Sarah’s Easier Than Expected Hypnobabies Birth
“Birth was so much easier than I expected, and I felt I had some pretty high expectations going in!”
Hypnobabies Hypnobirthing WORKS! As I snuggle my 5 day old baby I’m still blown away by how incredible this birth was. I had prepared for an unmedicated birth with my first, but things didn’t go to plan so I knew I needed to do something different for baby #2. My doula highly recommended Hypnobabies and I figured she would know best so why not give it a go! I’ve also found the benefits extend far beyond my baby’s birthing day.
Before my baby’s birthing day even began, I was incredibly grateful for my Hypnobabies tools. She stayed in until 12 days after her guess date (Hypnobabies term for due date). I also experienced prodromal waves (Hypnobabies term for contractions) for about 5 weeks leading up to her birth day which was a huge challenge mentally. Listening to my Hypnobirthing tracks kept me calm, positive, and in tune with my body and my baby. The Special Safe Place track in particular made me feel so incredibly connected to her.
My baby’s birthing day started with my waters breaking with meconium. My care team was very calm and reassuring that all was well, and I should rest at home for now. I took a shower while listening to my Birthing Day Begins (Hypnobabies track of reminders of all the tools for birthing) track then I listened to the Fear Clearing track (Hypnobabies track to release fear). As I listened to the Fear Clearing track, my waves started. The Fear Clearing track gave me the clarity to realize I was afraid of staying at home for too long given the meconium and I would feel more comfortable in the hospital with my midwife. My doula congratulated me on listening to my intuition and making the decision that was best for me. So, we picked up a healthy lunch and went to the hospital.
I listened to my Easier First Stage (Hypnobabies main birthing day track) track in the car and continued listening throughout our birthing time (Hypnobabies term for labor). My waves paused as we arrived at the hospital and got checked in and ate lunch. I had one earbud in the entire time and found it very easy to communicate with my care team at the same time. Shortly after lunch my waves continued to progress. My midwife asked if I’d like a check and a sweep if appropriate and I said yes. There were multiple instances where my Hypnobabies track aligned perfectly with the moment, and this was one of them. I was 6cm and the sweep brought my waves from 4 to 2 minutes apart. I just about cried happy tears when she said 6cm. This birth felt so different from my first and that confirmed it. From there everyone just gave me space. I was most comfortable standing and swaying. During waves I would put my arms around my husband’s neck and lean into him and he would hold me and rub my back. When I thought my legs might get tired, I tried sitting on the bed, but quickly realized that was not the position we needed. I felt so in tune with my body and my baby.
I later decided to kneel on the bed with my arms over the back. My husband continued to rub my back and this position gave me the freedom to continue to sway slightly which felt so good. My doula did hip squeezes. Somehow, she always sensed when I needed them.
At one point the waves just kept coming and for a moment, I felt overwhelmed, but quickly realized this was likely transformation (Hypnobabies term for transition). Once it was over, I looked at my doula and asked and she said “maybe!” My midwife offered to check and I was 9cm so she said “okay, just keep doing what you’re doing and listen to your body!” I asked my husband to switch to the Pushing Baby Out track and to put it on the main speaker.
I was amazed how intuitive pushing was. Soon after that, I felt the need to do a few small pushes, but not even during the entire wave. A little while later I knew it was time and pushed much more consistently, but I found there were still waves where it just didn’t feel right so I didn’t or I didn’t push through the entire wave. No one coached me or told me when or how long to push. Everyone trusted me to listen to my body and my baby. My midwife noticed I was adjusting where I was directing the strength of the push so she would gently say something like “yes, right there” when I found the right spot and I found that very helpful.
And then baby girl was born!
Birth was so much easier than I expected, and I felt I had some pretty high expectations going in! There were quite a few complications, or maybe possible complications, but between Hypnobabies and my very calm care team, I was never scared. The NICU team was in the room as a precaution because of the meconium. She was born crying, but they still took her for a few minutes for checks. My first thought was “this is okay, my baby is safe, and I will hold her very soon”. My second thought was “wow that’s a lot of people, when did they get here?” I was too deep in hypnosis to even notice them coming into the room. My only wish is that I would have staying in hypnosis after giving birth. I struggled with the placenta and just overall felt very uncomfortable. It was strange, I felt more uncomfortable and less in control AFTER giving birth and I’m realizing now, that was the power of hypnosis.
Postpartum has been a breeze so far and I think a big part has been the mental strength I built up listening to these tracks. This pregnancy followed a missed miscarriage which took a huge toll on my confidence in my intuition. I had started to build that back up before starting the program, but that was a huge tangible change for me leading up to birth and I find it’s continuing now. Breastfeeding is going great, and I don’t feel the need to track everything. I know my baby and I know what my baby needs, I don’t need an app to tell me what to do. I’m so grateful for Hypnobabies!
