Jocelyn's VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) HypnoBirthing Story

Jocelyn came to my HypnoBirthing classes very late in her pregnancy. So late, that she started with class 5 of a series that was ending, just to ensure she got all of the classes in before her impending birth. She actually didn't make it to class 5 of her own class series!

She had a c-section for her first baby...things didn't progress, she tightened up when she had contractions and reported that she just didn't know what to do during her first birth.

Here's her VBAC birth story:

I just wanted to write to tell you we had our baby last night!  Thanks for your strategies, encouragement, and positive thinking.  I had a successful VBAC against some pretty serious odds.  (Water broke first, Group B strep positive, posterior baby through labor, not dropping/engaging for hours,...and cord wrapped around his neck twice in the end) It wasn't easy or pretty and I didn't look like the ladies on the video the whole time...but I used the music, relaxation strategies, scripts, and position strategies...and they really made all the difference. I ended up getting an epidural 8 hours into labor. It was a wonderful part of the process for me but I was glad that it wasn't my only option as I needed every part of the natural birthing techniques to get me to the point where my labor wouldn't stall out as opposed to if I had gotten it right away.  I know I would have had a repeat c-section had I not taken your class.  I am very grateful. 

Our baby's name is Douglas, 8 lb 12 ounces.  21 inches. Born at 39 weeks, 2 days. 

Good luck to all you amazing moms!

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Congratulations on your successful VBAC! I'm thrilled to hear that you did it and that you were able to use the HypnoBirthing techniques with success. Like I always say in class, the videos are the complete opposite of what we're conditioned to think birth looks like, but sometimes our births end up looking or sounding different, and that's okay! You had several special circumstances that could have prevented you from having a successful VBAC, but I'm glad that the education you received in my classes, helped you achieve your goal.

Enjoy your babymoon!

If you are interested in taking Carol's HypnoBirthing classes, you can learn more about her class schedule at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are out of the San Diego area, you can go to www.hypnobirthing.com to find a Practitioner near you.

Denise and Brian's VBAC HypnoBirthing Story

Denise and her husband took my classes on Tuesday evenings in Cardiff, a community of Encinitas in North County San Diego, in February 2012.  Here is their VBAC story:

Before labor, Denise wrote:

Considering I was supposed to get induced last night, I am doing good!  I convinced my OB over the phone to give me a couple more days because I feel I am so close.  Luckily our dates are off, she thinks I am 41 wks tomorrow, I think 42 wks as of a few days ago.  She agreed to Fri at 8am, as long as I get a NST tomorrow afternoon.  If my fluids are low then they'll send me straight to L&D, which is what I'm expecting because they've been low last few weeks at least, and also because I think I've had a slow break in water as of yesterday morning.  It's been a slow trickle ever since.  I had acupuncture on Monday which made me feel so much better but seemed to calm everything down besides the water possibly breaking.   Had more acu today and I've had steady strong cramping/contractions for the past 3 hours, but I don't want to get too excited because we end up disappointed almost nightly. I've done so much to bring labor on up till this point. I can't believe that the end is FINALLY in sight! Another day or so left...!  Thanks again and wish me luck!!  :)

Labor:

We had a little boy on May 3^rd! I went into labor on my own and had the VBAC I was desperately wanting!  I was scheduled to be induced the next morning but I had my 2nd acupuncture appt on Weds May 2nd and my cramps continued when I got home that afternoon and didn't stop this time. :)  We were waiting to call anyone because it'd been this way for so much of April, but when I got into the tub that night, the contractions and back labor kicked in hard and fast.  They were so intense so quickly that I couldn't get ahead of them and into the hypnotic state that I wanted.  My doula came and she and Brian half carried me to the car immediately...I was yelling instead of relaxing! :(  So I immediately got the epidural when I could because I arrived at the hospital at 6.5 cm dilated and felt I couldn't handle another second of the pain.  I think that if it wasn't for the back labor, things could have been different.  But I'm still so happy for the VBAC, I loved the experience otherwise, and I felt enough when he was in the birth canal and born that I feel the epidural was the perfect amount.  I am still so glad for the HypnoBirthing training to get me through the last few months and especially that night of labor.  I have to say that UCSD staff were really great. They even tried to talk me out of the epidural at first!  but they were quick to offer drugs instead which I definitely didn't want.  The one nurse was a little too intense though and kept getting upset with me that I wasn't doing the purple pushing that you had talked about.  So I felt forced to push this way and did have some tearing, but his heart rate was dropping a little and they were so concerned about that of course that I wanted to do whatever I had to in order to stay off the operating table for another c-section.  Anyways, I pushed for an hour and he was born at 8:04am.  The sun was shining thru our labor room window, which was really nice. :)   Anyways, thanks for all of your information, I was much more informed and excited about the end of pregnancy and labor thanks to you! 

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Congratulations! I'm so happy that you got the VBAC you wanted and that the classes helped you feel more prepared- that is always my goal! I hope you are continuing to enjoy your babymoon!

For more information on Denise’s doula, Mary Schlegel www.bellababydoula.com

If you are interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes in the San Diego area, please feel free to contact Carol for class schedules and more information at: A Well Lived Life. If my schedule does not work with yours we would love to refer you to other local instructors as well. If you aren’t in the San Diego area but are still interested in utilizing all that HypnoBirthing has to offer, check outThe HypnoBirthing Institute and find a Local Practitioner for you!

Amanda and Tyson's VBAC HypnoBirthing Story

 Amanda and Tyson took Carol's Thursday evening classes at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA.  Amanda and Tyson came to the course having experienced a surgical birth with their first baby and were aiming to prepare themselves for a Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC). Here is their story:


My "guess date" was October 30th, so when I began having regular braxton-hicks contractions on 25 October, I was very excited thinking that this was it! Each day the contractions would come on anywhere from every 5-15 minutes apart for several hours during the day, but much to my great frustration, they would always go away at night. This continued for 10 days straight! I would get so excited each day thinking that the baby would come later that night and then, despite my best efforts, I would feel disappointed each night that the contractions went away. To add to my frustration, were all the phone calls and emails reminding me that my guess date had come and gone and "when was that baby coming out?" and "had I had any contractions yet?". Of course I'd had contractions, 10 days worth! I was ready to scream!

So during this time, I started using acupuncture and acupressure and hypnosis all to try to get me to go into "real" labor. I also ate whatever spicy food I could, ate pineapple, tried different herbal teas, took long walks, had sex, anything I could think of..... I don't think any of it helped, but it at least made me feel like I was doing something even though my body appeared to not want to do anything! I had a cesarean with my first child from a failed induction and I really didn't want to go through that again. I knew that if 41 weeks came and went, I would "have" to get an induction, which I felt would lead me to another cesarean. This was why I was so desperate to get things going on my own and why I was so excited every time the practice surges would start up again. Finally, on Friday, 4 November, I woke up at 3:30am with "real" surges. They came on hard and fast - about 7 minutes apart and they were consistent! Finally! This was 2 days before my scheduled induction, so I was grateful and very excited. I had a doctor's appointment scheduled for that morning, so I was happy to go in and see if there had been any progress. I was only 2cm dilated, about 25% effaced and the baby was still up high. I had her strip my membranes to see if we could get things moving a little better (in my opinion, that was a much better option than a medical induction with pitocin!) But by 10 am my surges had started to taper off a bit to about 15 minutes apart. But they were still there so I remained positive that this was finally "it"! By 6pm, the contractions were back to 7 minutes apart and they actually continued through the night! In fact, I couldn't sleep. God bless my doula, Alisa, she was a big help and so encouraging and supportive - no matter what time I would text or call. I would text her throughout all of the practice contractions and the early labor and she was always there to help and provide advice. I couldn't have done this without her! :) She recommended a glass of wine and hot bath to hopefully help me sleep a bit. It worked but I was awakened again by about 3:00am with stronger contractions. I couldn't sleep the rest of the morning. I kept having contractions throughout the rest of the day and they got progressively stronger and closer together. By about 6pm, they had gotten strong enough that I actually needed to stop whatever I was doing and breathe through them. But I was doing it and I was doing a fine job of it! I was proud of myself! The surges were also narrowing down to about 4 minutes apart - sometimes only 2 minutes apart - depending on my activity. They were very consistent and I was getting very tired from the lack of sleep. I tried to go to bed at around 10 pm, but the contractions would become really uncomfortable and I couldn't stay relaxed and breathe through them anymore. So I called my doula again and she said that if I felt that it was time to go to the hospital, then we should go and she would meet me there or at my house before we left - whatever I felt was best. I took another hot bath and thought about it for a while, then decided that we would go to the hospital and if things weren't as progressed as we wanted, we would leave and continue laboring at home. We told Alisa, our doula, that we would call her after we got to the hospital and we knew more about what was going on.

We got to the hospital at about 12am on Sunday, 6 November - induction day. I had an internal exam and was hooked up to the external fetal monitor. I had progressed from 2 cm, 25% effaced on Friday morning to only 4 cm, 50% effaced on Sunday morning - not a whole lot of progress for almost 48 hours of actual labor.... At least that's what I felt. But I stayed positive and felt that this would all work out the way I wanted it to. The doctor said that after reviewing my fetal monitoring strip, they were a bit worried about the lack of variation in the baby's heartbeat. I guess it's supposed to go up and down with the contractions and they weren't really seeing that. So, even though I was only about 4cm dilated, they asked that I stay so they could monitor the baby further. I agreed and we got checked into a room. Right away, that same doctor came in after only an hour or so and said that they wanted to start me on pitocin - this was about 2 am on Sunday. I suggested that they take me off the monitors (since they had shown that the baby was fine during that hour) and let me walk around a bit, since that always seemed to ramp up the contractions. The doctor agreed, even though we could tell that he didn't much care for my "take charge of my health" attitude. The OB/GYN on call came in at around 5am and said that if I wanted, he could break my water to help get things going a little better. I agreed to this, because I knew that they would start pushing pitocin on me because I was due to be induced that day anyway and if I didn't make enough progress, who knows how long I'd be able to hold them off. So he broke my water and it was nice and clear - good! The contractions continued and we called my doula in so we could work with her through all of this. Her and my wonderful husband would take turns helping me to the bathroom and helping me walk around and work on my HypnoBirthing visualizations and relaxation. They were great! But by 11am we still hadn't really progressed and they were thinking that my contractions weren't adequate enough (it doesn't help that their monitor wasn't working properly - which they later figured out and fixed). So we agreed to pitocin - this was, after all, more than 48 hours after "real" labor had started and I was getting very worn out.

We started pitocin out at a level 1. My contractions definitely picked up strength and I had to really focus with my breathing and changing positions in order to get through them. Over the next few hours they steadily bumped up the pitocin level - never without my permission though - because my contractions still weren't adequate enough. After about 4 more hours, the pitocin was up to a level 5 and my contractions had become unbearable - there was only about 2 minutes between contractions and they were lasting 10 minutes each! I remembered Carol emphasizing that you had to stay relaxed in order for your body to open up and allow the baby to come down. I couldn't relax anymore so we asked them to turn off the pitocin for a little while so I could at least try to catch my breath. They came back in about 20 minutes later wanting to turn the pitocin back on and I started crying thinking of the unnatural and painful sensations I had been feeling and knew I couldn't keep it up and stay relaxed at the same time. They checked me again and I'd only progressed to 5 cm, still just 50% effaced. After discussing it with my husband, the doctor, and Alisa, we agreed that the epidural might help me relax more and continue the pitocin at the same time. The doctor also suggested using an internal contraction monitor to see how effective my contractions really were - it was supposed to be more accurate than what they strap onto your stomach. So we agreed to that as well. The internal contraction monitor showed that my contractions weren't "adequate" enough - they kept saying that, but I have no idea how they came up with a number to rank what is adequate and what isn't. Therefore they asked to bump up the pitocin even more. I agreed since I now had my epidural and was feeling much more relaxed and calm. I could still feel the contractions but they required very little effort on my part to get through them. They steadily kept bumping up the pitocin. When they got to about 15 on the pitocin (around 5pm as best as I can recall) they said that, again, the baby wasn't really showing the variations in heartbeat that they wanted to see and therefore wanted to use an internal fetal monitor. I agreed since we already had so much else going on, I wanted to make sure that the baby was ok. When they inserted the internal fetal monitor, they checked me again and said I hadn't really progressed, still about 5 cm, still only about 50% effaced. We were definitely getting anxious at this time, thinking that this might lead to another c-section and the staff had hinted about it too, but we weren't ready to throw in the towel yet. We managed to stay positive and keep thinking that things were all going to work out all right. It was also around this time that mine and the baby's heart rates both skyrocketed. My heart rate got up to the 120's and the baby's was in the 180's. My temperature had also gone up and the doctor concluded that I had contracted that uterine infection they always warn about or threaten will happen if your water has been broken for too long. I think it was called "chorio" or something like that. So now we needed antibiotics through the IV and they were really getting nervous about things taking so long. We managed to convince them to let us keep going, since, in my opinion, we already had antibiotics, so we would be covered if anything else went wrong, right??? (LOL)

There was a new resident doctor working with us at this point and his wife had just given birth a couple of months ago using HypnoBirthing. He was very supportive and was doing all he could to work with us and let us make our own decisions. He discussed our situation with the on-call OB/GYN and since this was a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean), they had to agree on how high they could safely kick the pitocin up to, since I still wasn't progressing very well. Our doctor said he was comfortable with a level 20 but the OB said she was comfortable with a level 40! They compromised on 30. But first they kicked it up to 20 and we waited some more. Even at a level 20, my contractions still weren't "adequate" enough, but a few hours later, around 9pm I think, they checked me again and said that I had finally progressed to 6 cm! Yeah!! Progress! I was thrilled. Who needs "adequate" contractions anyway?? Since I had progressed some, I asked that the pitocin level be left at 20 and not increased like we had discussed. The doctor agreed that would be fine. An hour later, I started getting all shivery and started feeling a lot more pressure with the surges - my epidural was really starting to wear off. I was glad that my epidural was wearing off because I wanted to be able to feel what I was doing while pushing. I got more shivery and shaky so I asked that the nurse check me again, since I was also feeling a LOT more pressure like I could feel the baby's head coming down. The nurse checked me and I had progressed to 8cm, 75% effaced and the baby was at about +1 station (as opposed to the -3 station the baby had been sitting at all day)! Needless to say, I was thrilled and so were Alisa and my husband! Within the next hour, the epidural wore off more and the pressure continued to increase. I started feeling like I needed to push or poop or both, so I asked the nurse to check me again. She said I was complete and we could start pushing as soon as the doctor was finished with the other delivery he was working on. So while we were waiting for the doctor, I did my J breathing/pushing, trying to get the baby to come down. I couldn't help it, I had to do some pushing while waiting for the doc, the pressure was too great to just lie there. After about an hour, the doc finally came in and they said I could start pushing. The nurse said I had moved the baby further down on my own but now there was meconium in the amniotic fluid, so I needed to try to get the baby out a bit faster. Now I was really pushing. I tried my best to not tense up my face - since Carol said that tensing your mouth/face would make you tense up down below too. I could definitely feel EVERYTHING at this point and I was able to push really well - or so they said. It took about 1 hour to push the baby out - a big baby boy! Immediately they whisked him away to try to get any fluid out of his lungs and try to prevent him from breathing in any meconium.

Edward Patrick Nicolet was born at 1:11am on 7 November, 2011. He weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20.5 inches long. Since I did have to push aggressively, I got a 2nd degree tear and had to get stitches. Edward did end up breathing in some of the fluid and had to be put on oxygen. He also ended up with a little of my blood in his system, and he got a little blood jaundice and had to be put under the billirubin lights for about 18 hours and then again for 12 hours about 6 hours after that. So I was not able to nurse him for the first several hours. They did let me pump and they gave him my colostrum via syringe.

Backing up a little bit, I mentioned that this was a VBAC. When I had my c-section with my first baby, I hemorrhaged for some unknown reason. This time I also hemorrhaged. They aren't sure why but my thought is that after both deliveries, they pulled on the umbilical cord to get the placenta out and maybe the blood vessels just hadn't closed off enough both times before the placenta detached. This time, they got impatient with my placenta because almost 30 minutes had passed since Edward was born and the placenta still hadn't detached. They wanted it out of the way in case I hemorrhaged again and they wanted to get me stitched up. Who knows, I think it's very possible that their impatience to see if I would hemorrhage (and therefore deal with it promptly) might have actually caused me to hemorrhage! Regardless, I think a 2 for 2 record with postpartum hemorrhaging makes me a really bad candidate for any possible home births in the future! We are all doing fine and well now and I would have another baby again, if it's in the cards for me. :)

 I feel like the HypnoBirthing course helped us to make more informed decisions and helped us figure out what was a scare tactic and what was a valid concern on the part of the doctors. I feel like things turned out well, despite all the complications. I'm honestly not sure I would still feel this way if it had ended in a c-section because I would have second-guessed everything that I did and all the decisions we made starting from the moment I first walked into the hospital. But I'm very happy with the fact that I had my VBAC. :)
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Congratulations, Amanda and Tyson! Thanks so much for sharing your VBAC story, I'm so happy to hear the HypnoBirthing techniques were so useful for you, even in the midst of some special circumstances! Congratulations again, and enjoy your babymoon!

If you are in the San Diego area and are interested in learning more about Amanda and Tyson's Doula, Alisa, please visit her website at: http://www.alisaokamoto.com/
If you have had a Surgical Birth and are looking for resources and support post-partum or for a future VBAC, visit San Diego's local chapter of ICAN (International Cesarean Awareness Network) or find a local chapter: http://sandiego.ican-online.org/

If you are interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit our website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net to learn more and to see the schedule for upcoming classes. Carol & Kelly teach classes in North County San Diego. If their schedule doesn't fit your schedule, please contact them and they will refer you to other local practitioners. If you are outside San Diego, CA, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com & go to Find a Practitioner to find a class near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing story--Roshni & Naveen

Roshni & Naveen took my HypnoBirthing classes at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas to prepare for their second birth. Their first birth was a c-section and they very much wanted to have a vaginal birth after c-section. They decided to have a homebirth with Dr. Biter & San Diego Midwife, LaShel Montgomery and Jamin Sylvada.

Baby Ira’s Birth Story

Wednesday, 2 November started out as a pretty regular day for us, with Naveen working from home like he does most Wednesdays and me getting Rian, our 3-year old ready for school. I had my prenatal appointment with Dr. Biter at noon and Naveen wanted to come along since we thought we would get to see our little one in an ultrasound. I had been getting practice surges for a few weeks now and also some cramping but nothing else and so was convinced that I would be going over my “due date” of 4 November. Although we were anxious, we tried not to think about it. We wanted to give ourselves the best option for an unmedicated natural VBAC and so had opted for a homebirth with Dr. Biter and the dream team.

We were very excited and anxious at the same time and the last few days were hard to focus on anything but the birth and how it would be. We had prepared the supplies and everything was ready to go! So to distract my mind, I activated my new iPhone that morning with the intention of immersing myself with learning to use it and also went around doing errands before my appointment! Then we went for our appointment with Dr. Biter at noon and were pleasantly surprised to see LaShel there. We ended up chatting with her for a while and she reassured us that everything would be fine. She also noticed my tummy tightening. Then Dr. Biter came in and also said the same thing. We did an ultrasound hoping to get a good 4D picture of our little angel in her now cramped home but she had turned face down and we could not get a clear picture, nevertheless I still took the very first photo on my new iPhone of our little angel inside her home within me! Dr. Biter then said he would see me early next week and then chuckled “or maybe tonight”!

We had lunch and returned home at 2 pm. I was very tired and went to take a short nap at 2:30pm. At 2:36 pm I felt this strong kick and quite painful cramping for about a minute. Then for the next half hour I felt strong cramping every 8- 10 minutes as I lay there on the bed. So I called Naveen and then got out of bed. It felt like my water had broken but I was not sure. So I called Dr. Biter and he said that if nothing changes then he would see me the next morning to determine if my water had really released. I called our doula Dawn and was talking to her when I got up and suddenly there was a strong gush and there was no doubt that my waters had released. The surges now were still of the same intensity and about 8-10 minutes apart. They were just uncomfortable but bearable.

So now that we were officially in early labor we started preparing our bedroom and Naveen got busy spreading plastic all over the carpet, setting up the water tub etc. I helped where I could in between the surges and alternated between the birth ball and helping Naveen. Dawn and I decided that she would come over at 7 pm to be with me while Naveen went to drop Rian off at my sister’s home in Orange County. Later my sister called to say that she would instead come to our home and bring Rian with her so that Naveen did not have to leave me.

I am not sure how the time went and before I knew Dawn arrived home and I felt an immediate sense of comfort. She observed me for a bit and said that my belly was low or “pendulous” and the baby was not quite in the pelvis. My surges were now 4-5 minutes apart but very short in duration. So she suggested that we go for a curb walk (one foot on the curb, one on the asphalt) to help the baby engage into the pelvis. Dr. Biter called me to check how I was doing. He said that he would come very soon to “catch the baby” and that I should try and rest as much as possible. Rian was being quiet and staying away from me as he must have guessed something is going on. So we asked him if he wanted to join us but he said he “no thank you, I want to relax with my dad”. For a moment I felt guilty that I was the cause of this discomfort in my little one and that our exclusive and precious Rian-Mama times together was coming to an end, but I canceled that thought quickly thinking that this was temporary and that he would have a sibling to play with soon.

So it was just Dawn and me and we went outside at 8:30 pm and walked for perhaps 10 minutes. By then my sister and her family arrived and we came back inside the house. My surges started getting longer, a bit more intense but further apart. Dawn, my sister and I headed upstairs and spent some time together chatting before Rian and my sister’s family left. Rian was a changed boy once he saw his cousin and playmate and was happy again!

When Naveen joined us upstairs my labor actively progressed as Dawn had predicted and the surges got more and more uncomfortable, and I also started feeling cold and started trembling. Don’t quite know how things changed after that but I went into active labor and Naveen and Dawn helped me through each of the surges as they became more and more intense. Initially I made low moaning noises but then I got tired and breathless and eventually I just tried to breathe downwards through each one with Dawn’s help. She kept reminding me to embrace the pain and not fight it; to imagine the energy moving down and out. She also applied counter pressure on my lower back which helped a lot and Naveen simultaneously squeezed my hand.

I alternated between lying on the bed and sitting on the toilet. The surges on the toilet felt like they would lift me out of my body at times and so I asked Naveen to stand on my feet so I would feel grounded when the surges came and would not fly off! All that pressure somewhat relieved the sensations from the surges. I also got into the shower and the water tub at times but I kept getting cold and did not feel good in the water tub at all. Sometime, probably around 11 pm I opened my eyes and saw that Dr. Biter had arrived and his calm presence gave me an instant relief and also the reassuring feeling that things were progressing well. He examined me gently and also massaged away some cervical scar tissue while I went through another surge. Although this was very uncomfortable, Dr. Biter was ever so gentle and encouraging through it. He then said that I was getting close and that I was between 6 and 7 cms.

After that it was just trying to get through each surge and for the next two hours I was in transition and at times felt like this would go on forever. Suddenly when I was in the tub Dawn whispered that I was 9.5 cm! Wow, I thought, soon I could push and our baby would be out. Dr. Biter asked if I had the urge to push but I did not though the surges just kept getting stronger and I just wanted to be on the bed. Shortly after, I did get the feeling to void myself and apparently I made low grunting noises which was when Dr. Biter suggested that I try pushing.

I think pushing was the hardest part for me because no matter how hard I tried I felt the baby was not coming through and I felt I was not engaging the right muscles. Dr Biter made me change positions several times and move from side to side. I also sat on the toilet again to see if that would help the baby descend further down. I was then asked to squat. Although it was painful, Dawn whispered in my ear that the pelvis gets 33% wider in a squatting position and she recommended that I squat for a couple of surges. After that I was back on the bed and it was time to push again! I don’t know how many times I pushed, just remember being extremely exhausted with the pressure and having a tremendous urge to just close my eyes and sleep, but each time my surges went down, my uterus was massaged to start it up again.

Dr. Biter then softly talked to me about going beyond the exhaustion, giving me the example of walking over hot rocks on the beach to get to the beautiful ocean, about how close I was to having the VBAC that I had dreamt of. He also asked me to reach down and feel the baby’s head just waiting to emerge. He was so soft and so encouraging and my sweet husband Naveen fed me grapes and coconut water so I get more energy to push further.

Then out of the blue during one of those pushes Dawn asked me to open my eyes and look down, and there she was-magically out of me at 3:06 am after two hours of pushing-7lbs and 8 oz, and 20 inches long! Naveen and I lifted her gently while Dr. Biter supported her and our little angel Ira was on my chest. It was the most amazing and beautiful moment of my life so far that I still cannot believe happened. Just for this one moment I would go through all of that pain and more! Ira was our champion and stayed strong through the whole labor. Never once did it even occur to me that I should take any medication for the pain or that I was having a VBAC! Everything was so natural and almost sacred in so many ways and the support I had from my husband, Dawn and the dream team was just awesome.

I had a very minor tear that Dr. Biter sutured up gently, did not feel a thing! He then revealed to us that Ira had an arm on her head (nuchal hand) and the cord was wrapped loosely around her neck, arm, waist and her leg twice! So Dr. Biter had to slowly ease her out while I pushed! So although Ira showed no distress, she sure was all tangled up! No wonder I felt like I was pushing my heart out and she just would not descend! Dr. Biter was so calm and confident that no one could tell what was happening! Ira latched on immediately and she is such a calm, happy baby, nurses and sleeps as they say just “like a baby”!

I was diligent in listening to the Rainbow Relaxation CD every night for the last two months but somehow I never got to listening to it during labor at all, but Dawn said that I used all the hypnobirthing tools during labor and was very calm, quiet and focused especially during transition. She even said that it was hard at times to tell whether I was having a surge and she was concerned that perhaps things were slowing down. But then she realized that I only reacted at the very peak of the surge! I do remember reminding myself to think of being closer to my baby during each of the surges and that the pain was getting me closer to meeting my baby.

Dawn was simply amazing in reminding and coaching me to embrace the pain and go towards and not fight it. Anyone looking for a doula, look no further!! Thanks Carol for the tools you provided us during hypnobirthing class! Many thanks for the wonderful and loving support from my husband and many thanks to Dr. Biter and the dream team to help us achieve our dream birth. San Diego is truly fortunate to have them and I hope that many more will be able to have the transformative experience that we did! An unmedicated totally natural birth is the most empowering and beautiful experience a woman can ever have! After my previous C-section, this has been a sacred and healing process for us! Homebirths are the way to go!!
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Thanks for sharing your story, Roshni & Naveen! It is such an inspiring story! I'm thrilled that you were able to have such a healing, empowering VBAC!

If you are interested in taking HypnoBirthing classes to prepare for your birth, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net to learn more.

If you are interested in hiring Dr. Biter & San Diego Midwife, LaShel & Jamin, please visit their website www.sandiegomidwife.com. You can also contact Dr. Biter at 760-642-0800.

If you are interested in hiring Dawn to be your doula, you can contact her via her website at www.douladawn.com.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

Brina & Gus' VBAC HypnoBirthing story

Brina & Gus took my HypnoBirthing class in August 2011 on Thursday nights at Seaside Women's Health. They were expecting baby #2 and had a c-section for baby #1. They wanted to have a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) & researched their options. They chose an OB that was extremely supportive of VBACs, but late in their pregnancy, they decided to have a homebirth with the midwives of San Diego Midwife because Brina really didn't want to go into a hospital at all.

Here's their birth story...it's a wonderful story of how even when birth goes completely off-track, knowing your options & being in control of your choices is so important to help you have the kind of birth experience you want.

October 2, 2011

Day 2

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. That’s all I can say about the last few days, my darling Willow Bee. As I write this, you are cuddling on your daddy’s lap (and crying a little bit) and I just can’t believe I am at the end of this journey and the beginning of a new one. Writing your birth story might have be done in chapters because it went on so long and honestly, I am already starting to forget the details – as is Mother Nature’s little trick on moms.

So, here’s what I can remember, with the help of your dad, Omi, Mimi, Papa and Grandpa who helped fill in some of my memory gaps as we all reminisced about it today – so we would never forget!

Real labor officially began at 2:00am on Friday morning, September 30, 3011. As I wrote before, surges had been growing in regularity since Tuesday but it wasn’t until 2:00am on Friday that things seemed to be getting more serious. I ate for pretty much the last time – not much, just a banana and some lemon cake – and went upstairs to wake up my birth companion and tell him to get the heck out of bed! He started timing the contractions and they were around 2-4 minutes apart for an hour. We called the midwives around 4am and your grandparents.

Everyone arrived before dawn. They stayed downstairs and waited for Ryder to wake up. When Jamin, our midwife arrived, I was 6 cm dilated and officially in active labor. What a relief! This wasn’t so bad! I still had a sense of humor and now that I knew that I was really in labor and making progress, I felt great. This was manageable.

I’m not sure when that all changed but everything you have heard about natural childbirth is true. Transition, the period of time that your
cervix completely dilates to 10 cm is like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. All of my hypnobirthing tools were futile. There was nowhere to go. I had to keep doing this and the only thing that was keeping me going was my midwives, LaShel had joined up at around 8am, telling me that I could do it and this was normal and we were going to have a baby soon.

I made it to 9 cm in the birthing tub and while time was standing still for me, I apparently spent an hour in there, looking for relief from the unrelentless surges. No position was comfortable. Your head was lodged deep in my pelvis and it was causing me amazing back pain during surges – one hip was on fire.

We were almost ready to push at 11:30am or so. LaShel checked my cervix again and I was 9 cm but there was a bit of lip left to go. Disappointed, I went back to work, using the contractions to breath you down and stomping my legs to jiggle your head lower to get rid of the last lip. I alternated using panting breaths to the count of 37 – surges peaked at 22 and subsided at 37 consistently – and screaming my head off to the point that the neighbors on our street will see the large “It’s a Girl!” stork placed on our lawn tomorrow and go, “OH! That’s what that was!” Luckily, our house is such that you couldn’t hear the rebel yells from downstairs, just the stomping apparently, which everyone downstairs started doing in solidarity.

After a half hour of that, LaShel checks me again and now the entire cervix has swelled and I am back to 5 cm dilation during surges. Not good news. My body is feeling the urge to push and apparently, the pressure of not being complete and involuntary pushes have swollen the cervix.

So, at 12pm, I am given a choice – try to relax for an hour and see if the swelling went down or head to the hospital, have an epidural and try to sleep to allow my swollen cervix to fully dilate.

Willow, my biggest fear and anxiety about your birth, besides it ending in a dreaded second c-section, was the car ride to the hospital and here I was, facing this probability at 9 cm dilated with an insatiable urge to push, and having to fight that with everything I had to avoid more swelling. My hip was killing me, the surges were 1 minute apart and 37 counts worth of the most unexplainable torture one could never hope to describe. Your head was stuck and swelling behind my pelvic bone. There was no single body position that provided any relief.

I knew that it was 11.2 miles to the nearest hospital and at least a 15-20 minute drive. I also knew that I would have to be registered, admitted and then wait for the anesthesiologist. It was not an emergency situation – your heart beat was strong. I decided to go to the hospital. I wanted to be put out of my misery. Every moment that passed was another minute I would have to wait.

We took Papa and Mimi’s motorhome. The trip to the hospital was an exercise in self control. Every other minute, a painful contraction would begin along with the uncontrollable urge to push. I closed my eyes and counted while steadily breathing slowly. I concentrated on relaxing my entire body. I went to another world. When the contractions would subside, I returned to my body. The motorhome was quite and no one said a word. Just reassuring smiles from Daddy and Mimi. We arrived in record time and they were waiting for us.

I was admitted in and the labor and delivery room by 12:55pm. I told the nurse I needed help. I pleaded with everyone there to please help me quickly. I put on the gown, I got an IV, I got an oxygen mask. I had blood taken. I signed forms. All between contractions. I had no idea when the anesthesiologist would arrive – he was in surgery. We needed the lab results back first. I was in for a long ride.

The first epidural came at 3:15. It was partially successful. I still felt the surges (I’ll call them surges from now on because that is how they
felt at this point) and I still felt hot pain in my hips and lower back. I hadn’t had any food at all and my sides were cramping with hunger. Food wasn’t an option and I cursed myself for not eating before we left but I just wasn’t thinking straight. There would be no food until you were delivered. Another reason to have you vaginally – I could eat straight away.

The second epidural came at around 6 and it was successful. I finally felt the warm, numbness in my hips, uterus and back. I could finally relax. My legs were totally dead to me – like they belonged to another body. I was happy. I was ready.

Lots of other stuff happened at the same time, of course. But when you are under that much pain and pressure, you don’t really notice. For instance, I had a new doctor to contend with. He was extremely anti-natural birth movement, as they all are it seems, and admitted that he was appalled at the fact that we were attempting a home VBAC. Of course, on the other hand, our new night nurse Tracy had gone and jacked up my pitocin to 8mg and was going to go up to 20mg if needed and the doctor had to chew her out and put me back to 4mg tops. So, with all the talk of how dangerous having you at home was, they were meanwhile increasing the odds of rupture with the pitocin. Pretty ironic I think.

The doctor that delivered you, and despite having an amazing ability to remember all names, was called Dr. Brum-something. He was huge – like 6’6” and when he checked for dilation, which is done so with the checker’s index and middle fingers, he said for him I was at 7cm but
for most, we’ll consider me complete. He would allow me to finally push at around 8pm. It was surreal. I finally got the change to push you out! Of course, I can’t feel anything at all at this point so I am worried that I won’t be able to move any muscles. I am reassured that I will be able to and I am ready. Omi on one side and Mimi on the other side to lift my 500lb legs and Daddy behind me to help hold my head with my chin to my chest, we worked first in cycles of 3 with the surges, pushing and holding my breath for 10 counts and then, we added a 4th as my pitocin induced surges were long and strong. At one point, when sensation began to return, I got up to 6 cycles.

All the while, the Hypnobirthing method of “birth breathing” was in the back of my mind. We aren’t supposed to push you out our bodies, we are supposed to let our bodies do the work and birth breathe you safely down the birth path. When nurse Tracy turned her back, I birth breathed you down. You were coming in at a funny angle. Tracy thought you were sunny side up – that is, instead of facing my spine, facing up to my belly button. But I knew you weren’t. I could feel your spine against the front of my tummy and your body was perfectly straight down. Your swollen little head was somehow stuck under my pelvic bone. There was a heck of a lot of pressure on my hips and back and I was able to get a little more epidural every 10 minutes by pushing a button.

After 2 hours of this, Tracy gave up on me. She told me you would need to be delivered by C-section because your head was developing pressure and it was creating a blister. It was now or never. She walked away from my bed. I turned to one side and visualized you coming down while breathing with my contractions. When Dr. Huge and Imposing returned, he barked, “You can’t sleep through labor, Girl!” Or something equally condescending. To which I replied, “trust me, I am not sleeping; I am working.” And guess what, Willow? In 15 minutes, your mommy had willed you down far enough into the world that even mean-y Doctor had decided that you were ready to come out with just a little help from a vacuum. He gave me 2 choices – I cut him off by the 3rd – c-section if I was too tired to go on (I wasn’t. I would have fought for you forever), deliver you right now with the use of a vacuum – “Stop! We’ll take it!”

So, in comes the Calvary. The nursery nurse, the supporting nurse staff, the tools, the baby bed gets prepared. I can hardly believe that anyone else thinks there is going to be a baby there in a minute or two. He tells me I have to push like I have never pushed before and I am ready. Get your face mask on, Doc, she’s getting shot out of here!

3 big pushes for your head. I feel it coming down. It feels like the biggest relief in history. POP! It’s out!!! One more little push for one shoulder, and another one for the other shoulder. One small push for the rest of you and WAH!!!!!!! You were here, laying all buttery smooth on my chest looking at me questioningly. I introduced myself to you formally and kissed you, calmed you. You knew me and I knew you in a
familiar way that I can’t describe.

Everyone is cheering and before I can stop them, the normal hospital dance begins with the cord cut, you being whisked away to be weighed and tested. Your scores are great. You weigh 8lb 8.3oz and are 21 inches long. You are bigger that your big brother was at birth – and he was born 13 days gestationally longer than you were. You were in the baby warmer with your grandparents protecting you on every side from the assault. I laid on the table watching and being stitched up from a gnarly tear.

Eventually, everything calms down and everyone leaves. I don’t know where they went but it was just you and me in the room. I nursed you. I kissed you. I sang to you. I thanked the universe for you. My own little baby daughter to love, teach, and instill within a strength to stand up for what she believes in and fight the system. No regrets, baby Willow.

The story, of course, just begins there. And there is already so much to tell. Like how you recognized your Daddy when he picked you up for the first time and gently introduced himself. And how your brother sat still on my lap for 20 minutes after a nap and told me he missed me a couple of days after we got home with you. He is going to be such a good big brother to you! He says, “Ryder likes baby Willow!” I came downstairs once without you and he asked if I had put Baby Willow back in my belly button. I explained that there was no going back, you
were here for good. He’s ok with that.

I love you my little darling,

Mama

Carol,
‎3 Cheers for Hypnobirthing and Class 4 (Birth Preferences Plan) especially. We were able to hit the hospital and know what to ask and what to refuse. I can't thank you enough!
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Congratulations to you & Gus! You did an amazing job using your HypnoBirthing techniques to the best of your ability! The knowledge you acquired from class and the support of the amazing midwives gave you the courage to stand up for what you wanted & do what you needed to do in order to have the VBAC you wanted. Even though it wasn't as comfortable & calm as you had hoped, my goal of having you informed & educated was successful. You were able to make the right choices for you & your baby in order to have a safe, successful VBAC birth. You trusted your body, the birthing process & you willed your body to do what it needed to do! I hope you continue enjoying your babymoon! I'm sure you're feeling over the moon!

For more information about San Diego Midwife, please call 760-809-9396 or visit their
website at www.sandiegomidwife.com.

For more information about Carol Yeh-Garner's HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, CA, please visit her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. For other practitioners in your area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to locate a class near you.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing announcement--Brooke & Matt

Brooke & Matt took my HypnoBirthing classes at Babies by the Sea Boutique on Tuesday nights in May/June 2010. Here is their birth story...


The birth story of Grace M

We had been given several different due dates during my pregnancy because I switched doctors; the earliest of which was Friday July 16th. So when I started having mild surges Saturday afternoon on July 10th I made the assumption it was just false labor and that I had been doing too much and needed to relax. Matt and I had a very mellow Saturday and at 3pm I took a two-hour nap, which I think was a Godsend considering what the next 24 hours held in store for me!

The surges continued all Saturday evening and around 9pm I got into bed to watch a movie and try to relax. At this point, the surges felt like typical menstrual cramps; somewhat uncomfortable but not painful. I downloaded an app on my iPhone and started to time the surges (yes, there is an app for that!!) because I knew from class the difference between false labor and real labor was whether the surges were coming in a consistent time frame for at least an hour. The surges were kind of all over the place – it would go from 10 minutes apart to six minutes back to 10 minutes, etc. This further confirmed my thinking it was just false labor. Matt came up to bed around 11pm and was surprised to find me awake and timing surges. I told him I thought it was still just false labor and we went to bed. I was able to sleep, or at least rest, between the surges until around 3am at which point I was just awake and trying to rest and remain calm since I was starting to think we had a long day ahead of us. I was listening to the rainbow relaxation CD on my iPod this entire time, which helped me stay focused on keeping my body limp and relaxed.

Around 6am on Sunday morning I could no longer stay in bed and moved to sitting on the toilet, which was comfortable and helped keep my pelvis open. This is when we called my sister-in-law Kelly (who is a midwife), and she confirmed that since the surges had been coming since Saturday afternoon, I was definitely in labor. She booked a ticket on the next flight out of San Francisco and was landing in San Diego at 10:20am. She was originally scheduled to fly down later in the week to act as our doula at the birth.

Matt drew a bath for me and I labored in the tub for about an hour while he got the bags and everything ready to go to the hospital. Around 8am we called the doctor’s office and as we expected my doctor was still on vacation so his backup called us back. She said if the pain was too much we could head to the hospital so I could receive an epidural, but if not to wait until the surges were about 4 minutes apart for an hour. The surges were fairly intense at this point, but I kept breathing through them and it really wasn’t too bad. It was actually quite an exciting time because we knew our baby was coming and everything we had been preparing for was happening!

As far as we could tell, when we called the doctor the surges were ranging from 4-7 minutes apart. We had a really hard time timing the surges because they start off mild and then get more intense and then get mild again before stopping. This being said, it was hard for me to tell exactly when they were starting and stopping which made timing them very difficult.

Around 9am, I had showered and Matt had the car loaded and everything ready to go to the hospital. We didn’t want to go to the hospital too early so I laid down on the couch and kept listening to rainbow relaxation on my iPod and trying to relax. Around 9:45am, during one of the surges my water broke while I was on the couch. At this point, the surges were ranging from 2-4 minutes apart, and now that my water had also broken we decided we should head to the hospital.

It happened that we were ready to go to the hospital at the same time my sister-in-law was landing at the airport. Rather than her having to take a cab all the way to Encinitas we decided to pick her up at the airport and then head straight to the hospital. Like I said before, our thinking had been we didn’t want to get to the hospital too early so at the time it just made sense that we’d pick her up. And since I had been laboring on the couch, the front seat of the car didn’t seem too different. ;) We live in the Kearny Mesa area so I ended up laboring in the car for about 40 minutes.

We picked up my sister-in-law at the San Diego airport at 10:20am and headed up 5 North to Scripps Encinitas hospital. During the drive, I had the front seat fully reclined and was lying on my side which felt better than on my back. My feet were up on the dash and I had the window half way down because the fresh air felt so good. I’m sure people driving by thought it was a strange scene! I was listening to rainbow relaxation on my iPod this whole time and was continuing to breath through the surges. My instincts told me I was in pretty intense labor at this point but still the surges were manageable as they don’t last that long. And the breaks between them, albeit short, were still wonderful! When we pulled up to the hospital, Matt actually asked if I had been having surges during the car ride because I had been lying there with my eyes closed and not making any noise! I kind of chuckled and said, “Yes”!

We checked into the hospital and it took some time to fill out the paperwork, etc. I declined the wheel chair they offered me because it felt much better to stand during the surges. As we got to our labor and delivery room around 11:30am I was starting to feel intense pressure like I was nearly ready to start pushing! The nurse checked me upon arrival and I was 8cm! Considering this was my first birth I didn’t really know what to expect so we were all really excited with this news! The nurse gave me a hospital gown but I had brought a robe from home that I preferred to wear which she was fine with. Once I had changed I sat on the birth ball and leaned against the hospital bed while the nurses did all the initial tests/monitoring to me. The fetal heart and contraction monitors were attached around my stomach while I sat on the birth ball. The plan had been to do the initial monitoring for 20 minutes and then have everything removed so I could move around (this never happened since things moved along so quickly). At 37 weeks I had tested positive for Group B Strep. I had been doing some natural at-home remedies, but still had to get a dose of antibiotics when we arrived at the hospital. They gave me the antibiotics while they were doing all the other initial monitoring things.

We requested the nurse check me again a little before noon because I was feeling such intense pressure and felt ready to start pushing. At this point, I was now standing next to the hospital bed doing the modified downward dog position with my hands on the bed because I could no longer stay seated on the birth ball. Once the nurse checked me again and confirmed I was to 10cm I moved onto the bed to start pushing. It was noon when I started pushing.

Right away the doctor confirmed she could see the baby’s head, and I was trying to push the head to pass under my pubic bone. After about 20 minutes of pushing and between surges the doctor checked me and then asked us when our last ultrasound had been. Both Matt and I were so confused and told her it was at 19 weeks when we had the anatomy ultrasound. After this she told that was not the baby’s head we were seeing and it was her bottom! We were all in disbelief as my doctor had confirmed at my 37-week appointment the baby was head down, and then again at my 38-week appointment the nurse practitioner had felt my stomach (because my doctor was on vacation) and also said the baby was head down. The doctor immediately suggested a c-section and we asked for a few minutes to discuss it privately. As my sister-in-law is a midwife and has delivered breech babies, we did consider trying to still do a vaginal birth, but in the end we decided to be conservative and agreed to the c-section.

Grace was in the Frank breech position, which is where her legs were straight up so her feet were at the top of my stomach and were kicking in the same area she would have been had she been head down. And then since her head and bottom are both firm, it did feel like it was her bottom at the top of my stomach. Regardless, it was disappointing her breech position hadn’t been discovered earlier so we could try some things in order for her to move positions, but in the end if she hadn’t moved we probably would have scheduled a c-section. I’m glad this didn’t happen because as crazy as it sounds, I am glad I got to experience labor as it was such an amazing experience; emotionally as well as physically. So after all of this Gracie was born at 1:05pm via c-section! She came out alert, healthy, and crying loudly!

I don’t know how I remembered, but after the c-section they were getting ready to stitch me back up and I recalled a section in Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth book that discussed the importance of having the uterus sutured in two layers rather than the one layer method which is currently popular in the situation of a c-section. I asked the doctor if she was going to sew me up in one or two layers, and after telling me they routinely do one layer, she asked if I would prefer her to do two layers. I told her I would. Per Ina May’s book, this will help the uterus stay stronger and increase the likelihood of having a successful VBAC in the future.

The doctor and nurses were all so wonderful, and we were very happy with Scripps Encinitas hospital all around. They were completely supportive of everything we wanted and were very familiar with HypnoBirthing. Everything with the baby was in-room so Grace was never out of my sight. They even brought her to me while I was still on the operating table after the c-section. I really appreciated this.

I definitely think your HypnoBirthing class helped make Grace’s labor as great as it was! Due to all the training and practice I was able to remain very calm and relaxed throughout the entire time I was laboring which I believe helped ease the pain and helped speed labor along. The doctor told me after Grace was born I would be an ideal candidate for a VBAC; something I will definitely consider when Grace gets a little sibling. And even though the c-section was an unexpected turn of events during Grace’s birth, I think taking the HypnoBirthing class helped us meet this calmly and I still have such positive memories from our birth. Thank you so much for all your support and advice throughout the pregnancy! We appreciate all that you taught us and are so glad we took your class!
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Thank you so much for sharing your story! I think it's so important for people to realize that HypnoBirthing helps in whatever situation comes up during your birth experience & that it's not "just" for natural births. It can be extremely helpful during c-sections as well.

Congratulations on the birth of baby Grace! Continue to enjoy your babymoon!

All my best---Carol Yeh-Garner
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

For more information about HypnoBirthing, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or go to the main HypnoBirthing website at www.hypnobirthing.com.

An example of how HypnoBirthing heals birth trauma

This is the journey of one of my former HypnoBirthing clients, Kim, who was terrified of giving birth & needing another c-section:

My first birth was 20 years ago... I was very young (20 to be exact) and very uneducated in regards to the "birthing" process, I had no idea that there were even options available to me as far as different types of births or classes etc... I was very naive and very frightened to say the least! I believe that because i was so unaware and afraid that I ended up being in labor for 3 days (not knowing how to help myself progress) I went to the hospital 3 times and was sent home all 3 times because I wasn't progressing so i was told to go home until I was further along but because I didn't know what to do or how to do it I ended up with an emergency C-section and was told it was because of "Failure to progress".

When I was finally admitted to the hospital the only thing I remember is being hooked up to so many machines and monitors - and put in a room with multiple mothers in labor as well (all of them playing cards and watching TV because they had an epidural) but I was screaming in agony because I wanted to try to birth naturally but didn't have support or knowledge as to how to do this. I didn't have anyone coaching me or anyone explaining to me what was happening and why and then before I knew it I was being rushed me to the surgery room for an emergency surgery. I was terrified for my baby and for myself!

Over the past 20 years I wanted to have another child but I knew deep inside that I was pretty traumatized from the first delivery and I believe that because it was never the "right" time or because I never felt ready that it kept me from trying again. I recently became re-married and my husband and I decided to try to conceive and because I finally felt "whole" and "supported" I decided this was the "right" time in my life.

As my pregnancy progressed I started feeling very scared about going into labor again and extremely terrified of the possibility of having another emergency c-section! I was so frightened that there would be several days during the week that i would just break down crying to my husband or to my doctor (Dr. Biter) about my fears. I had a very hard time reading books about birth or even watching video's that showed women birthing! My whole body would become very tense and I would have to shut my eyes. I was finally advised to look into doing "HypnoBirthing".

At first I was very hesitant about how the process of HypnoBirthing could actually work or even help me and at the beginning I still couldn't watch the video's that Carol would be showing - or even talking about my first experience in front of the class made me sick to my stomach but as we went through the classes and after reading the material and actually doing the homework I started becoming more and more at ease about the whole process. I started learning so much about how I can have the "birth" that I desire and that whatever the outcome it would truly be the peaceful birth that I am meant to have. And because of the work that I did through HypnoBirthing, I was able to heal from my past wounds of childbirth and embrace this birth even though it had to take a different path then we had hoped for!

After trying everything I possibly could for 2 weeks to turn my sweet little girl around, we finally had to go in and get her on Sunday, Oct 18th. Dr. Biter was fabulous and supported me 100% with trying any and all alternative measures and then I did end up going into labor on day 13 - contractions were 10 min apart for about 15 hours until we finally decided it was time to go in for surgery.

The one thing I do want to say is that because of HypnoBirthing I was able to come to peace with my journey through all of this and used all of the techniques we learned to help me along the way even though I didn't have the birth of my choice. I did learn that I can't control everything and this little girl taught me that I need to learn to let-go and surrender once in awhile! I also had an opportunity to do some healing from my first birth as well which was wonderful! So thank you for everything! I couldn't have done it without you!

Love, Kim
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Thanks, Kim, for sharing your story! I'm so glad that the HypnoBirthing classes helped you heal your birth trauma from your 1st birth & helped you get to a place of acceptance & peace for your 2nd birth. Congratulations on the birth of Laila & enjoy your babymoon!

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A HypnoBirthing VBAC story

Janine & Victor came to class at the very last minute of their pregnancy after Dr. Capetanakis recommended my classes to them. Their "due date" was July 26 & they joined my class series that started July 9th! They attended 3 classes before Janine went into labor. (We worked things out so they could get access to all of the materials & hypnosis sessions before they went into labor.) Here is their birth story:

Hi Carol!

We did, unfortunately, end up with a c-section. I was in labor for about twelve hours and our contractions were coming every two - four minutes so we decided to go to the hospital. When we got there they checked me and I was only dilated to two centimeters. I was in such severe pain - I knew I couldn't go another eight centimeters without medication, and Dr. Capetanakis (Dr. Cap) suggested that we either get the epidural, which he didn't think was the right thing to do since I was only two centimeters, or get a c-section. So we opted for the c-section. Once we got in the OR and Dr. Cap began the procedure, he saw that my uterus had ruptured so it's a good thing we opted for the c-section. I was definitely disappointed about making the decision to do the c-section but once I found out that my uterus had ruptured, I was just thankful that we decided to go that route and that the baby and I were all healthy in the end! So that's the story in a nutshell!

Despite the way our situation turned out, the HypnoBirthing class was worth every penny to me. Aside from teaching me how to get through the surges, the classes were great because they provided an opportunity for my husband and I to communicate about the birth of our baby. We never would have had many of the conversations that we had if we had not taken the class. I'm truly grateful that we took the class, so thank you for all of your help and guidance!

SEAN VINCENT
Born 08.02.2009
12:54 am
8 lbs 8 oz
20.5 inches

Sincerely,
Janine

Congratulations on your birth. I'm sorry your birth didn't end up being the natural birth you had hoped for, but am glad that you still got benefits out of taking my HypnoBirthing classes. Thanks for allowing me to share your story.

All my best--Carol

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

An unplanned home VBAC HypnoBirth

One of my couples just recently had an unplanned VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section) homebirth!

The mother had a c-section for her 1st birth using the Bradley Method. She found HypnoBirthing & thought that it would be a good class to take in addition to her Bradley Method techniques. She & her husband often had to leave early from class due to childcare issues. Her husband also had to travel quite a bit during the 5 weeks of class due to a death in the family & family health issues, so they would come to another class session or come after her husband had been up for almost 14 hours traveling. They even missed the 5th class because their daughter was sick!

They were a motivated couple, but with a toddler at home, both parents working (mom going to grad school too!) & a traveling husband, they were definitely busy! I remember that the mother said after the 4th class' fear release hypnosis sessions, that she still felt fearful of having another c-section, of having things go wrong during her birth & that she still didn't feel the confidence she was hoping for. I encouraged her to meet with a Hypnotherapist for a deeper fear release session to help in getting rid of those fears.

Luckily, they had a few months time to continue to practice the HypnoBirthing skills AND they hired a monitrice (a labor support person in between a doula & a homebirth midwife) to help them so they would be able to stay home as long as possible & have support in the hospital. Well, lo & behold, the mother went into labor & by the time the monatrice arrived, the baby was well on its way!

Here is the link to the monitrice's (Barbara Herrera, who is also a homebirth midwife) blog where she describes this HBAC from her perspective: http://navelgazingmidwife.squarespace.com/

I'd say the HypnoBirthing techniques really helped this mother & father remain calm during a very surprising situation!

http://www.awelllivedlife.net/
http://www.awelllivedlife.blogspot.com/

Addendum: I spoke with this mom today at length & she is elated her birth went so well. Some of the things that she mentioned were that HypnoBirthing really helped her even though she wasn't that confident it was going to work. She said that the only practice she was able to do was to listen to her Rainbow Relaxation CD every night as she went to sleep. She also read the book & read Sheri Menelli's Journey into Motherhood book.
She said one key thing that helped her was that as soon as her surges started, she put the CD on & really listened to the words of the Rainbow Relaxation. She said that even at the most intense surges, she really felt like things were manageable. She said that she felt that HypnoBirthing gave her more information about what to do vs her Bradley classes which she thought gave her more info about how to avoid a c-section & how to manage pain. She said going into this birth, she felt okay if she needed to have another c-section & that HypnoBirthing helped her feel like if she needed to have a c-section, that it wasn't a failure on her part.
She said that changing her language (contractions=surges, pain=sensation) also helped her go into her birth knowing that birth could be natural & normal. Even when people around her asked her during her surges, "Are you in pain?", she'd correct them (at least in her head) & would focus on the sensations.
She said that this birth really healed a lot of her past trauma & guilt from the c-section of her 1st child & that this birth was even better than she could have imagined. The mom said that the HypnoBirthing videos from class also really helped her see that birth is natural, normal & healthy & gave her something to visualize for her birth experience since her memories were of special circumstances that ended in an emergency c-section.
She said that she also used her own version of the HypnoBirthing breathing techniques during her surges & during her pushing stage. She said that she knew she needed to breathe slowly & not hold her breath, so what worked for her was to repeat her own mantra's over & over again to ensure she was breathing out & breathing slowly. During surges, she repeatedly said "Let go....let go....let gooo." And during her birth breathing/pushing, she repeatedly said "Don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me" because she didn't want her husband to leave the room.
Her recovery has been really easy compared to having to deal with an incision going across her pelvic area in addition to the fact that baby #2 is nursing well, which didn't happen for baby #1.
One thing that really made me get teary-eyed was her description of her husband's involvement in this birth & in caring for baby #2. The mom said that her husband was there for every step of this birth, involved & interactive, & was able to stay calm as he called 911 to tell them his wife was having a baby right now! She said that for the 1st birth, he was there, but because things became an emergency, he wasn't able to be as involved as he was this time. She said that he commented that he really felt like he "was a part of this birth"...that's the part that made me teary-eyed. I mean, isn't that what all partners should feel like during their baby's birth? And that's what HypnoBirthing can really accomplish...empowering not just moms but dads as well to know how to BE there for the birthing mom.
I really encouraged the mom to write out her birth story as this is something that can really be inspiring to so many people. She plans to write a little here & there since there is SO much to be told & because of her time distortion from being so "in her zone" from HypnoBirthing, the details are all kind of mixed up. She kept remembering more bits & pieces as we talked, which is normal. Once she has it all together, she plans to share it. I can't wait!

Holistic Moms Promote "Birth Rights" on Labor Day

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Date: August 25, 2008
Contact: Nancy Massotto, Executive Director
Telephone: (877) HOL-MOMS

HOLISTIC MOMS PROMOTE "BIRTH RIGHTS" ON "LABOR DAY"
Parenting Group Says Womens' Rights to Natural Childbirth Are Rapidly Disappearing
(Caldwell, NJ) -
This Labor Day, as we honor the steadfast efforts of our country's workers, the Holistic Moms Network (HMN) – a national non-profit with 130 Chapters across the U.S. – will be advocating for some of the toughest labor faced by women: childbirth. Through a number of events – organized on or around Labor Day -HMN will focus attention on the critical issue of preserving a woman's right to choose how and where she gives birth - a right that is rapidly disappearing.

This past June, HMN issued a press release to call attention to the American Medical American Association's adoption of Resolution 205, which states that hospitals and hospital birthing centers are "the safest settings" for labor and delivery, despite strong evidence to the contrary. The Resolution is seen by HMN and birth choice advocates as an attempt to outlaw homebirth and eliminate low-intervention childbirth choices for women, thereby robbing them of a powerful birth experience and placing them and their newborns at higher risk of injury and death.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, vaginal births after Cesarean (VBAC) rates have fallen by 67% since 1996 and U.S. hospitals are increasingly denying women the right to have VBACs, effectively forcing them into unnecessary Cesarean surgery. This runs contrary to the government's own Healthy People 2010 initiative which seeks to increase the VBAC rate to 63% by 2010."Cesarean section is a major surgical procedure that increases the likelihood of many complications for mothers and babies compared to vaginal birth," says Dr. Nancy Massotto, HMN's Executive Director who birthed both of her sons at home. Risks to babies include surgical cuts, breathing problems, and difficulty breastfeeding. Risks to the mother include surgical injury, infection, and death from increased blood loss. Last year, the Associated Press reported that U.S. women are dying from childbirth at the highest rate in decades, with the jump in C-sections partly to blame.

The World Health Organization and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services agree that, for the safety of both mothers and babies, a country's C-section rate should not exceed 15%. Medical institutions are clearly not heeding this advice. New Jersey – home to HMN headquarters - has the highest C-section rate in the country – 38.9% in 2007. This is 7% above the national average of 31%. New Jersey Center for Health Statistics data show that Bayonne Medical Center's C-section rate was an astounding 62% in 2006 - up 15% from the prior year. In 2007, Paterson's Barnert Hospital's C-section rate was 53.9 but its VBAC rate was a mere 1.8%.

To inform women about this crisis and about their birth rights, HMN is organizing and participating in Labor Day events across the country.

VBAC Ban Help

This came across my emails & I thought someone out there might be interested...everyone woman should have the right to be allowed to have a VBAC if that is their choice.

I'm a lawyer with the Northwest Women's Law Center in Seattle. I'm investigating possible legal responses to bans on vaginal birth after cesarean at hospitals in the northwest states – Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon. If you are currently pregnant and want to have a VBAC, but are facing a hospital policy that would require you to have a c-section regardless of whether you want it and it is medically necessary, and are willing to consider working with a lawyer on this, we'd like to talk with you. Please send an email to vbacbanhelp@ican-online.org and we will contact you.
Please forward this email to any list or community where it might be useful.

www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com

A VBAC HypnoBirth testimonial

I just wanted to let you know that little Baby Ella was born on Friday June 13, 2008.

I was able to have a successful VBAC, and was also able to do it naturally. It was an amazing experience and I couldn't have asked for it to be any better than it was. I truly have your classes to thank for so many reasons. I was able to use HypnoBirthing throughout the process. I think that the most helpful was that I was able to relax between surges. The surges were quite strong, and I didn't exactly fit the mold from all the videos we watched. However, I was always able to come back to a relaxed state before the next one. The other way in which your classes helped was that it showed me that I could have a natural delivery and VBAC. Prior to these classes I was not sure it was possible. I did actually switch to Dr. Biter who made it absolutely amazing. I also used Dawn Thompson as our Doula, who was also amazing. I really learned that by having the right people and the right frame of mind anything is really possible. It was an incredible day, and I thank you so much for your part in making it that way.

Thanks again for everything.

Jenni & Greg, 2nd time parents, Encinitas, CA

A HypnoBirthing VBAC story

This story came from a HypnoBirthing practitioner that is also a doula...

A HypnoBirthing VBAC story

Just had to share. Attended a birth early this morning. Mom called me at 1:00am saying they had just arrived at the hospital and they were going to keep her. She was 7cm going on 8. And she didn't have a clue.

I rushed to the hospital which is 30 minutes away only to find her up walking around, playing with her three year old, taking a breathing baby down minute and then going on about her business. She and I walked the halls for a while, stopping only for her to breath down and then back to her room where she chose the squatting position as I massaged her back.

Midwife came in, checked her she was at 9 going on 10...all in 30 minutes time. Mom decided to get into bed using a squat bar, began pushing and in less than 30 minutes there was a new addition to their happy family. And three year old brother had slept through the entire last 45 minutes. 2 hours from when I arrived. Mom was more than excited, for that is something that she had really, really wanted.

So in our last two classes we did a lot of fear release work and I added affirmations for her that she would birth fast and very easily. She wanted to get to the hospital at least at a 6 so she used that affirmation as well. After baby birthed, she made the statement that there was no way she could have birthed a baby vaginally if it weighed over 7 lbs. Well guess what? Baby was 7lbs. 6oz. She was shocked. The nurse simply stood in awe for most of the birth or did busy work for she could not believe what she was seeing.

So just goes to show how powerful the mind is with positive reinforcements. Mom cannot understand why every woman does not use HypnoBirthing. She plans on spreading the word. Yeah!

Blessings to all, Sonja Parker

Anne's HypnoBirth Story

Hi-
One of my accelerated private class client's shared her HypnoBirth birth story with me & gave me permission to share it. Congratulations again, Anne!

Here it is:

Anne’s Birth Story:
Hmmm…pregnant with a third child…
After two birth stories that ended with very long and difficult recoveries, I was ready to do some homework/research with this third pregnancy that I hadn’t done with the others. I lived in panic of having to care for 2 other children while going through the pain and discomfort I had endured with the other 2.
My first delivery was a vaginal birth. Although, in the end it was called ‘textbook’, I always wondered how it might have played out differently had I NOT gone for the epidural. I HAD read a book on the Bradley method that did really put me on a good road, but being my first birth and not having dug deeper into the birthing process, I went to the hospital early and ultimately was swayed with the "now or never" line about drugs and went for it. Of course, this slowed things along to the point of my heart rate being too low and then the baby’s being too low. They then had to go back to the pitocin to get things going again. After numerous bags of fluids and drugs, I did have a pain free birth and delivered a beautiful baby girl. Then the fun began. I ended up with numerous complications that I deemed as normal until finding out most stemmed from the road of drugs I went down.
My second delivery was a planned c-section. Being that I had placenta previa, I didn’t have a choice. But, again the recovery was even worse. It took almost a year for me to feel back to my normal self. This was emotionally difficult with wanting to be there for my children and being in a constant state of discomfort.
So here I was, pregnant with a third child. I wanted to do everything in my power to have a VBAC (Vaginal Birth After C-section) and to do it without drugs. I began reading about doulas and decided to research them. I read the statistic on how much more successful you could be with a VBAC if one was used. Through my doctor (Dr. Robert Biter), I found the most amazing lady (Doula Dawn)…but, even in our first discussions I wasn’t too confident I could do it COMPLETELY drug free. I don’t have the highest tolerance for pain and thought I could just get as close as I could to delivering and then maybe take something. Very patiently, Dawn (my doula) gave me a book (Journey into Motherhood by Sheri Menelli) on birth stories and asked me to read it. Her encouragement & the confidence she had in me made me decide to read a few of the stories.
Well, I ended up finishing the book in 2 days. The book had numerous stories with numerous methods of birthing. But, the one thing that stuck out for me was this method called HypnoBirthing. I was curious to find out more but was only a few weeks away from my due date. It was only 2 days after that I met Carol. If I had not literally ran into her, I’m not sure I would have preceded in my research being that I thought I was too far into my pregnancy to get a full ‘class’. Carol was able to meet with me and give an accelerated 3 ½ hour class. I was hooked. She was able to walk me through tools so I felt confident I would use them…if not just for the birth but for everyday stresses in life.
I diligently practiced the techniques Carol had gone over with me until 4 days before my due date & then my surges started. I found the relaxation CD was useful for the beginning stages. But, as the birthing progressed, the techniques I thought were going to be useful weren’t. What I did do was modify them to work for me. While in the tub at home trying to go into deep relaxation, I realized I had a clock that had the perfect soft rhythmic ticking that helped me stay focused. I continued this in the shower with me.
At this point I thought I was still in my early stages of labor and decided to call my doula so my husband could do a few things. But, when my doula arrived, she informed us it was time to get to the hospital. It had happened so quickly and I had been focusing so deeply, I hadn’t really been counting the duration of the surges so it came as a surprise to me. My husband was also surprised being that I had been so quiet. He didn’t think much was happening yet.
When we arrived at the hospital, it was almost full. I was able to get the last room. Because of all the chaos and the nurses being pulled in every direction with it being so busy, it took a little more concentration to stay focused. When my doctor was able to exam me, he told me I was fully dilated and ready to push. I could not believe it! It took a little while for me to get my mind around no longer relaxing through the surges, but gently working with them. After the 3rd or 4th surges passed, my doula had to remind me to work with it. So, although I supposedly ‘pushed’ for an hour, I probably only REALLY worked with the surges for about 30 minutes or less. The only time I really started to lose my concentration was during this final pushing stage. My husband felt I was loud when sternly telling my doctor I wanted him to get the baby out…but, my doula said she felt he probably perceived it that way because I had been SO quiet for the entire time prior to this stage.
When the baby came out I could not believe I had done it! I was able to hold my baby, I had no tears/episiotomy and I was able to shower and walk to my room immediately after. It was amazing! Over all it was an amazing experience.
I know that HypnoBirthing helped me stay completely calm and relaxed throughout the experience. I was deeply relaxed and never felt "pain" per se...uncomfortable at times with a lot of pressure in certain areas. My doula played an integral part in my experience. Her knowledge of HypnoBirthing helped me stay focused & calm. Her knowledge of positioning and just what to do for me was invaluable. Also, having an OB that was completely supportive of a VBAC that I knew I could trust completely was another key factor in my successful VBAC experience.
I would say that the combination of having the HypnoBirthing techniques, having a wonderful, supportive doula & OB was the answer to my prayers for a natural, easy, beautiful VBAC birth. Having this experience helped heal my past negative birth experiences. It really helped me release the fear I had prior to this birth as well. I am telling everyone I know about HypnoBirthing! I can't believe now, after having this life-changing experience why anyone would choose to have medication...and this is coming from someone who never previously believed in non-medicated birth! I highly recommend taking Carol's classes. She has a gentle, calm manner that really lends itself to the HypnoBirthing philosophy and techniques.
~Anne, 3rd time parent, Encinitas, CA.