Sunday, August 9, 2009

A 2nd time HypnoBirthing story

Mareike & Tony were one of my first HypnoBirthing couples. She was a midwife in Europe & had delivered over 200 births. She believed in the body's natural ability to birth a baby, so when it came time for her 1st birth experience, she chose HypnoBirthing classes to help. Here is a description of her 2nd birth experience & below it is her 1st birth story. Enjoy...

Hi Carol, I did it again!!! And this time it really, really worked! We didn't do a class because the next Hypnobirth practitioner is over one hour away from us, and nobody knows about it here. It is very, very medical here and all the women have epidurals or other pain relief. But let me tell you the story: My membranes released on Sunday morning at 8.20 o'clock, just after I got up. I had a shower and we had breakfast together and made our way to the hospital at 10.00 o'clock (Tony was very nervous and wanted to go, even without surges). In the hospital I had a short monitoring and we settled in and started relaxation. Tony massaged my belly with Cinnamon oil to start the surges. At about 11.30 I had the first very mild surges, about every 10 minutes. Our doula from the hospital arrived at about 13.00 o'clock, together with our midwife.

The midwife wanted to examine me because I hadn't been examined before. I declined and told her that I don't think that I am in labour, surges were mild to medium about 1:6 minutes. I was relaxed walking around or on the ball. So my midwife left again.

At about 13.30 the surges got little stronger and I got onto the bed to go into deep relaxation, Tony massaged my feet to keep them warm. I was totally relaxed, no noise at all. At 14.00 o'clock I got two strong surges and told Tony to call the nurse so that she can examine me now to see if I am in labour. She came in, I had another strong surge and she examined me: 8-9cm! I thought she was kidding...the next surge I had (I was still lying on the side) pushed and I had to breathe through with a loud ahhhh- and I felt the head coming... two more surges and I breathed our little baby boy into this world! No screaming this time!!

The doctor and the midwife couldn't make it on time, so I had the two nurses in the room and a new young female doctor in training who got coached by one of the nurses and it was her first delivery! They couldn't believe what had happened and the nurses said that it was the best birth they have ever seen. So I did my job and told everybody about Hypnobirthing! Even Tony is so amazed and proud!

Mateo Ludwig is 7.1 pounds and 19 inches long, so a little smaller than Luis, but he looks just like him! It was an amazing birth, so relaxed, so perfect ! I will sent you a picture in the next days. I am so glad I did your course two years ago, Carol!
Mareike


Here is her birth story from her 1st HypnoBirth:

Hi everyone-Mareike wanted to share her son's birth story with you all. She had an amazing birth that I was lucky enough to be able to attend over the summer. She was a midwife in England & Germany & had delivered/received over 200 births...some natural & some not. Here is her story...
Luis' Birth
My membranes released in the evening on 10th of August, five days after my due date. Because of my positive B-Strep we made our way to the hospital. In the hospital, we were seated in a waiting room for the next one and a half hours. They were so busy that there was no room for us. Tony and I used the time to make the last belly pictures and called Carol. I haven't had any surges at that time and was thinking in my midwife way, so I told Carol that there is no need for her to come already and that my surges might not start before the morning. But Carol replied with "Mareike, that's the wrong way of thinking! Of course your surges will start now and you will have a quick and easy labor!" I laughed at her...but told her to call as soon as my surges will start.

We finally got into our room and I received the first dose of antibiotics for Group B Strep and was put on the heartbeat monitor for the time. At midnight, after the antibiotics had finished, I had a sandwich to eat and Tony and I went outside for a walk. At one o'clock we came back to the room and my surges started - Carol was right. So Tony called her to come. My surges went rapidly from 1 to 100 and at the time Carol arrived half an hour later they came every 2-3 minutes and Tony was reading the Rainbow Relaxation script to me. I had difficulties to get into full relaxation and remember saying to Tony, "How did this get so strong so quickly?!" I couldn't stay on the bed, too. It was too uncomfortable. Carol continued reading the script but I jumped up from the bed again to use the toilet.

That's where I stayed for the next twenty minutes, leaning against Tony and Carol doing light touch massage on my back. My eyes were closed and I relaxed as good as I could. Carol also showed me a picture of an opening flower and I imagined my soft cervix to open with every surge. The Relaxation CD played in the background. The surges got so powerful that I felt them as a lot of pressure already. I had to grunt- my body got overwhelmed. I felt in a state of deep relaxation between my surges, unable to open my eyes or to talk.

Tony called the nurse for me to be examined. She came, listened to Luis heartbeat for a few minutes and examined me. I was six centimeters dilated! That was at about 02:30 o'clock. The nurse went out of the room, still busy, and I tried to stay on the bed for a few minutes but soon got to my favorite place -the toilet again. The pressure got stronger and I tried to use the warm water of the shower on my belly. But it only worked well just for a few minutes. I went back to the bed and from hands and knees back to the toilet again...The surges changed - my body was bearing down already. So powerful that I screamed. It was a scream full of power. I told Tony to get the nurse again, because I didn't think that I could stand the pressure any longer. It was about three o'clock when the nurse examined me again - and I was 9 cm dilated!

"I need some pain relief" I said and "I can't do this any more". The nurse applied back what I myself told my woman so often in labor: "You are going to have your baby now", "I'll call Dr. Biter for the birth!" and she put me on the heartbeat monitor again. I was unable to move, so I stayed half sitting in the bed. Eyes closed, totally relaxed between surges. With the surges, I could feel how my body pushed Luis down. Twenty minutes later, Dr. Biter came. He sat down with me on the bed and with Tony and Carol on the other side.

I started to breathe Luis down. My endorphins were working well. I was in a different world. I felt my surges in different strengths. Some were so powerful that I had to hold my breath and push. Some were so that I completely ignored them and used my relaxation through them, but with the most of them I did the birth breathing, and it worked. I slowly moved Luis downwards. Tony was kissing me after each surge. During the surges Dr. Biter said: "Help him out, Mareike!" and after each surge he told me to focus: "Look at me, you are OK!"

A lot of things went through my mind at this point. First, that I was not worried about Luis' heartbeat at all, even that I couldn't hear it (Dr. Biter wisely stopped the sound). I completely trusted Dr.Biter that Luis was OK, after he had no rush and was so calm. And then I thought: "Is that really my job? How am I able to do this job?!And so Luis' head started crowning. When I pushed (because I wanted Luis to come out quick) Dr. Biter told me to stop and to breathe down. I felt the stretching sensation as a tingling (always imagined that it felt good when Tony did the perineum massage) when Luis' head was born. And he started crying! Still half in my body! It was 04:06o'clock when Dr. Biter with Tony together received his body and put him onto my belly! Luis was born! We all cried with Luis. He was lying skin to skin on me, no towel on him, just Mommy's and Daddy's hands to keep him warm. We were so happy and welcomed him into this world! Dr. Biter waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsating and then Tony cut the cord. The placenta came straight away. Minutes after that I started breastfeeding.

When I asked Dr. Biter if he has to stitch my perineum now, he answered: "Who delivered you?! There is no tear!" I couldn't believe this. To give birth to the first child in two and a half hours?! Without pain relief?! In a darkened, calm room,without forced pushing, nobody who takes my baby away? No stitches?I could not have thought about a better birth for myself. Even that it was not the typical 'calm' HypnoBirthing birth, it was the best experience in my life and I am looking forward to do it all over again. To birth with happiness and joy! Before we went home on the same day, I had a look at Luis' heartbeat trace and the documentation of my labor. What I noticed, was, that some of my surges were lasting two and a half minutes long...I am so proud- I did it!

Mareike

Many, many thanks to Carol, who helped me a lot during my quick labor! I was so glad that she was there! And, what I forgot to tell is, that my labor was so quick, that the birthing ball stayed in the car, and the camera was still in the bag. Also my mirror and my healing stones and my perineum massage oil and tummy massage oil and cinnamon bars for more surges...What I also have to say, is, that I did not imagine myself to give birth in two and a half hours in the HypnoBirthing lessons, but in six hours. Carol later told me I have to be more precise the next time, because from the actual time when we arrived at the hospital, it was exactly six hours....And I have to say, I wanted to feel my surges as pressure... (Don't ask me why!)

Congratulations Mareike & Tony!

All my best--Carol

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
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1 comment:

Rosie said...

Lovely. Thank you for sharing Carol. See you soon :D