Premature release of membranes at 32 weeks--a HypnoBirthing success story
This is an inspiring story of a 2nd time mom whose amniotic sac released/broke at 32 weeks, was rushed to the hospital & told she would need to be induced. BUT her body & her baby weren't ready & she didn't go into labor! So she is currently home at 37 weeks & waiting for the natural progression of her labor to start. She advocated for herself & her baby & trusted her body & her baby.
(This story was shared by Kathie Dolce, Vice President of the HypnoBirthing Institute. I have permission from the mom to share it on my blog).
I've corresponded off an on for a year and a half with a mom in western Canada, who first posted to the Q & A Forum with questions about preparing on her own for a gentle birthing. There are no practitioners near enough for her to take the course. Her first birth in June 2008 was wonderful, and Stephanie hopes to become a practitioner one day. I next heard from her recently after she had been transported by air to a large medical center because release of her membranes at 32 weeks for her 2nd pregnancy. She was being told she would have to be induced within a few days, the baby would be in NICU, etc. I responded with some things to ask, where to look for research and reassurance that she'd do well with whatever turn her birthing would take, etc.
I heard from her just last night. She is now 37 weeks, home again, is looking forward to a gentle HypnoBirthing, after two days of oxytocin/pitocin that failed to do anything. I've attached her letters below. They are so inspiring and really a tribute to woman's wisdom when she trusts in her own body, her baby and natural birthing. I asked her if Icould share her story on our practitioner board, and she readily agreed. Here they are:
Hi Kathie! Not sure if you'll remember me or not, we were in contact last year after my daughter's birth because I was looking for somewhere to take a HypnoBirthing instructor course. We had one I was going to in Edmonton, Alberta and it didn't pan out. Anyway, I'm emailing you quickly because I'm in my second pregnancy and last Monday at 32 wks pregnant my water broke and I've been flown out to a hospital in Kamloops BC. Because we were flown out we didn't have a chance to pack a hospital bag...ie my HypnoBirthing book, my ipod with the Rainbow Relaxation hypnosis script cd on it. They stopped my labor before I was flown out and I am on complete bedrest until the baby is born at 34 wks. If I go into labor naturally before then, they won't stop it, but if not they will induce me on Monday, July 13 at 34 wks pregnant.
My birth with my daughter was completely natural and beautiful, no induction, no pain relief except HypnoBirthing breathing and no stitches or episiotomy, etc. Kathie, I am so anxious about this birthing experience. I don't have my book or rainbow relaxation cd. I don't have my doctor who was such an instrumental part of our natural birth with the perineum massage, the lights dimmed, did room control, kept the environment calm and respected our no drug 'policy'. I feel as though I've been stripped of all my resources and rights to a natural birth. This has quickly turned into a 'medical procedure' rather than a birthday party. I've been told I will be woken up Monday morning, told to shower, eat breakfast and then have an IV put in with oxytocin/pitocin, I will labor with the IV in and deliver with it in, the baby will be taken from my body and given to doctor's and nurses to assess, insert feeding and breathing tubes and an IV to the scalp and it will be taken to the NICU. I will be allowed to stay in the hospital for 48 hrs and then be discharged and sent to a hotel for however long it takes for the baby's lungs to develop and be strong enough to breathe on its own. I was told to buy a pump so that they can feed the baby at night when I'm not here. This turns my stomach. I don't want to labor with an IV. I don't want to stress my baby (they said preemies sometimes don't 'adjust' to the oxytocin so well). I don't want to have my baby ripped from me and I don't want to leave it for someone else to care for it.
Now I know some of this is necessary, like the assessment when its born so it can breathe and I guess my discharge afterwards but its compounding on top of the other things I can't control and do in my own time. I want to have a chance to start my labor naturally and assess the situation at each stage. I don't know how I will even sleep Sunday with my anxiety over the whole thing. Their answer was to give me a sleeping pill! So my question at the end of all this is have you had anyone else in this situation and how can I possibly avoid the drug induction and use HypnoBirthing to have my labor develop naturally? Or is this possible? I would like to try walking for a little while to induce but is there anything else I may not know about that could help? I don't want any risk involved with the age of this baby and oxytocin/pitocin is a risk to me and an IV is not a calming concept while I'm laboring and birthing. Any advice would help Kathie! This turned into a very long email but I hope you understand I have too much time right now!
Sincerely,Stephanie
+++++++++++++++++++
Just an update Kathie, we are back at home, I got a second opinion before I had talked to you from our doctor back home & he called a specialist in Vancouver Children's hospital who advised him that the best thing to do was go thru with the induction, so we did. I was 34 wks and 2 days and they put me on the oxytocin/pitocin for the whole day (about 8 or 9 hrs). Nothing happened. They put me on again the next day, and this time I was under the supervison of a different doctor (thank goodness) who after 9 or 10 hrs of being on the oxytocin/pitocin with the same result as the prior day, turned the IV off and started to question why we were forcing the labor if baby and I were so healthy and happy and there was sufficient fluid. He said many times in the conversation that if I had already had one baby and my water had truly broke, I would have delivered the baby the first day of oxytocin/pitocin. This made us again phone our doctor back home & he advised us to come home as I was almost 35 wks by this time and able to safely deliver at home.
The doctor overseeing my case the whole time we were there was not happy to hear I wanted to wait and go home. She advised us to stay and again try to be induced on the Monday after a break through the weekend. My doctor phoned her and she then talked to me again and tried to convince us he agreed with her. I know, of course, this was not the case. On Monday, she arranged for an air ambulance to take me home. I have been home now almost two weeks. I'm being monitored very closely. I'm not leaking fluid, which has lead the doctor's to believe that this was a hind leak. This can happen after the baby so much as scratches the membrane, causing a small gush of fluid and later healing over. I am still on low activity, but I'm at a very safe time in my pregnancy now to deliver. If there is a sign of infection from the blood tests they give me every second day, they will induce immediately. But according to all testing, white blood cell count is normal, baby's activity and heart rate is perfectly at ease and normal and I am as well. We're hoping for a natural labor and HypnoBirth just as it was with our first a year and a half ago, and we're sure this will happen! My doctor at this point is expecting me to carry to full term.
Also an interesting thing....the nitrizene (I think that's what they call it) test strip that they test me with to see if any fluid that is coming from me is amniotic fluid keeps testing positive. However, they do what is called a ferning test with that fluid after putting it on a slide and examining it under a microscope....if it forms a fern pattern, it's amniotic fluid, if it doesn't, it's just normal vaginal discharge or urine, etc. They did this ferning test at the time my water 'broke' or I 'leaked' & the ferning test was negative. They did it again when I came back, negative again. Either way, we are home safe and sound and now awaiting the safe arrival of number two...must be a boy with all this ;o) I will let you know what happens and thank you so much for the advice and counsel.
Sincerely, Stephanie
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Thanks Kathie! Yes, you absolutely can share with the board. I was 32 wks to the day when my amniotic sac first ruptured. When they were administering the oxytocin/pitocin, as crazy as it sounds, I could feel myself not releasing, I told my husband and my Mom before they even started the induction both days that it would not work. I can remember walking the halls on both days and telling my husband that I just couldn't let it go. When I labored with my daughter, I let my body labor, but this time, I could feel every part of me fighting it. After walking through their NICU it was something I completely felt like I had to hang onto and wait. I remember even reading in the HypnoBirthing book about the power of animals and how they are able to stop their labor if they feel they are in danger. I really felt like I understood my body and was able to work with it to keep baby where it would be safe. I completely and totally believe that! So I will be 37 wks on Monday (I may have mentioned that previously) and I will definitely keep in touch and let you know what happens!
Thanks so much again, Stephanie
Kathie Dolce
HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Educator
VicePresident, HypnoBirthing® Institute
Thanks, Stephanie, for sharing your inspiring story! I hope that you have a wonderful birthing experience & look forward to hearing how everything works out!
All my best--Carol Yeh-Garner, LCSW, HBCE
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Monday, August 3, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
A HypnoBirthing story with Dr. Wonderful
This HypnoBirthing story is from one of my class members that took classes in April 2009. They had Dr. Wonderful (otherwise known as Dr. Biter) as their OB.
Hi Carol,
At last a few free moments to share our baby's birth story with you!
We had an amazing birth from start to finish. In my 38th week of pregnancy, I'd started to feel some practice labor surges in the evening. They would last a couple hours and then stop as I drifted to sleep. This gave me an indication that labor might be nearing.
At around 12am on June 10th, they started again. I tried to sleep through these like the last ones but found myself having change positions and get in and out of bed to manage my way through them. I was so intent on making it to 40 weeks of pregnancy (only 39 weeks at this point) that I couldn't believe this was really the real thing. Pregnancy had been so much fun that I didn't want it to end any sooner than it had to. So after about 2 hours of breathing my way through these surges, I finally woke up Nathan. He started timing them and we saw that we had a pretty consistent pattern of surges every three minutes and lasting thirty seconds long. I was puttering around our apartment in the wee hours of the morning telling Nathan, "There is NO WAY I'm having this baby tonight!". He just smiled and kept timing them. Pretty soon they were lasting 45 seconds and then were over a minute long. I was breathing my way through each surge, leaning on Nathan for physical support, and visualizing my cervix opening.
At about 5 am, the on-call doctor (Dr. Capetanakies) told us it was time to come to hospital. Well, he'd suggested that we come in sooner than that but I was hesitant because our plan was to labor at home for as long as possible. After only 5 hours of labor, I surely couldn't be very dilated. My fear was that I'd only be 2 cm dilated and then would have to drive home. We arrived at the hospital and got situated in our L&D room. A nurse did a dilation check and said, "8 cm, membranes bulging!". I could hardly believe what I'd heard. The other hospital staff turned their heads quickly. "This is your first baby?" "You walked yourself to this room at 8 cm?" After that, they got moving pretty quickly and started bringing in a bassinet and other items for the baby. We labored through some stronger surges for 3 more hours.
I didn't have an IV or other medications so I was able to move around exactly how I needed to. I spent a lot of time rocking through surges on the birth ball, walking in circles, or leaning on Nathan. Nathan made sure I stayed hydrated and reminded me to drink the Gatorade we'd brought. He also read me the flash cards that we'd made together that had inspiring excerpts from other birth stories, comforting Bible verses, and other positive messages. The flash cards were really helpful because they reminded me why a natural birth was so important to us in the first place, and helped me to not get overwhelmed with the intensity of labor.
Around 8 am, I started to feel some downward pressure. I gave in at the end of it and let myself do a small push. That was pretty intense. I told Nathan what I was feeling and he immediately paged the nurse. I leaned on the bed and had another surge. This time I heard an audible burst and felt water running down. Dr. Biter and the nurse were in the room asking me which position I wanted to be into deliver. I had no idea. They asked me to get on the bed and I hobbled onto it on all fours. It wasn't the most comfortable position to be in, but it was the fastest way to complete that request. Dr. Biter asked me to give a few pushes. The surges had tapered off now that I was fully dilated. It was so nice to get a break from them. I wanted to just put my head on the pillow and go to sleep. But I pushed a little bit. Dr. Biter asked if I wanted to flip around and try some on my back in a half sitting position. I was glad for his direction because I had no inclination of what was a better position to be in.
After about 20 minutes of pushing, I heard Nathan say "Oh wow!". The baby's head was out and its size surprised him. Then Dr. Biter asked me to look down and come get my baby. The baby was out of me as far as the waist. This was such a surreal moment. There was a baby half way in, half way out of my body. I reached down and grasped its shoulders and lifted it out the rest of the way and onto my tummy. All I could say was, "Oh my gosh! It's a lil person!" over and over again. Nathan and I both stared just amazed at our baby and all that had happened. I was so relieved. We'd done it together without medication or intervention.
After a few minutes, Dr. Biter said, "Hey let's find out if we have a boy or girl!" We looked beneath the blanket and discovered we'd had a perfect baby girl. The name we'd picked out if we had a girl suited her just right, Helena Abigail. She was born at 8:33 am, weighed 7 lbs 15 ounces, and measured 20 inches long. And no perineal tears for momma (yay!). We're so blessed to have her as well as the care we received from Dr. Biter and his team. Her birth was more incredible than we ever expected. And now we have a little girl we just can't stop kissing from head to toe.
Thank you so much for being a part of our pregnancy journey. I hope many more mothers and fathers will consider birthing their little ones naturally. It was just beyond wonderful for us.
Many thanks, Kelly F
Thanks for sharing your birth story, Kelly! Congratulations & enjoy your babymoon!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Hi Carol,
At last a few free moments to share our baby's birth story with you!
We had an amazing birth from start to finish. In my 38th week of pregnancy, I'd started to feel some practice labor surges in the evening. They would last a couple hours and then stop as I drifted to sleep. This gave me an indication that labor might be nearing.
At around 12am on June 10th, they started again. I tried to sleep through these like the last ones but found myself having change positions and get in and out of bed to manage my way through them. I was so intent on making it to 40 weeks of pregnancy (only 39 weeks at this point) that I couldn't believe this was really the real thing. Pregnancy had been so much fun that I didn't want it to end any sooner than it had to. So after about 2 hours of breathing my way through these surges, I finally woke up Nathan. He started timing them and we saw that we had a pretty consistent pattern of surges every three minutes and lasting thirty seconds long. I was puttering around our apartment in the wee hours of the morning telling Nathan, "There is NO WAY I'm having this baby tonight!". He just smiled and kept timing them. Pretty soon they were lasting 45 seconds and then were over a minute long. I was breathing my way through each surge, leaning on Nathan for physical support, and visualizing my cervix opening.
At about 5 am, the on-call doctor (Dr. Capetanakies) told us it was time to come to hospital. Well, he'd suggested that we come in sooner than that but I was hesitant because our plan was to labor at home for as long as possible. After only 5 hours of labor, I surely couldn't be very dilated. My fear was that I'd only be 2 cm dilated and then would have to drive home. We arrived at the hospital and got situated in our L&D room. A nurse did a dilation check and said, "8 cm, membranes bulging!". I could hardly believe what I'd heard. The other hospital staff turned their heads quickly. "This is your first baby?" "You walked yourself to this room at 8 cm?" After that, they got moving pretty quickly and started bringing in a bassinet and other items for the baby. We labored through some stronger surges for 3 more hours.
I didn't have an IV or other medications so I was able to move around exactly how I needed to. I spent a lot of time rocking through surges on the birth ball, walking in circles, or leaning on Nathan. Nathan made sure I stayed hydrated and reminded me to drink the Gatorade we'd brought. He also read me the flash cards that we'd made together that had inspiring excerpts from other birth stories, comforting Bible verses, and other positive messages. The flash cards were really helpful because they reminded me why a natural birth was so important to us in the first place, and helped me to not get overwhelmed with the intensity of labor.
Around 8 am, I started to feel some downward pressure. I gave in at the end of it and let myself do a small push. That was pretty intense. I told Nathan what I was feeling and he immediately paged the nurse. I leaned on the bed and had another surge. This time I heard an audible burst and felt water running down. Dr. Biter and the nurse were in the room asking me which position I wanted to be into deliver. I had no idea. They asked me to get on the bed and I hobbled onto it on all fours. It wasn't the most comfortable position to be in, but it was the fastest way to complete that request. Dr. Biter asked me to give a few pushes. The surges had tapered off now that I was fully dilated. It was so nice to get a break from them. I wanted to just put my head on the pillow and go to sleep. But I pushed a little bit. Dr. Biter asked if I wanted to flip around and try some on my back in a half sitting position. I was glad for his direction because I had no inclination of what was a better position to be in.
After about 20 minutes of pushing, I heard Nathan say "Oh wow!". The baby's head was out and its size surprised him. Then Dr. Biter asked me to look down and come get my baby. The baby was out of me as far as the waist. This was such a surreal moment. There was a baby half way in, half way out of my body. I reached down and grasped its shoulders and lifted it out the rest of the way and onto my tummy. All I could say was, "Oh my gosh! It's a lil person!" over and over again. Nathan and I both stared just amazed at our baby and all that had happened. I was so relieved. We'd done it together without medication or intervention.
After a few minutes, Dr. Biter said, "Hey let's find out if we have a boy or girl!" We looked beneath the blanket and discovered we'd had a perfect baby girl. The name we'd picked out if we had a girl suited her just right, Helena Abigail. She was born at 8:33 am, weighed 7 lbs 15 ounces, and measured 20 inches long. And no perineal tears for momma (yay!). We're so blessed to have her as well as the care we received from Dr. Biter and his team. Her birth was more incredible than we ever expected. And now we have a little girl we just can't stop kissing from head to toe.
Thank you so much for being a part of our pregnancy journey. I hope many more mothers and fathers will consider birthing their little ones naturally. It was just beyond wonderful for us.
Many thanks, Kelly F
Thanks for sharing your birth story, Kelly! Congratulations & enjoy your babymoon!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Thursday, June 25, 2009
My blog was nominated! Please vote!
My blog was nominated for best local blog at ParentsConnect.com! Please vote so I can win! Thanks!
Here's a link to the voting page:
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/san-diego-ca-usa/best-san-diego-local-blog
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Here's a link to the voting page:
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/san-diego-ca-usa/best-san-diego-local-blog
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Monday, June 8, 2009
A HypnoBirthing story from the UK
A HypnoBirth story from the UK
This is the birth story of a UK couple's first birth - the Mom was terrified of birthing at first session. The couple was planning on a home water birth with midwives. The practitioner received the birth story from the Dad. Here is it:
My experience as a HypnoBirthing partner.
(My partner to be known as A throughout.)
A's waters broke at Midnight on the Sunday and surges were erratic and light so we phoned the midwives to inform them. They agreed that the waters had broke and we went back to sleep.
The following morning the surges were getting stronger but were still some time apart so we decided to go on one of our favourite walks. A was a bit tired and needed to stop walking as the surges grew in strength and were twenty minutes apart. We returned home, had lunch as normal and A went to bed for a nap, for a couple of hours. When she awoke the surges were nearer to 10 minutes apart so we rang the midwives again as planned and they came out to see how things were progressing.
When she arrived we told her about our birth plan and discussed where we up to in the labour. The midwife was happy to either stay or come back in a few hours once the surges were nearer to approximately five minutes apart. We decided to have tea and watch a film to relax so asked the midwife to return later. This did the trick because not much later the surges were down to about three minutes apart. So yet again we called the midwife out. This was approximately 19.00. I busied myself getting the pool ready and making sure everything was tidy and in place for the birth.
The midwife arrived and asked to do an internal examination. A agreed but said she only wanted the initial examination, and did not want any subsequent examinations. At this point A was not needing to relax through the surges so it would not break her concentration. I kept going through my prompt card and adding a few of my own to relax A down. Time seemed to be flying by at this stage, so I filled the pool to the maximum mark and A got in. She enjoyed the water as it made her feel light but the midwife kept on talking to A between the surges asking what she was experiencing. I tried to answer all the questions but she kept on asking A more. This broke A's concentration and she started to get agitated and hot. I was trying to calm A down and keep her cool by putting wet towels on her forehead and fanning her constantly. The surges continued to get stronger and closer but we were running out of time before we would have no option but to go to hospital. Neither of us wanted this at all....
A second midwife arrived and they went into the other room to discuss the case. When they returned I could tell it was not good news. A was getting tired and shaking through lack of food. With hindsight I felt I should have given A more food, but time seemed to go so fast and all I had given A from 7:00 pm til midnight was a banana. Unfortunately by this time it was 24 hours since A's waters had broken so we were told we had no option but to go to hospital due to the risk of infection to both A and the baby. Also the midwives said that A had to get out of the pool because she had been in for over 5 hours. I managed to persuade A to get out of the pool and then we had the awful conversation of going to hospital. I listened to all the reasons and eventually agreed there was a risk to mother and baby so we called an ambulance and off we went. All the time I was trying to keep A relaxed, and even though inside I was screaming I could not show any of this to A.
When we arrived at hospital we were ushered into a room and given over to a very "matter of fact" midwife. She insisted that A lie on her back on a bed whilst she attached her to a heart monitor for the baby and put an IV drip in her arm. This caused A to swear at her as she was not the gentlest, but the midwife said she wanted at least twenty minutes on the monitor. Lying back on a bed was the last thing we wanted, so as soon as twenty minutes was up I removed the baby monitor and took A in to the bathroom so she could sit on the toilet. Shortly after this another, younger midwife entered and addressed me directly explaining she would take over our care. When we went back into the room she had rearranged it to make it look less clinical, found us some peaceful music and offered me aromatherapy oils to use on A. This allowed me to truly relax A and concentrate on the training we had received. The only examinations she insisted on was a baby heart monitor pressed against A's stomach for a minute or two every ten minutes. As this was unobtrusive we did not mind.
Everything was going well with the new surroundings and midwife. A started to relax again and I kept on telling her everything was fine and the baby was fine. I was listening and talking to the midwife all the time without disturbing A and only telling her things that she really needed to know. The midwife even brought me a cup of tea. A was relaxing well. The surges were very strong and a lot more regular and the sucrose/IV drip was helping A to wake up and have a bit more energy to breathe the baby down. Unfortunately a couple of things got in the way and almost brought the labour to a complete standstill. The midwife asked A when was the last time she had urinated, which was about 7 hours previously. Therefore A tried to go to the toilet naturally but could not. The midwife explained that she needed to help A clear her bladder using a catheter and showed us on a chart why this was necessary, therefore I agreed. This was only the second time A had been in any real discomfort. Once her bladder was empty the baby moved further down due to the obstruction being taken away. The second problem was that A had become so relaxed she could not feel the surges building in strength, so she did not know when to breathe the baby down.
Again the midwife came to our help and placed a hand on A's stomach and told her when the surges were beginning to build. A started to push but she was getting very tired now, because the labour had been going for some 19 hours and we had been awake for nearly 36 hours with only a 2 hour nap inbetween. I was supporting A who was sat between my legs and leaning back against me, so I could not see the baby birthing. Therefore I asked the midwife for a mirror to watch the birth. Approximately 30 minutes later I watched a beautiful healthy baby boy being born into our world at a staggering 10lbs 10 and a half ounces, 56 cm long and 37 cm head circumference. Considering A is only 5ft 7 and a size 10-12, this was a big baby! She had no need of any stitches thanks to the perineal massage that we had carried out during the last 5 weeks of the pregnancy. The bit that staggered the midwife the most was the fact that the baby's heart beat never changed over the entire labour, which showed that the baby was relaxed throughout.
Baby was placed straight onto A and I cut the cord after I was certain it had stopped pulsating.
I think that had the baby not been so big and if the first midwife had not constantly talked to A at the beginning then it is possible we could have birthed him at home in our pool. Also if we had our last midwife first, things would have remained much more relaxed. We have told everyone who will listen about HypnoBirthing and believe it has helped us a lot to have a safe natural birth.
With hindsight we do not regret going to hospital as it was the best thing for mother and baby at the time. A has thanked me lots of times for my support during the labour and said she could not have done it without me. When I talked to other Fathers they said that during their babies' births they just stood and watched whilst holding their partners hand. I feel like I was part of the birthing experience, not just a bystander.
Norma Gillett MA
Clinical Hypnotherapist
Member National Council for Hypnotherapy (Reg)
Member Hypnotherapy Register
Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma
HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Educator
Emotional Freedom and Theta Healing Practitioner
LifeStyle Hypnotherapy 01257 266815
www.lifestylehypnotherapy.com
www.hypnobirthinglancashire.co.uk
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story, Norma. It shows how even with a special circumstance (transfer to a hospital), HypnoBirthing helped this couple stay in the right frame of mind AND helped this Dad be an interactive partner during the birth of their child.
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
This is the birth story of a UK couple's first birth - the Mom was terrified of birthing at first session. The couple was planning on a home water birth with midwives. The practitioner received the birth story from the Dad. Here is it:
My experience as a HypnoBirthing partner.
(My partner to be known as A throughout.)
A's waters broke at Midnight on the Sunday and surges were erratic and light so we phoned the midwives to inform them. They agreed that the waters had broke and we went back to sleep.
The following morning the surges were getting stronger but were still some time apart so we decided to go on one of our favourite walks. A was a bit tired and needed to stop walking as the surges grew in strength and were twenty minutes apart. We returned home, had lunch as normal and A went to bed for a nap, for a couple of hours. When she awoke the surges were nearer to 10 minutes apart so we rang the midwives again as planned and they came out to see how things were progressing.
When she arrived we told her about our birth plan and discussed where we up to in the labour. The midwife was happy to either stay or come back in a few hours once the surges were nearer to approximately five minutes apart. We decided to have tea and watch a film to relax so asked the midwife to return later. This did the trick because not much later the surges were down to about three minutes apart. So yet again we called the midwife out. This was approximately 19.00. I busied myself getting the pool ready and making sure everything was tidy and in place for the birth.
The midwife arrived and asked to do an internal examination. A agreed but said she only wanted the initial examination, and did not want any subsequent examinations. At this point A was not needing to relax through the surges so it would not break her concentration. I kept going through my prompt card and adding a few of my own to relax A down. Time seemed to be flying by at this stage, so I filled the pool to the maximum mark and A got in. She enjoyed the water as it made her feel light but the midwife kept on talking to A between the surges asking what she was experiencing. I tried to answer all the questions but she kept on asking A more. This broke A's concentration and she started to get agitated and hot. I was trying to calm A down and keep her cool by putting wet towels on her forehead and fanning her constantly. The surges continued to get stronger and closer but we were running out of time before we would have no option but to go to hospital. Neither of us wanted this at all....
A second midwife arrived and they went into the other room to discuss the case. When they returned I could tell it was not good news. A was getting tired and shaking through lack of food. With hindsight I felt I should have given A more food, but time seemed to go so fast and all I had given A from 7:00 pm til midnight was a banana. Unfortunately by this time it was 24 hours since A's waters had broken so we were told we had no option but to go to hospital due to the risk of infection to both A and the baby. Also the midwives said that A had to get out of the pool because she had been in for over 5 hours. I managed to persuade A to get out of the pool and then we had the awful conversation of going to hospital. I listened to all the reasons and eventually agreed there was a risk to mother and baby so we called an ambulance and off we went. All the time I was trying to keep A relaxed, and even though inside I was screaming I could not show any of this to A.
When we arrived at hospital we were ushered into a room and given over to a very "matter of fact" midwife. She insisted that A lie on her back on a bed whilst she attached her to a heart monitor for the baby and put an IV drip in her arm. This caused A to swear at her as she was not the gentlest, but the midwife said she wanted at least twenty minutes on the monitor. Lying back on a bed was the last thing we wanted, so as soon as twenty minutes was up I removed the baby monitor and took A in to the bathroom so she could sit on the toilet. Shortly after this another, younger midwife entered and addressed me directly explaining she would take over our care. When we went back into the room she had rearranged it to make it look less clinical, found us some peaceful music and offered me aromatherapy oils to use on A. This allowed me to truly relax A and concentrate on the training we had received. The only examinations she insisted on was a baby heart monitor pressed against A's stomach for a minute or two every ten minutes. As this was unobtrusive we did not mind.
Everything was going well with the new surroundings and midwife. A started to relax again and I kept on telling her everything was fine and the baby was fine. I was listening and talking to the midwife all the time without disturbing A and only telling her things that she really needed to know. The midwife even brought me a cup of tea. A was relaxing well. The surges were very strong and a lot more regular and the sucrose/IV drip was helping A to wake up and have a bit more energy to breathe the baby down. Unfortunately a couple of things got in the way and almost brought the labour to a complete standstill. The midwife asked A when was the last time she had urinated, which was about 7 hours previously. Therefore A tried to go to the toilet naturally but could not. The midwife explained that she needed to help A clear her bladder using a catheter and showed us on a chart why this was necessary, therefore I agreed. This was only the second time A had been in any real discomfort. Once her bladder was empty the baby moved further down due to the obstruction being taken away. The second problem was that A had become so relaxed she could not feel the surges building in strength, so she did not know when to breathe the baby down.
Again the midwife came to our help and placed a hand on A's stomach and told her when the surges were beginning to build. A started to push but she was getting very tired now, because the labour had been going for some 19 hours and we had been awake for nearly 36 hours with only a 2 hour nap inbetween. I was supporting A who was sat between my legs and leaning back against me, so I could not see the baby birthing. Therefore I asked the midwife for a mirror to watch the birth. Approximately 30 minutes later I watched a beautiful healthy baby boy being born into our world at a staggering 10lbs 10 and a half ounces, 56 cm long and 37 cm head circumference. Considering A is only 5ft 7 and a size 10-12, this was a big baby! She had no need of any stitches thanks to the perineal massage that we had carried out during the last 5 weeks of the pregnancy. The bit that staggered the midwife the most was the fact that the baby's heart beat never changed over the entire labour, which showed that the baby was relaxed throughout.
Baby was placed straight onto A and I cut the cord after I was certain it had stopped pulsating.
I think that had the baby not been so big and if the first midwife had not constantly talked to A at the beginning then it is possible we could have birthed him at home in our pool. Also if we had our last midwife first, things would have remained much more relaxed. We have told everyone who will listen about HypnoBirthing and believe it has helped us a lot to have a safe natural birth.
With hindsight we do not regret going to hospital as it was the best thing for mother and baby at the time. A has thanked me lots of times for my support during the labour and said she could not have done it without me. When I talked to other Fathers they said that during their babies' births they just stood and watched whilst holding their partners hand. I feel like I was part of the birthing experience, not just a bystander.
Norma Gillett MA
Clinical Hypnotherapist
Member National Council for Hypnotherapy (Reg)
Member Hypnotherapy Register
Hypnotherapy Practitioner Diploma
HypnoBirthing® Childbirth Educator
Emotional Freedom and Theta Healing Practitioner
LifeStyle Hypnotherapy 01257 266815
www.lifestylehypnotherapy.com
www.hypnobirthinglancashire.co.uk
Thanks for sharing this wonderful story, Norma. It shows how even with a special circumstance (transfer to a hospital), HypnoBirthing helped this couple stay in the right frame of mind AND helped this Dad be an interactive partner during the birth of their child.
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A HypnoBirthing story-from an OB & his wife
Angie & Nick-Dr. Capetanakis (otherwise known as Dr. Cap, Dr. Biter's partner) took my HypnoBirthing classes in April 2009. They finished the HypnoBirthing classes with less than 1 week until their due date of May 25th. Dr. Cap had heard about HypnoBirthing from Dr. Biter & their patients & had gotten recommendations to my classes from them. He was present for many of my HypnoBirthing clients' births & was impressed with how calm many of them were. Here is their birth story:
Yianna Nikole's birth story:
Amazing is really the only word that comes to mind. Her delivery was everything I could have hoped for and then some.
On Tuesday night around 9 pm I started feeling some cramping, but these didn't feel like the Braxton Hicks/practice labor - they were a little lower and I could feel them in my back as well. A bubble bath sounded nice, so I got in the tub and just hung out there with Nick for about an hour and a half. We were just talking and spending time together like it was any other day, but I would tell Nick when I was feeling some tightening and pressure so that we could keep track of when they were coming. The bath was great because it just helped me relax and I was excited knowing that this was what my body was supposed to be doing to get ready for this little girl. Because the contractions really were not that bad at all, I thought it was just practice labor (but I was excited nevertheless).
I finally got out of the tub and they were still coming every 5 minutes or so ... they still weren't painful, but I didn't think that I could sleep through them. Nick checked me and I was dilated to about 3 cm. He felt that the baby's head was starting to turn a little (being married to an OB definitely has its upside!). So, rather than lying on my side I got into the child's pose position - I think also called polar bear- but that wasn't very comfortable for me so I went and got our big blue exercise ball. We finally watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and I just hung out on the exercise ball and bounced and rocked around. It was awesome.
Because the contractions were still not "painful" I really didn't believe I was in true labor. Nick checked me again after Grey's and I was about 4 cm. So, then we watched the season finale of American Idol. Now, I know this isn't quite the Rainbow Relaxation CD, but it was distracting and fun to not necessarily be focusing on what was going on. Every now and then I would just get crazy goosebumps and the hair on my arms would completely stand up with the contractions. But it honestly still was not painful. (I'm not one to sugar coat things and I'd absolutely have no problem saying that it was if that was the case). Nick noticed that I was sweating a little with the contractions and that they were coming closer to every four minutes.
We finished watching American Idol around 2 am and Nick checked me again and I was 6 cm. He said that we had better go to the hospital, but I just thought he was being overprotective and still didn't believe that this baby was coming that night! The car ride was about 25 min and I was not uncomfortable at all - although the seat heaters definitely felt great on my back!
We got to the hospital around 2:30 am and parked. We checked in and signed the final few forms. I remember thinking that if I was really in labor and had to stand there for 10 minutes filling out forms that I'd be really angry - especially since we had filled out the packet and done everything ahead of time that we could have. I went back into a room around 2:45 am and felt like I had to pee. I sat on the toilet but couldn't get a drop out; however, when the contractions came my body shook and pushed a little. It was kind of a strange feeling.
Anyway, they hooked up the monitors to see baby's heart rate and see the contractions. We were in that room for about 10 min until they had one of the delivery rooms ready. I got up and walked into the delivery room and again felt like I had to pee. I tried again, and same thing. But this time when I got up my water broke and I felt a little nauseous. I did throw up a little. Apparently Nick knew this meant I was close. I still didn't think so and thought it might be hours until she came or even that I may have been in practice labor (I really like that term). :-)
As I was walking to the bed, someone asked me if I was going to do this naturally. I said that I wasn't so sure about that and just wanted to see how it goes. If this was just the beginning of labor and things were going to get a lot worse, I wanted the option. So, I got into the bed and they strapped on the monitors. We put on our favorite CD of Greek dance music and were just singing and dancing. It was great. By this time it's probably about 3:30 am.
The nurse asked me what my pain level was when the contractions were coming and I told her they were about a four. Nick saw baby's heart rate dip and knew I was close. (Again, I'm completely oblivious). He kept asking the nurse to check me (he did such a good job of playing dad and not doctor). After a minute or two, she checked me and was pretty surprised to find that I was complete plus 1. Haha, no one was more surprised than me. Nick said, almost laughing, that it looks like you're going all natural. We both just started laughing.
They dimmed the lights and we were still singing and smiling. Dr. Biter came in and was so excited. They said, "Let's have a baby." It still felt like a dream and I couldn't believe that she was really coming. I pushed three or four times and out she came! I could feel some stretching, but I remember being happy thinking, this is what it's supposed to feel like - she's coming. We were talking between pushing and Nick said my heart rate never went over 100. We went nice and slowly so that I wouldn't tear and it was so incredible to feel her moving through me. Then all of a sudden I saw this little head. She was born at 3:47 am. She was born on May 20, 2009. She weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 18 inches long. Dr. Biter was so amazing the entire time!
She was so alert and happy. She just had her eyes wide open and was checking out her new world. They put her right on my chest and it was such an unbelievable feeling.
I was never set on going naturally and have always believed (and still do) that there's nothing wrong with an epidural if you need one. But it was such an amazing experience and I was up and walking around after. I felt great... honestly great, and was so happy that I didn't get an epidural. I wasn't confined to a bed, I didn't have a catheter and I was just so present for the whole delivery.
It truly was a pain free delivery ... I didn't realize how other physicians dealt with birth until Nick and I talked about it more. It makes me sad to think that the experience I had was not the norm. There were no harsh lights, no surgical gowns, I wasn't strapped down to a table, and I got to hold my little girl as soon as she made her way into this world. They bathed her and did everything in the room with us - the nurse practically had to kick me out of bed to even take a shower because I just didn't want to put her down or not be able to see her for 5 minutes. (and the shower was in our room too!).
It was such a blessing. I still am amazed that we have a daughter. Thank you for all of your help. The bath and birthing ball were great tools to have ... as well as the positive reinforcement from the HypnoBirthing classes that this is what my body was supposed to be doing and to just relax and work with it.
If posting this story can help more moms have the same experience, I'm all for it. It was truly amazing and something that I'll never forget. It makes me smile to just think about it!
All our best--Angie & Nick
I am absolutely thrilled for them & know that Dr. Cap's patients will benefit from their personal experience of having a calm, peaceful, relaxed, joyful birth!
Congratulations! Enjoy your babymoon & thank you for sharing your birth story!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Yianna Nikole's birth story:
Amazing is really the only word that comes to mind. Her delivery was everything I could have hoped for and then some.
On Tuesday night around 9 pm I started feeling some cramping, but these didn't feel like the Braxton Hicks/practice labor - they were a little lower and I could feel them in my back as well. A bubble bath sounded nice, so I got in the tub and just hung out there with Nick for about an hour and a half. We were just talking and spending time together like it was any other day, but I would tell Nick when I was feeling some tightening and pressure so that we could keep track of when they were coming. The bath was great because it just helped me relax and I was excited knowing that this was what my body was supposed to be doing to get ready for this little girl. Because the contractions really were not that bad at all, I thought it was just practice labor (but I was excited nevertheless).
I finally got out of the tub and they were still coming every 5 minutes or so ... they still weren't painful, but I didn't think that I could sleep through them. Nick checked me and I was dilated to about 3 cm. He felt that the baby's head was starting to turn a little (being married to an OB definitely has its upside!). So, rather than lying on my side I got into the child's pose position - I think also called polar bear- but that wasn't very comfortable for me so I went and got our big blue exercise ball. We finally watched the season finale of Grey's Anatomy and I just hung out on the exercise ball and bounced and rocked around. It was awesome.
Because the contractions were still not "painful" I really didn't believe I was in true labor. Nick checked me again after Grey's and I was about 4 cm. So, then we watched the season finale of American Idol. Now, I know this isn't quite the Rainbow Relaxation CD, but it was distracting and fun to not necessarily be focusing on what was going on. Every now and then I would just get crazy goosebumps and the hair on my arms would completely stand up with the contractions. But it honestly still was not painful. (I'm not one to sugar coat things and I'd absolutely have no problem saying that it was if that was the case). Nick noticed that I was sweating a little with the contractions and that they were coming closer to every four minutes.
We finished watching American Idol around 2 am and Nick checked me again and I was 6 cm. He said that we had better go to the hospital, but I just thought he was being overprotective and still didn't believe that this baby was coming that night! The car ride was about 25 min and I was not uncomfortable at all - although the seat heaters definitely felt great on my back!
We got to the hospital around 2:30 am and parked. We checked in and signed the final few forms. I remember thinking that if I was really in labor and had to stand there for 10 minutes filling out forms that I'd be really angry - especially since we had filled out the packet and done everything ahead of time that we could have. I went back into a room around 2:45 am and felt like I had to pee. I sat on the toilet but couldn't get a drop out; however, when the contractions came my body shook and pushed a little. It was kind of a strange feeling.
Anyway, they hooked up the monitors to see baby's heart rate and see the contractions. We were in that room for about 10 min until they had one of the delivery rooms ready. I got up and walked into the delivery room and again felt like I had to pee. I tried again, and same thing. But this time when I got up my water broke and I felt a little nauseous. I did throw up a little. Apparently Nick knew this meant I was close. I still didn't think so and thought it might be hours until she came or even that I may have been in practice labor (I really like that term). :-)
As I was walking to the bed, someone asked me if I was going to do this naturally. I said that I wasn't so sure about that and just wanted to see how it goes. If this was just the beginning of labor and things were going to get a lot worse, I wanted the option. So, I got into the bed and they strapped on the monitors. We put on our favorite CD of Greek dance music and were just singing and dancing. It was great. By this time it's probably about 3:30 am.
The nurse asked me what my pain level was when the contractions were coming and I told her they were about a four. Nick saw baby's heart rate dip and knew I was close. (Again, I'm completely oblivious). He kept asking the nurse to check me (he did such a good job of playing dad and not doctor). After a minute or two, she checked me and was pretty surprised to find that I was complete plus 1. Haha, no one was more surprised than me. Nick said, almost laughing, that it looks like you're going all natural. We both just started laughing.
They dimmed the lights and we were still singing and smiling. Dr. Biter came in and was so excited. They said, "Let's have a baby." It still felt like a dream and I couldn't believe that she was really coming. I pushed three or four times and out she came! I could feel some stretching, but I remember being happy thinking, this is what it's supposed to feel like - she's coming. We were talking between pushing and Nick said my heart rate never went over 100. We went nice and slowly so that I wouldn't tear and it was so incredible to feel her moving through me. Then all of a sudden I saw this little head. She was born at 3:47 am. She was born on May 20, 2009. She weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and was 18 inches long. Dr. Biter was so amazing the entire time!
She was so alert and happy. She just had her eyes wide open and was checking out her new world. They put her right on my chest and it was such an unbelievable feeling.
I was never set on going naturally and have always believed (and still do) that there's nothing wrong with an epidural if you need one. But it was such an amazing experience and I was up and walking around after. I felt great... honestly great, and was so happy that I didn't get an epidural. I wasn't confined to a bed, I didn't have a catheter and I was just so present for the whole delivery.
It truly was a pain free delivery ... I didn't realize how other physicians dealt with birth until Nick and I talked about it more. It makes me sad to think that the experience I had was not the norm. There were no harsh lights, no surgical gowns, I wasn't strapped down to a table, and I got to hold my little girl as soon as she made her way into this world. They bathed her and did everything in the room with us - the nurse practically had to kick me out of bed to even take a shower because I just didn't want to put her down or not be able to see her for 5 minutes. (and the shower was in our room too!).
It was such a blessing. I still am amazed that we have a daughter. Thank you for all of your help. The bath and birthing ball were great tools to have ... as well as the positive reinforcement from the HypnoBirthing classes that this is what my body was supposed to be doing and to just relax and work with it.
If posting this story can help more moms have the same experience, I'm all for it. It was truly amazing and something that I'll never forget. It makes me smile to just think about it!
All our best--Angie & Nick
I am absolutely thrilled for them & know that Dr. Cap's patients will benefit from their personal experience of having a calm, peaceful, relaxed, joyful birth!
Congratulations! Enjoy your babymoon & thank you for sharing your birth story!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Julie & Robbie's birth experience
Here is the birth story of one of my HypnoBirthing class members. Their birth didn't happen exactly as she wanted...she wanted an orgasmic birth, but she was able to use her HypnoBirthing techniques along with the support of her doula to have the outcome she wanted, which was a natural birth.
Robbie and I got home about 10:30- he went out to unpack the van with our other chef, I headed straight upstairs to change into some sweats. As I took off my jeans next to my dresser, and WHOOOSH!!!! My water came gushing out into a huge puddle on the floor. All systems firing, I grabbed my robe and ran down the stairs, dripping water the whole way. "Robbie!!!" I yelled out the front door... no answer. "ROBBIE!!!" No answer. Still dribbling water down the walkway, I rounded the corner and yelled "Robbie!!! My water broke!" Freshly popped beer in hand, his eyes got as wide as saucers. He actually said "Are you sure!?" Duh.
Well, we went into action! We had 3 more parties scheduled that weekend, so I got to emailing the staff, coordinating schedules and delegating duties. After that, I got my bag packed, as I had barely gotten my things together, thrown haphazardly into the bassinet for storage. I really didn't think this would come so soon!
We tried to relax. Right. We tried to sleep. Not happening. I listened to my ipod HypnoBirthing cd over and over and over. The hours flew by- suddenly it was 2 in the morning, 3 in the morning. We were monitoring contractions on Robbies iphone- of course.... "there's an AP for THAT!" Well, sure enough they were evenly spaced out in the time that we had been instructed to count to. We contacted the doula, Connie Merritt, and decided to head to the hospital- which is just 2 exits away.
It cracks me up now to think about it... I really thought I was in true labor when we went to the hospital! The nurses treated me very casually and said I would probably be sent home. I tried telling them that I was actually just very calm because of the hypnosis. As I look back, the "labor pains" were nothing more than mediocre period cramps. How could I have thought THAT was labor?! We stayed 2 hours, got monitored, walked around, slept a little. They sent me home. I texted my acupuncurist on the way home.
We got home and slept an hour. I woke up to my acupuncurist ringing the doorbell at 7 am, ready to get the labor pains on! She gave me a treatment, and sure enough, they got stronger. It was about 9 or 10 when Connie came over (we had called her about 3 times in the night- she was so patient with us, she was an angel!)
For several hours we went through first stages of labor- we walked outside, we hung out in the nursery, in my room, on the ball- its all a bit hazy now. I think we headed to the hospital around noon- I could be wrong. I was admitted right away.
In a nutshell, I listened to my ipod from the time my water broke to the time my babe was born. I labored another 7-8 hours in the hospital, listening all the time. I spent a lot of time on my knees, and a lot of time on the ball in the shower. I just remember it hurting a lot more than I could have imagined... and although I remained calm with the hypnosis, I definitely was not experiencing a pain-free labor. I think the biggest thing going against us was the exhaustion. Having worked a full 16 hour day the day before, and barely slept more than an hour or two, and going into a 20 hour labor... we were beyond exhausted. By late afternoon, my coping ability was dwindling.
I have to say, the only thing that got me through that long of a labor without drugs was the belief that I was "almost there." I had written a very clear birth plan, which I must say was followed to the T by the Scripps Encinitas staff, and so I was monitored once in a while, but the monitors did not stay on me long throughout labor. I was never given a vaginal exam, so I had no idea how much I was dilated. That was my saving grace. I just kept thinking... I MUST be close to 10! Finally at 5 pm I was talking about epidurals. I remember sitting in the shower, moaning, crying, trying to remind myself that I was more scared of epidural than no epidural. The pain was all in my back- it was unbearable. I just kept thinking that the epidural would be worse for my back and that the pain of labor would soon be over. My husband, also exhausted, supported me the whole time, reminding me constantly of my commitment to do it naturally.
Finally we agreed that the nurse should call Dr. Biter. I was ready for my exam- if I wasn't close, I was going to buckle. After the exam, I threw up all over the bed. I mean all OVER! Dr. Biter said that was great- I was at 7, and would progress very quickly after that. I went from 7-10 in an hour... a very very painful hour. (Sorry, Carol, I know that word wasn't supposed to be in my vocabulary!) Dr. Biter also told me that if he thought drugs would be better for me, he would let me go that route... but he felt that I had gotten this far-I could do it! He was super supportive of me continuing with what I had set out to do.
Another hour of pushing. Hard, crying, screaming, purple pushing. Pushing on my knees. Pushing on my side with one leg up and one leg pushing against the doctor. Pushing on the squat bar. Pushing back on my knees again. Me crying "he's not coming out!" and then whispering "Please! Johnny!! Please come out to me!" Dr. Biter reminded me... they always eventually come out.
Apparently my birth was hard. Connie and Dr. Biter both admitted later that it was indeed a dramatic labor. I wasn't built with birthing hips... my tiny little pelvis made for a bit of an obstacle course for little Johny to maneuver through. He kept getting stuck. My labor pain was almost entirely in my back. I kept trying to breathe through the "sensation" but instead ended up yelling "my back my back my back!" It was some seriously intense pressure, that sensation!!!He did finally come out as I was on my knees. Robbie caught him, and passed him through my legs to me. He was so slippery I was scared I would drop him. I looked at him, and he was exactly what I had dreamed of- I recognized him immediately. I cried and hugged him and said "We did it! We did it!!!"
One thing I can say is Thank God for perenial massage. Johnny did finally come out (there is a lot more drama I could get into describing that last hour, but I will spare you more details) without any tears or cutting. I attribute that to my speedy recovery. My body bounced back literally in a day.
What made me choose HypnoBirthing? I had met Jennifer Lindeman, another practitioner, years ago, and was intrigued by the thought of it. I have always been a person to think outside the box- rather than just go along with the status quo. I question things, and investigate alternative options... especially if it means something the "harder" way... I have never been one to take the short cut. I did go through a period between being interested and being committed to HypnoBirthing, in which I joked around that I would be walking in backward to get my epidural. When the baby was actually kicking inside me, another instinct set forth... the instinct to research pros and cons of epidurals and hypnobirthing. I googled and googled. I was looking mostly for horror stories of HypnoBirthing. All I found were horror stories of epidurals. I honestly couldn't find a single negative experience online about HynoBirthing. The more I researched side effects and effects on baby, I became more frightened of the epidural than of labor pain. The decision to go through with the HypnoBirthing didn't take much- it was more instinctual and characteristic of me than not to do something alternative and holistic. What I learned through hypnobirthing was more than how to relax during labor; I was completely empowered to make decisions on my own and my baby's behalf, since I understood what to expect, what to decline, and what to be wary of. Birthing is complicated... though most people>seem to approach it with a lot less investigation or question. Regardless of whether I had actually gone through with the natural birth after all was said and done, I still would have felt better knowing what I knew, being empowered and educated, and getting as far as I physically could on my own. It would not have been failure to give into the "help"- I would have still been better off than having never learned and practiced HypnoBirthing. The breathing and the relaxation meditation did work for me. I practiced it a lot leading up to labor, just by listening to my ipod each night. At one point, probably at about hour 15, I had my blood taken. I had my head slumped in Robbie's lap as I breathed through the draw. I heard the nurse, as though in a dream, say something about never having seen someone so relaxed at that point. That made me feel great! I didn't even realize how relaxed I was because I was so "in my zone." I literally listened to that meditation for 20 straight hours. (We put it on the speakers during my times in the shower). Even though the last couple hours were not perfect HypnoBirthing, the meditation was the key to my success.
One of the best things that came out of the experience was Carol's recommendation to hire a doula. Because of our uncertainty with our due date falling so close to our busy catering season, she recommended we have someone to help us just in case Robbie couldn't be there right away. Good call!!! Turned out that having Connie was best for both me AND Robbie. She aided me through labor, but more importantly gave Robbie cues and reminders to help him aid me through labor. She made suggestions about positioning, eating, drinking, showering...whatever, them let Robbie take the lead in facilitating. When Robbie needed a break (labor is exhausting for Dad too!) she was there to take over supporting me. One of the other great things was that she took lots of photos for us of the birth! Robbie could catch Johnny as he came out, and focus on me and baby, not be behind the camara! In a nutshell, having a doula didn't take away from Robbie's role- it added to it by helping him be the best supporter and cheerleader through the whole experience. She was invaluable.
Johnny came way before we expected him... I mean I found out I was pregnant when we were engaged to be married. We wanted kids, but didn't know we would be blessed with that quite so soon. We had rearranged our wedding plans and lives to prepare for Johnny. He fought all odds, and grew in a body wrought with 15 years worth of birth control pills. This little guy was DESTINED to come to us. He decided to come 2 weeks early, in the midst of holiday catering season. And then, he took his time coming out to meet us. The 11th was a regular day... the 12th, 12-12, was a full moon night, a stormy, cloud covered night. He graced us with his presence as the clouds parted in the sky and the full moon shone into our hospital room. He was a soul who knew when he wanted to come from the beginning.
Johnny has proven to be a baby who knows ehat he wants, communicates well, and loves A LOT. He has demanded from us a higher level of parenting with his extreme 4 months of colic, reflux, gas, and under developed nervous system. I changed my diet. we tried an arsenal of homeopathic and pharmeceutical remedies. We counted down the days to 3 months. Nothing changed. Here we are at 4 and a half month, and he has become the dream baby. He is full of smiles and cuddles, and has transformed into a happy, healthy, FUN bundle of joy. He still tells us exactly what he wants... but now that we "get" him, we are getting along just fine.
Natural birth was not what I had expected. I had wanted the "Orgasmic" birth! Mine was quite the opposite. BUT, with that said, I wouldn't change a thing, and I certainly will aim for another natural birth with my next child. He is SOOOOOO worth it!
Thank you to Carol Yeh-Garner, Dr. Biter, Connie Merritt, and the team that helped my husband and I birth our baby boy in a beautiful, natural way. I cannot imagine going about birth any differently.
Congratulations Julie & Robbie! Thanks for sharing your birth story!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Johnny's birth:
Owning a personal chef service/catering company (www.Dining-Details.com), I didn't get much downtime leading up to my due date. December is our busiest month of the year, and December 2008 was no exception. Johnny was due on the 26th, and I hoped he wouldn't come until after Christmas, just so we could get through the busy season. I had told myself I wouldn't work after Thanksgiving, but although I took it easier and easier, more due to my physical limitations than anything, I still worked several parties a week, cooking, serving, coordinating, and on and on. I was on my feet non-stop!
Robbie and I got home about 10:30- he went out to unpack the van with our other chef, I headed straight upstairs to change into some sweats. As I took off my jeans next to my dresser, and WHOOOSH!!!! My water came gushing out into a huge puddle on the floor. All systems firing, I grabbed my robe and ran down the stairs, dripping water the whole way. "Robbie!!!" I yelled out the front door... no answer. "ROBBIE!!!" No answer. Still dribbling water down the walkway, I rounded the corner and yelled "Robbie!!! My water broke!" Freshly popped beer in hand, his eyes got as wide as saucers. He actually said "Are you sure!?" Duh.
Well, we went into action! We had 3 more parties scheduled that weekend, so I got to emailing the staff, coordinating schedules and delegating duties. After that, I got my bag packed, as I had barely gotten my things together, thrown haphazardly into the bassinet for storage. I really didn't think this would come so soon!
We tried to relax. Right. We tried to sleep. Not happening. I listened to my ipod HypnoBirthing cd over and over and over. The hours flew by- suddenly it was 2 in the morning, 3 in the morning. We were monitoring contractions on Robbies iphone- of course.... "there's an AP for THAT!" Well, sure enough they were evenly spaced out in the time that we had been instructed to count to. We contacted the doula, Connie Merritt, and decided to head to the hospital- which is just 2 exits away.
It cracks me up now to think about it... I really thought I was in true labor when we went to the hospital! The nurses treated me very casually and said I would probably be sent home. I tried telling them that I was actually just very calm because of the hypnosis. As I look back, the "labor pains" were nothing more than mediocre period cramps. How could I have thought THAT was labor?! We stayed 2 hours, got monitored, walked around, slept a little. They sent me home. I texted my acupuncurist on the way home.
We got home and slept an hour. I woke up to my acupuncurist ringing the doorbell at 7 am, ready to get the labor pains on! She gave me a treatment, and sure enough, they got stronger. It was about 9 or 10 when Connie came over (we had called her about 3 times in the night- she was so patient with us, she was an angel!)
For several hours we went through first stages of labor- we walked outside, we hung out in the nursery, in my room, on the ball- its all a bit hazy now. I think we headed to the hospital around noon- I could be wrong. I was admitted right away.
In a nutshell, I listened to my ipod from the time my water broke to the time my babe was born. I labored another 7-8 hours in the hospital, listening all the time. I spent a lot of time on my knees, and a lot of time on the ball in the shower. I just remember it hurting a lot more than I could have imagined... and although I remained calm with the hypnosis, I definitely was not experiencing a pain-free labor. I think the biggest thing going against us was the exhaustion. Having worked a full 16 hour day the day before, and barely slept more than an hour or two, and going into a 20 hour labor... we were beyond exhausted. By late afternoon, my coping ability was dwindling.
I have to say, the only thing that got me through that long of a labor without drugs was the belief that I was "almost there." I had written a very clear birth plan, which I must say was followed to the T by the Scripps Encinitas staff, and so I was monitored once in a while, but the monitors did not stay on me long throughout labor. I was never given a vaginal exam, so I had no idea how much I was dilated. That was my saving grace. I just kept thinking... I MUST be close to 10! Finally at 5 pm I was talking about epidurals. I remember sitting in the shower, moaning, crying, trying to remind myself that I was more scared of epidural than no epidural. The pain was all in my back- it was unbearable. I just kept thinking that the epidural would be worse for my back and that the pain of labor would soon be over. My husband, also exhausted, supported me the whole time, reminding me constantly of my commitment to do it naturally.
Finally we agreed that the nurse should call Dr. Biter. I was ready for my exam- if I wasn't close, I was going to buckle. After the exam, I threw up all over the bed. I mean all OVER! Dr. Biter said that was great- I was at 7, and would progress very quickly after that. I went from 7-10 in an hour... a very very painful hour. (Sorry, Carol, I know that word wasn't supposed to be in my vocabulary!) Dr. Biter also told me that if he thought drugs would be better for me, he would let me go that route... but he felt that I had gotten this far-I could do it! He was super supportive of me continuing with what I had set out to do.
Another hour of pushing. Hard, crying, screaming, purple pushing. Pushing on my knees. Pushing on my side with one leg up and one leg pushing against the doctor. Pushing on the squat bar. Pushing back on my knees again. Me crying "he's not coming out!" and then whispering "Please! Johnny!! Please come out to me!" Dr. Biter reminded me... they always eventually come out.
Apparently my birth was hard. Connie and Dr. Biter both admitted later that it was indeed a dramatic labor. I wasn't built with birthing hips... my tiny little pelvis made for a bit of an obstacle course for little Johny to maneuver through. He kept getting stuck. My labor pain was almost entirely in my back. I kept trying to breathe through the "sensation" but instead ended up yelling "my back my back my back!" It was some seriously intense pressure, that sensation!!!He did finally come out as I was on my knees. Robbie caught him, and passed him through my legs to me. He was so slippery I was scared I would drop him. I looked at him, and he was exactly what I had dreamed of- I recognized him immediately. I cried and hugged him and said "We did it! We did it!!!"
One thing I can say is Thank God for perenial massage. Johnny did finally come out (there is a lot more drama I could get into describing that last hour, but I will spare you more details) without any tears or cutting. I attribute that to my speedy recovery. My body bounced back literally in a day.
What made me choose HypnoBirthing? I had met Jennifer Lindeman, another practitioner, years ago, and was intrigued by the thought of it. I have always been a person to think outside the box- rather than just go along with the status quo. I question things, and investigate alternative options... especially if it means something the "harder" way... I have never been one to take the short cut. I did go through a period between being interested and being committed to HypnoBirthing, in which I joked around that I would be walking in backward to get my epidural. When the baby was actually kicking inside me, another instinct set forth... the instinct to research pros and cons of epidurals and hypnobirthing. I googled and googled. I was looking mostly for horror stories of HypnoBirthing. All I found were horror stories of epidurals. I honestly couldn't find a single negative experience online about HynoBirthing. The more I researched side effects and effects on baby, I became more frightened of the epidural than of labor pain. The decision to go through with the HypnoBirthing didn't take much- it was more instinctual and characteristic of me than not to do something alternative and holistic. What I learned through hypnobirthing was more than how to relax during labor; I was completely empowered to make decisions on my own and my baby's behalf, since I understood what to expect, what to decline, and what to be wary of. Birthing is complicated... though most people>seem to approach it with a lot less investigation or question. Regardless of whether I had actually gone through with the natural birth after all was said and done, I still would have felt better knowing what I knew, being empowered and educated, and getting as far as I physically could on my own. It would not have been failure to give into the "help"- I would have still been better off than having never learned and practiced HypnoBirthing. The breathing and the relaxation meditation did work for me. I practiced it a lot leading up to labor, just by listening to my ipod each night. At one point, probably at about hour 15, I had my blood taken. I had my head slumped in Robbie's lap as I breathed through the draw. I heard the nurse, as though in a dream, say something about never having seen someone so relaxed at that point. That made me feel great! I didn't even realize how relaxed I was because I was so "in my zone." I literally listened to that meditation for 20 straight hours. (We put it on the speakers during my times in the shower). Even though the last couple hours were not perfect HypnoBirthing, the meditation was the key to my success.
One of the best things that came out of the experience was Carol's recommendation to hire a doula. Because of our uncertainty with our due date falling so close to our busy catering season, she recommended we have someone to help us just in case Robbie couldn't be there right away. Good call!!! Turned out that having Connie was best for both me AND Robbie. She aided me through labor, but more importantly gave Robbie cues and reminders to help him aid me through labor. She made suggestions about positioning, eating, drinking, showering...whatever, them let Robbie take the lead in facilitating. When Robbie needed a break (labor is exhausting for Dad too!) she was there to take over supporting me. One of the other great things was that she took lots of photos for us of the birth! Robbie could catch Johnny as he came out, and focus on me and baby, not be behind the camara! In a nutshell, having a doula didn't take away from Robbie's role- it added to it by helping him be the best supporter and cheerleader through the whole experience. She was invaluable.
Johnny came way before we expected him... I mean I found out I was pregnant when we were engaged to be married. We wanted kids, but didn't know we would be blessed with that quite so soon. We had rearranged our wedding plans and lives to prepare for Johnny. He fought all odds, and grew in a body wrought with 15 years worth of birth control pills. This little guy was DESTINED to come to us. He decided to come 2 weeks early, in the midst of holiday catering season. And then, he took his time coming out to meet us. The 11th was a regular day... the 12th, 12-12, was a full moon night, a stormy, cloud covered night. He graced us with his presence as the clouds parted in the sky and the full moon shone into our hospital room. He was a soul who knew when he wanted to come from the beginning.
Johnny has proven to be a baby who knows ehat he wants, communicates well, and loves A LOT. He has demanded from us a higher level of parenting with his extreme 4 months of colic, reflux, gas, and under developed nervous system. I changed my diet. we tried an arsenal of homeopathic and pharmeceutical remedies. We counted down the days to 3 months. Nothing changed. Here we are at 4 and a half month, and he has become the dream baby. He is full of smiles and cuddles, and has transformed into a happy, healthy, FUN bundle of joy. He still tells us exactly what he wants... but now that we "get" him, we are getting along just fine.
Natural birth was not what I had expected. I had wanted the "Orgasmic" birth! Mine was quite the opposite. BUT, with that said, I wouldn't change a thing, and I certainly will aim for another natural birth with my next child. He is SOOOOOO worth it!
Thank you to Carol Yeh-Garner, Dr. Biter, Connie Merritt, and the team that helped my husband and I birth our baby boy in a beautiful, natural way. I cannot imagine going about birth any differently.
Congratulations Julie & Robbie! Thanks for sharing your birth story!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Monday, May 4, 2009
A HypnoBirthing birth center story
This is the birth story of my class members--Kate & Aaron, who took a group class in January.
Our birth story
12:00 am Sunday March 9th, I woke with some cramping and back pain, but nothing that wasn’t normal to me because it had happened the past few nights. After laying in bed for a few minutes, the sensations continued to come strong and stronger. I decided that I would try a warm shower before calling Aaron home from work.
The shower relieved a lot of what I was feeling, but I was pretty sure this was the real deal. Lying down was the most uncomfortable position for me so I decided to go for a walk around my neighborhood. After walking for a short half hour, I wanted to go home with sensations of having to go to the bathroom! I sat on the toilet on and off for about an hour bringing us to 2:30 am. My surges were consistent and coming on strong. We both thought there is no way that I’m ready to go to the UCSD birth center and I kept saying to Aaron I don’t want to get there and only be 2 cm, so we continued to do what we were doing. I then decided to try the birthing ball. It worked for about 10 minutes until I stood up and my water broke. At this time we knew we needed to get ready to go.
When I arrived, 3:30 am, all I could think about was finding a toilet to sit on! Once we were in the delivery room, my midwife came and said, “Oh, you're just in the beginning of labor. There’s no need to check you just yet. Why don’t you hang out and let me know when you are feeling lots of pressure,” which I already was and had been for the past hour! I told her, “No, I really think you should check me. I’m further along then you think.” When she checked I was already 9 cm! Everyone around was in disbelief. I was so in control and calm that no one believed that I was already 9 cm dilated. In a matter of an hour, I was pushing and within 25 minutes, Noah Patrick was born! 5:37 am he weighed 7.8 pounds and was 19 inches long! We are both loving being parents and are enjoying every minute with out little man!
Carol, thanks so much for teaching such an awesome class! It was the best thing I could have done for my baby and myself. I will recommend your class to everyone!
Thanks,
Kate, Aaron, and Noah
Thanks for allowing me to share your birth story! Congratulations again & enjoy your babymoon!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
Our birth story
12:00 am Sunday March 9th, I woke with some cramping and back pain, but nothing that wasn’t normal to me because it had happened the past few nights. After laying in bed for a few minutes, the sensations continued to come strong and stronger. I decided that I would try a warm shower before calling Aaron home from work.
The shower relieved a lot of what I was feeling, but I was pretty sure this was the real deal. Lying down was the most uncomfortable position for me so I decided to go for a walk around my neighborhood. After walking for a short half hour, I wanted to go home with sensations of having to go to the bathroom! I sat on the toilet on and off for about an hour bringing us to 2:30 am. My surges were consistent and coming on strong. We both thought there is no way that I’m ready to go to the UCSD birth center and I kept saying to Aaron I don’t want to get there and only be 2 cm, so we continued to do what we were doing. I then decided to try the birthing ball. It worked for about 10 minutes until I stood up and my water broke. At this time we knew we needed to get ready to go.
When I arrived, 3:30 am, all I could think about was finding a toilet to sit on! Once we were in the delivery room, my midwife came and said, “Oh, you're just in the beginning of labor. There’s no need to check you just yet. Why don’t you hang out and let me know when you are feeling lots of pressure,” which I already was and had been for the past hour! I told her, “No, I really think you should check me. I’m further along then you think.” When she checked I was already 9 cm! Everyone around was in disbelief. I was so in control and calm that no one believed that I was already 9 cm dilated. In a matter of an hour, I was pushing and within 25 minutes, Noah Patrick was born! 5:37 am he weighed 7.8 pounds and was 19 inches long! We are both loving being parents and are enjoying every minute with out little man!
Carol, thanks so much for teaching such an awesome class! It was the best thing I could have done for my baby and myself. I will recommend your class to everyone!
Thanks,
Kate, Aaron, and Noah
Thanks for allowing me to share your birth story! Congratulations again & enjoy your babymoon!
www.AWellLivedLife.Net
www.AWellLivedLife.blogspot.com
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