I was very keen to look into hypnobirthing after hearing people rave about it on social media after the birth of my first child. It seemed to promise everything I didn’t get in my first labour — empowerment, control, pain management — so when I saw that Leanne had qualified as a hypnobirthing teacher when we were trying for a baby again, I knew I would be reaching out to her if we managed to fall pregnant.
After discussing it with my partner and being lucky enough to win a taster session with Leanne, we booked on for the full course. Throughout the course Leanne managed to quell any fears I had about the upcoming birth and helped me feel confident that I would be able to deal with anything that might be thrown at us on the day.
Kieran got fully on board with the hypnobirthing process and we listened to the hypnobirthing affirmation recordings (particularly Colour and Calmness) every night as we went to sleep. Kieran also sent me messages regularly with birthing affirmations.
I ended up being diagnosed with cholestasis at 39 weeks and was advised that, just like in my previous pregnancy, I would need to be induced. We were invited in for the induction at 39+3 on Sunday 15th December.
It was at this point that I noticed my birth plan on a table and realised that the midwives had read and followed exactly what I had wanted.
We arrived at the hospital at 11am and went to the induction suite. We were informed that me and the baby would be monitored closely and then I would be assessed for induction. If I wasn’t dilated at all they would use a balloon catheter to induce me, and if I was dilated they would break my waters when they had the space and the staff to deal with the labour. As I had a pessary with my last induction and it worked very well, we questioned why this would not be used this time. But after discussions with the midwife and using our B.R.A.I.N. we decided that due to the cholestasis and the importance of getting the baby out ASAP we would go with the balloon catheter if needed and would also accept having my waters broken if I was already a bit dilated.
After extensive monitoring (due to baby being so active), I was eventually examined at 3:30pm. While I had been sitting in the induction suite I had mentioned to Kieran a few times that I felt I was getting irregular contractions and we joked that maybe my body had just decided to start the process itself rather than waiting for the hospital to induce us.
These contractions continued to get more regular and we started tracking them using an app at 5:30pm. During this time my waters had started to go by themselves. Through all this I listened to a playlist of relaxing songs I had made and focused on the lyrics to the songs and doing my up breathing. As each contraction came I let Kieran know so he could track it and he stroked my leg so I had gentle touch massage from him to comfort me.
As the contractions grew stronger and closer together I closed my eyes, focused on the music and went over some of the affirmations I had learnt with hypnobirthing — “The surges cannot be stronger than me because they are me”, “Each surge brings me closer to meeting my baby” and “I can do anything for 30 / 60 seconds”.
We informed the midwife I had progressed significantly and at 6:30pm I was escorted down to a delivery suite by a midwife and a student midwife. I walked down the corridor by myself, pausing several times to deal with the contractions. We were informed that the midwife that had brought us into the delivery suite would be helping us for now but her shift finished at 7:30pm so she would not be there for the entire birth and we would have a cross over of another midwife taking over.
The midwife helped me settle into the room. I advised that I was feeling like I needed to push so with my permission she examined me. I was advised I was 5–6cm and so I was offered gas and air to help me concentrate on my breathing and help me focus on not pushing yet.
I was very concerned that I was going to end up birthing on my back which was something I specifically didn’t want. I told the midwives this and they offered to move me but I had started to panic a bit and wasn’t sure if I could manage to change position. The midwives were amazing and assured me that we would move in time for baby to be born.
Things progressed very quickly from there and with Kieran’s amazing support, talking to me the whole time and being super positive, it was soon time for me to move into a better birthing position. I was assisted into an all fours position, holding on to the back of the bed.
At this point the need to push took over and I just let my body do what it needed to do. I could feel baby’s head dropping and I could feel my body pushing. I would love to tell you that this was a calm, serene moment where I focussed on my down breathing but I can’t. I was a lot more vocal than I had intended to be and I definitely doubted my ability a few times. However, my body did know what it was doing and at 7:29pm Chester Bowie Leeson arrived. 1 minute before the end of the midwife’s shift!
When he was born he didn’t cry, they put him on the bed between my legs to pick up and they gave him a rub to ensure he was OK. He was awake but just very quiet. I pulled him up on to my chest and was assisted onto my back. I had immediate skin to skin with him, and we asked for delayed cord clamping.
From there I birthed the placenta while holding Chester and continued to hold him for the ‘golden hour’. At no point did they try and take Chester to check him over or anything. It was really a lovely time.
It was at this point that I noticed my birth plan on a table and realised that the midwives had read and followed exactly what I had wanted. This was a really amazing moment for me. I felt really listened to and supported and it made me feel so pleased I had done hypnobirthing.
Although there are a number of hypnobirthing techniques I didn’t use that I thought I would, I still found it incredibly helpful and do feel like it transformed my birthing experience this time. Without doing the hypnobirthing course me and Kieran would never have questioned the hospital staff so confidently. I wouldn’t have created a playlist for birth. I wouldn’t have felt so mentally prepared for the birth. I wouldn’t have trusted my body as much as I did. And I wouldn’t have got the birth that I did.