loose focus. I had my TENS machine though as I did with previous labour and found this to be really helpful at both reducing intensity of contractions and distracting me.

Florence was born at 10.30pm and we went home after lunch the next day.

I did this course before the birth of my son 3 years ago and as my first daughter was born by C-section, I had no comparison of experiencing natural child birth. This blissful unawareness allowed me to labour step by step and just see how I went. Thankfully through using hyno- birthing, keeping focused and calm I had an amazing water birth with no assistance or drugs. I planned to do this again with Florence's birth and thankfully I did. I was lucky enough to have another peaceful, natural and unassisted birth (and totally drug free).

I would add that at times I found it harder to keep on track as I sort of knew what was ahead for me (in terms of intensity of contractions, potential length of labour etc). This did make me waver a few times but with Greg's support and getting him to read outloud the positive affirmations etc, it helped me re-focus and regain the control. It really is all about mind over matter and keeping calm, confident and in control. With our family now complete, I feel very lucky to have had the wonderful birth experiences I did.

(Carla's previous birth story is also on our website)

My husband and i attended your easi-birthing course back in July and i thought you may be interested to know my recent birth story as i am under no doubt that the techniques and general awareness learnt over those couple of days contributed hugely to the positive experience of the birth of our son at the end of August.

You may recall from our first conversation that i wanted to transfer from Swindon to Salisbury hospital to try and ensure a successful VBAC this time round. My first baby (now 21 months) was born early at 36 weeks and after my waters broke, we discovered she was breech so i then followed a standard c-section procedure at Swindon.

This all went well and i recovered quickly etc. However, when i discovered i was pregnant again i was surprised that Swindon offered me the ‘choice’ of another c-section or an attempt at VBAC. I actually found this choice quite difficult to process as i didn’t think i would have any option but to try for a vaginal birth considering there was no medical reason to suggest why i shouldn’t.

Anyway, after investigating matters, i came to the conclusion that i should at least attempt a vaginal birth. This then led me to consider how, in an ideal scenario, id like the birth to be and what i needed to do to help get my head around the matter of trying for a natural birth. I must say, at this point, i did feel very daunted by the thought of giving birth and actually quite anxious but felt that i should go for it.

With this in mind, i spoke to a number of friends, professionals – in both hospitals, my midwife, a local doula and did quite a lot of web research into natural births. For me, the most basic need was that i wanted to be upright, mobile and active as much as possible to aid the birthing process and due to the fact that swindon doesn’t provide a mobile monitoring system (telemetry), this most basic birthing need wasn’t able to be met there.

I was told i ‘had’ to be constantly monitored once in active labour due to the previous c-section and the slight risk of scar rupture. So, after speaking to a number of midwives in salisbury as well as their VBAC clinic (which was fab that they even had such a thing) i found out that they have a mobile monitoring system which would enable the medical need to be met of me being constantly monitored but more importantly for me, it allowed me to be active…should i wish to be so. It also allowed me to be in the water.

I also found the midwifes approach at salisbury to be much more forward thinking and encouraging of allowing women to have as natural birth without intervention as possible. The procedure for VBACs in each hospital was actually quite different and for me, the approach of salisbury seemed a lot more ‘natural’.

So, i quite quickly decided that overall salisbury seemed to be able to provide the kind of environment and approach that most matched what i wanted – in an ideal scenario of course as you can never predict childbirth. I transferred to salisbury hospital and we attended the nhs session that you run as well as the follow on two saturday sessions. This, and the various discussions, massively put my head into focus and i had a completely different and now confident view of my looming birth. I was actually quite excited about it!

The birth itself was a wonderful, peaceful and quite incredible experience. My main goal was to try and attempt a natural birth but i was totally realistic in that this was effectively my first birth and what would be would be. I was open to pain relief (bar pethidene) and just wanted to be active if i felt the need. I also wanted to try being in the water pool. As it was, i gave birth to our little boy Finley John (8lb 9oz) in complete calmness and in the water and without any pain relief throughout!!

I just used breathing techniques such as blowing my contractions into a balloon and then releasing at the end of the contraction and also breathe in the colour of calm and breathe out the colour of tension. I used this one a lot!! The birth in total lasted 32 hours (!) although from 3cm to actual birth, it was about 8.5hours which was pretty good. The lengthy part was getting into established labour at 3cm. I still can’t believe i managed that length of time without pain relief!! That wasn’t how i envisaged it at all but i just focussed on dealing with each contraction one by one and consequently was off somewhere else in a world of my own just focussing on getting the baby out.

The birthing room was lovely, we had aromatherapy (provided by the hospital) and the only lighting was in the pool so it was very tranquil – now there’s a word i never thought i’d use when describing childbirth!! I used my TENS machine in early labour which i found helped, probably as it gave me something to do when trying to manage out the contractions. My husband was allowed to stay with me the entire time we were in hospital (sunday 11pm ish until tuesday evening) and although we knew the midwifes were supportive and were there if we needed them, we were left to get on with things ourselves which was great. The aftercare was also lovely and we were back home the same day i gave birth which was wonderful given my last 4 day hospital stay after the c-section.

I totally surprised myself as i no way expected a birth like that but reflecting back now, from that initial panic at 4/5 months pregnant, once i’d made my decision to try for a natural birth, i got my head into gear and became quite focussed and more importantly relaxed and calm about the process. I think this really helped as once i was in labour i wasn’t frightened or anxious, i just knew i had to get on with it as no one could do it for me so being calm and rational was the best course of action.

I have over 10 friends who are currently pregnant (with first and second babies) and it was lovely to come back and tell them a happy positive birth story as you don’t hear many of them. I would recommend to anyone pregnant to try attending a course like yours as it does help provide an alternative, natural view of birth not the predominantly scary, pain driven one portrayed by many. But i would also encourage women to not just accept hospital protocol as being entirely right for them as individuals.

Just because a consultant tells you to do something, it doesn’t mean that he or she is 100% right. Childbirth is a natural process and we as women instinctively know what to do – even when we think we don’t. Medical professionals are there to support and ensure events run as safely as possible for both mother and baby and of course we should listen to their advice. However, it makes me feel both frustrated and sad that other women in my position who may not have explored all VBAC avenues, could end up having intervention/c-sections when they aren’t necessary. But as you must be well aware, this forms part of a much bigger debate and one that will take a lot longer to conclude.

Anyway, thank you for providing the course and also thank you to Salisbury hospital for including it to prospective parents as a foundation knowledge course as it really is useful. I wish you continued success for the course and when the time comes for baby number 3, i’ll definitely be back to see you for a little refresher course.

With kind regards
Carla, Greg, Isabella and Finley Watts

Just wanted to drop a line to say thanks so much for the Easibirthing techniques which I used for the birth of my second child.

Using the breathing and visualisations I felt in control of the birth and was able to enjoy the whole experience.  My baby came into this world in a calm and relaxed atmosphere and the birth was less than 2.5 hours from start to finish which i think was helped by me being totally relaxed and very well prepared.

I was even able to be so absorbed in the birthing experience I didn’t use pain relief (gas and air) for a few contractions and I was able to really tune into my body and listen to what the baby was doing.  It felt like we were synchronised and working together.

The fantastic birth experience was also appreciated by my spouse who asked why our first baby wasn’t so easy – I said because I hadn’t used Easibirthing then!

I do feel that my new born baby is easier to look after too as she is very laid back which I put down to the birth so thank you again Sharon for all your help!

All the best wishes

Su Morgan and baby Imogen

The news is that Romilly Violet arrived safely Sunday evening after a 2.5 hour labour (Stages 1,2 and 3) with NO pain relief except gas and air… except a LOT of pushing my index finger and thumb together!

Mark and I just wanted to email to let you know that our daughter- Rowan Jay arrived on 07/07/12 (2 weeks early!) after a very quick delivery! I thought the story of the birth might be a positive one to tell your groups in the future as the circumstances were far, far from my birth plan!!

I woke up on Saturday 7th thinking my waters had broken but it was blood from my placenta as it had started to come away from uterus wall so we rushed straight to hospital where I was examined and told although I was already 2cm dilated that they would need to break my waters and commence induction of labour using a syntocin drip.

Mark and I were really upset as we’d planned a completely natural birth- no interventions and hopefully using water as pain relief and instead I was going to be hooked up to a drip and monitor!! They managed to hook me up to a mobile monitor and drip with long lead so I could remain active and I began using physical techniques to help babies descent.

As my contractions were slow and they were concerned about the bleeding (i was on a tight time frame before they took me into surgery for a c-section) they turned the drip up quite quickly and within a few hours I was having 5 contractions in 10 minutes, each lasting about 1.20 minutes so I went into established labour quite intensely. From this point I found I entered a zone and focussed on my breathing and visualisations to handle the intensity of the contractions. I didn’t speak at all I just let my body take it’s breath in and then focused on the out breath- breathing out that used up oxygen, it was almost as though I went ‘into’ myself deeply- it was quite surreal looking back!

With each contraction I just kept imagining a flower opening, each time it got bigger and bigger and i just kept repeating in my head “you’re body knows what it is doing”, “you’ll never be sent more pain than you can handle”, “I am calm, confident and in control”… I practised the techniques from the classes every day during the last few weeks before she was born and although I often drifted off when practising it’s amazing how much came through to me when I needed it.

After 3 hours 48 minutes, labour was over and I had our beautiful daughter on my chest, happily feeding! I believe wholeheartedly that without hypnobirthing in my armour it could have been a completely different story. I was so positive about childbirth following the sessions and my ‘jar’ of negativity was full to the brim as I became so accustomed to putting any anxieties straight in there before they even had time to take hold!!

Our daughter came into the world through the power of positivity and we have been blessed by a calm and contented baby, who feeds and sleeps well and I am sure this has been influenced by her calm delivery. Doctors and midwifes were incredibly complimentary to me after labour, making comments such as ‘that was incredible’, ‘I have never seen anyone so focused and in the zone’ and all of them wholly surprised by the fact I had no pain relief when delivering on a syntocin drip- apparently unheard of!!!

I could go on and on about the day she arrived as I feel very empowered by it, as does mark but I will leave it there and just say ‘thank you’. I don’t know where we’d have been without easibirthing- I’ll be singing your praises to all pregnant women I meet in the future!

Forever thankful

Beth, Mark and Rowan Wycherley

I was hoping to inform you this earlier, but it’s been a busy but very exciting weeks!

Michael and I are proud parents of a beautiful girl, Alice Erika Griffin. Alice arrived at 6.49 pm on 14th February (Valentine’s Day!), weighing 7 lb 15 oz (3,620 g), after 16 hours of labour. She has loads of Japanese black hair!

We managed with ‘gas and air’ and a birthing pool (although I had to come out just before the 2^nd stage due to the water supplied to the pool was not so clean).  I tried to follow the breathing technique learned from you (at least during the 1^st stage labour) and it was amazing how much I was able to control and stay calm during the contractions.

During the 2^nd stage labour, I could not quite control myself, but just went along with the body’s natural urge of pushing and meeting my baby. It was such a joy to pick up my baby by my arms and hold her on my chest at the end.

I am very pleased that I attended your sessions – hypnotherapy provides life-time skills for controlling your body and mind in any stressful situation. I am now prepared to face the challenge of being a mum!

Many thanks again xx

Miyuki

I have been meaning to e mail you for a few weeks to announce the safe arrival of Ella Zinnia Rose on the 10th January. How time flies. And also mainly to say thank you for your brilliant tuition. I ended up having Ella at home because I didn’t think I was in fully established labour as my contractions didn’t feel strong enough or last for very long. All thanks to the techniques you taught! I envisaged each contraction as a ball shrinking, and of course did the steady breathing.

I also repeated the words calm and in control to myself. (I had tried to do positive thinking and say positive attributions in my mind all the way through my pregnancy). Anyway the above obviously worked well, although I felt quite anxious and didn’t think I was coping!

It wasn’t until I started to want to push that I thought maybe things were happening. Indeed they were as I was 9 and a half cm dilated when my midwife came to examine me. She advised a home birth as my waters were close to breaking and would bring baby with them. Being relaxed and completely trusting my midwife I felt fine with this. Phil was great and rushed around getting sheets and tarpaulin. My Mum came to take Jake (my 4 yr old). He was brilliant and even popped in to say bye, unaware of any drama. Ella was born about an hour after the midwife arrived weighing in at 8ILbs and 7oz.

So thanks to all your coaching,brilliant approach to labour and taking the anxiety out of it I had a really wonderful, special and relaxed experience. So relaxed in fact, that Phil and the 2 midwives sat having tea and toast as we waited for the placenta, while talking about traffic in Salisbury.(I had switched off and was busy marvelling at Ella!

I should point out that my labour lasted about 5 and half hours but it was my lack of awareness about the strength of the contractions that meant I left it to the last minute to inform the midwife! When I attended the course, in one birth story you told the mother had mentioned she had only felt discomfort and strong sensations. I didn’t think I would be able to achieve that but I have to say I felt nothing more than discomfort. Strong at times and I felt a bit agitated but when I started to want to push I relaxed again as I knew baby was coming and it wouldn’t be long.

Although things intensified in the last stages, I would describe contractions as very strong sensations but no real pain. Amazing! My hope was not to give in like I did lst time and have pethidine and do it on just the gas and air. In fact I had more gas and air for the stitches than I did during the labour. So thank you again for enabling me to have this wonderful experience. I feel very lucky.

Sharon,

Thank you very much-we can only say a HUGE ‘thank you’ for your help and support – the birth of our 7.11 pound baby boy, Llewelyn, was a wonderfully happy experience in which we both found ourselves amazingly calm, aware and very connected to each other and our little boy. The experience was further enhanced (rather surprisingly!) by Tina Turner belting out Nut Bush City Limits on the theatre radio the moment we heard his voice for the first time!

Baby is very healthy and a perfectly well behaved, John is on a high and my health is so good the midwife commented on it in my hospital paperwork when I did not feel the need for pain killers on day 2. My blood loss during surgery was also noted to be on par to that of women giving birth naturally. A testament to Mr Fountain’s excellent skill too.

Overall a very positive experience and one all of us will cherish forever. Thank you again for the huge part you had to play in making it possible. I will certainly pass it on to other women with similar concerns over natural birth and that there are equally safe and viable alternatives available.

Best wishes to you.

My husband Chris and I felt like we had to contact you after the birth of our son. To be totally honest we were both sceptical about the hynobirthing but after the experience we had with our first child we thought we’d give it a try as we had nothing to lose.

Firstly this time he turned using the cd’s, then Joseph was born healthy and naturally with no pain relief last week in a shorter labour than I had with our eldest.

The experience was completley different and I amazed myself with what I was able to cope with, even with a long second stage ‘pushing’ (as he had his head in the wrong position). I didn’t panic and baby stayed calm throughout. He is now a calm, amenable baby that is different to how my eldest was.

We just wanted to say a massive thankyou for what you taught us, as we are so pleased with how well it worked we wanted to show our support and appreciation of hypnobirthing by giving you feedback on our experience.