Laura & Will's HypnoBirthing story

Laura & Will took my HypnoBirthing classes at Seaside Women's Health in Encinitas, CA (North County San Diego). Here is the birth story of their first baby:

Will and I got to meet our baby at 12:01 am on April 9, 2013. Our baby Taylor was born at 37 weeks and she was 8 pounds, 20 inches long. The nurses and doctors told me if I had her at 40 weeks, she would likely be 9.5 pounds. The whole process was incredible! I did have some intervention but my husband and I were both confident in our decisions and I am also happy to say that the hospital staff was very accommodating and understanding of my wishes.

My labor was not ideal but I am happy with the outcome. My water broke and woke me out of a dead sleep around 1:50am on April 8. I wasn't sure if I peed my pants or if it was my water. I was expecting a trickle like I had heard for some many people. That wasn't the case with me! :)  Around 3 am, the surges came and were about 6 minutes apart. I started listening to the rainbow relaxation and center my head. We called Scripps around 4 am because things felt like they were progressing pretty quickly. We took our time, packed and got things in order. We arrived at Scripps Encinitas around 545 am. They did a few tests on me to check if my water broke but it kept coming back negative. I assured the OB that it was undeniable. After some time and movement, they were able to get a positive test. During this process, they were measuring my blood pressure and it was high for about 2 hours. They were worried I may have pre-eclampsia. Until they got those test results back, they had me lay in the bed and kept close tabs on baby. This was very upsetting for me because by 11 am my contractions had slowed to nearly nothing. 

My midwife then came by and confirmed the test results were negative for pre-eclampsia and now their focus was getting labor going for me. We discussed the possible use of pitocin. I explained to her my wishes not to have intervention. They gave me 2 hours to get up, walk around and do what I need to do try to get things moving. Unfortunately, after walking quite a bit and using the techniques from class, my body would not take over active labor on its own. My contractions were maybe every 10 minutes. They started me with a pitocin drip. My nurse and midwife were very open and explained things well. Even with the pitocin, the surges moved up to an inconsistent 6-7 minutes. We gradually increased the pitocin for the next 5 hours and it wasn't until the drip was at 6 that the surges were 3-4 minutes apart and I was dilated to 6 or 7. This was at roughly 18 hours of labor and my whole body was exhausted. I had trouble keeping my focus and relaxing. The nurse and my husband were using counter pressure and massage to help. 

I decided to get the epidural at this point. After, I laid in bed for another 2 hours and had dilated to 10 within an hour. My new nurse let me lay there and rest for another hour before starting to push. He told me to breath, relax and let my body move the baby down some on its own. Even with the medication there was still a lot of pressure. I continued to use counter pressure which helped a lot! I pushed for about two hours.

I am happy to say that I was able to contribute a lot with the medications and was amazed at actually feeling the advancement of my baby through the process. After birth, my baby was so calm and alert. She handled all 22 hours beautifully although we both had a bit of a fever at the end. We got an amazing 2 hours to bond skin to skin and she fed twice before they took her for a bath. I also tore some during labor but only required just a couple stitches. If it wasn't for hypnobirthing, I would not have made it as long as I did without pain medicine. My husband was also very impressed at the process. 

Although things were not the picture perfect hypnobirth, we were able to take each obstacle step by step and make a decision on our terms and not necessarily the hospital's. 

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Congratulations,  Laura & Will! Even though your birth wasn't your ideal birth, I'm so glad that you had a positive birthing experience and that the classes helped you & Will confidently make the best decisions for the best outcome for you & your baby. That's really my ultimate goal for my classes---not a quiet, peaceful birth like all of the videos (which is definitely one of my main goals)--but a birth in which you & your partner are empowered, in control and make educated, informed decisions every step of the way so that no matter what happens, you can look back at your birthing experience and know you did everything the way that it needed to be. So, I'm pleased to hear that the classes helped you make the right decisions and feel as in control as possible during your birth experience.

Thank you for sharing your hypnobirthing story! Enjoy your babymoon!

If you'd like to take Carol's HypnoBirthing classes to prepare for your upcoming birth, you can learn more about her class schedule at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside of the San Diego area, you can visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a Practitioner near you.

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.

Kristin & Brian's HypnoBirthing story

Kristin & Brian took Carol's HypnoBirthing classes on Thursday nights in January 2013 in Encinitas, CA (North County San Diego) to prepare for their first baby's arrival. Here is their birth story:

The arrival of our little man began on Monday March 11th at 10am when my mucous plug along with a small amount of fluid spilled out on my kitchen floor. I went straight to the internet and researched if this was a indication of early labor and read that it only means that labor could be over the next week and a small amount of discharge is normal in the last few weeks. After reading this, I continued with my day of grocery shopping (where I bumped into Carol at Trader Joe's), laundry and cleaning the house. I started having minor cramping but just brushed it off as Braxton Hicks.

At seven o'clock that evening, Brian (my husband) came home and said to call the doctor just in case and as soon as I talked to the doctor on call at Scripps La Jolla, he insisted I immediately come to the hospital to get checked to see if the watery discharge was amniotic fluid. To my dismay, I packed my bag and headed for the hospital still only having minor cramping but feeling great overall. After the nurse confirmed that it was indeed amniotic fluid and my water had broken, the 24 hour hospital clock started and they were going to let me go until morning before inducing me if labor hadn't begun.

At around ten o'clock, the cramping started feeling like surges and progressively got stronger and stronger... since my water had broken, I refused to be checked for risk of infection so I never knew how far my labor was progressing. At 3:30ish, I hit a wall and was contemplating the epidural but all of a sudden felt the urge to push. Melissa (my mid-wife) checked me and sure enough I was ten centimeters and it was time to push! After about forty-five minutes of intense pushing, Hudson Patrick entered this world at 4:32am weighing 7 lbs 3oz and measuring 19 inches. 

I'm so grateful to have taken your class and proud to say I was able to give birth at Scripps La Jolla with no hep lock/IV or epidural and was treated with the utmost respect and kindness even though my doctor was on vacation and the mid-wife, whom I never met, delivered our baby. It went better then I could have ever imagined and we were able to leave the hospital the next day with the most handsome little man. Recovery has been great and I can't thank you enough Carol for all you do!!!

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Congratulations on your awesome birth experience! I'm so glad that the classes helped you have a wonderful birth experience! Thank you so much for sharing your story! Enjoy your babymoon!

If you are in San Diego and would like to take HypnoBirthing classes with Carol, please visit her website to sign up. If you are outside the San Diego area, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com and go to the Find a Practitioner section. The HypnoBirthing Institute recommends taking classes sometime between your fifth and seventh month of pregnancy. Carol's late September classes are filling up, so sign up now! 

Kristie's HypnoBirthing story of her 3rd baby

Kristie contacted me very late in her 3rd pregnancy. It was too late for her to take the entire class series so we met privately and did an intensive overview and then had her attend the last 2 classes of an ongoing series. She had two previous births that were medicated and okay experiences (not Hypnobirths), but she knew she wanted a different experience this time around. Here is her story:

Well, I ended up being almost a week late. Alana Margaret was born on Thursday, February 21. It was seriously THE BEST experience. While it wasn't pain free (which I wasn't expecting anyway), it was such a calm, pleasant atmosphere. My sister and husband were in the room. The only other people in there were the nurse, and then Dr. Capetanakis when it was close to birth time. I was able to use visualizations and breathing techniques to get me through the worst surges. Honestly, I couldn't have planned a better birth. Dr. Capetanakis broke my water at 8:30 am (I pretty much knew I wouldn't go into labor on my own as I never did with my boys either) and I was already at 6 cm with no surges (that I could feel). Around 10:15 am, things started getting serious. By 11:30 am, I was feeling the intensity and almost lost it a couple times, but I was able to completely keep myself calm. I only let out a couple little squeals at the end during the birth. She came flying out with one push at 11:50 am. 8 lbs. 14 oz...my little peanut! My boys were almost 11 pounds, so she was so tiny!!!!

I just wanted to say that I SO appreciate all of your last minute help to get me through. It was so wonderful to have your support and encouragement. My sister actually made a video of the birth (don't worry, no inappropriate shots:) so you can check it out if you like. You can fast forward to the labor part just to see how it went. Click HERE to watch the video.

It really was a fantastic experience. And I LOVED giving birth at Scripps Encinitas. They were great there and so supportive of the natural birth.

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Congratulations! I'm thrilled that you had such a positive birthing experience this time around and that we were able to fit the classes in before you had your baby! Thanks so much for sharing her story & the video. I love that you were playing cards while in labor! And while you said labor was "hard", you really did make it look easy! 

If you live in the San Diego area and would like to take HypnoBirthing classes with Carol, please visit her website at www.awelllivedlife.net or call her at 858-837-1259. If you are outside of the San Diego area, please go to www.hypnobirthing.com to Find a Practitioner near you.

If you'd like to have Dr. Capetanakis deliver your baby, please visit his website at www.drcapetanakis.com.

Danielle & Max's HypnoBirthing story for their 2nd baby

Danielle took my classes in the fall of 2012 in Encinitas, CA (North County San Diego) to prepare for her second birth. She came by herself for most of the class series because of her husband's work schedule and so he could stay home with their little one.

Hi Carol. My son was born six weeks ago on January 11. Here's my birth story.  My doula,  Rosie Peterson, said I was the most textbook-perfect case of hypnobirthing she'd ever seen. I think you deserve to share in the credit for that. :)

Danielle

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I took Carol's Hypnobirthing class because I wasn't totally pleased with the experience I'd had with my first son. It wasn't necessarily a bad experience, but I didn't like the epidural. I was also disappointed with some parts of my situation at the hospital. With my first son, I pushed for three hours and was told by the doctor that if he wasn't born within three hours of pushing, she would have to take him by c-section. My water had also broken before I went into labor, so I was under time constraints because of that too. I didn't like spending my entire labor at the hospital.

So in search of a different experience the second time, I asked my doula for recommendations for natural birth classes and she recommended Carol's class. I was a bit nervous to attend class because I thought I would be surrounded by hard-core natural birth types. But I was relieved that most other people at the class started out like me--more curious than convinced. And I appreciated that Carol's style was very even-handed and not abrupt or abrasive in any way. By the end of the first or second class, I was sure that natural was the way I wanted to go and that I could do it.

I had been having contractions for a couple of weeks before my due date, which had at times been fairly intense. But I suspected I was in true labor when I woke up at 3:30 the morning after my due date with uncomfortable contractions. I timed them for about an hour, and they were consistently seven minutes apart. I was able to go back to sleep for another hour and a half before I got up to shower and get ready. I told my husband that the baby was coming, and we got our two-year-old ready to head to the park with his grandma (who had luckily flown in the day before).

I called my doula at 9:30 and asked her to come over at 11:00. I was doing ok on my own, but it was definitely nice to have my doula's calming reassurance and to have two people available to fetch me things and be there for me to lean on (literally).

By 1:00 the contractions were about 90 seconds long and were coming back to back. At 1:30 I figured it was time to head to the hospital (Scripps Memorial in La Jolla). When we got checked into the hospital around 2:00, the nurse checked me and said I was fully dilated. So I'd accomplished the first part of my plan, but the second part of my plan--which was to show up at the hospital ready to push out a baby--was not so easy. The nurse said the baby's head was still at -3 station, so I still had a way to go. I guess that's pretty rare for a mom to be fully dilated with the baby not yet descended. 

My doula had me lunging and marching to try to get the baby to come down. I was also occasionally having the urge to push. Because I didn't want to spend all day there waiting for the baby to come down, I was pushing on and off pretty much since we got settled in at the hospital. Throughout the whole process, the nurses were all very deferential and mostly left us alone to do our own thing. I was very glad that we got nurses that were happy to oblige us in our birthing wishes. One of the nurses confided in me that she was bending some of the rules for us and was glad she was able to stay until our baby was born so that we didn't get another nurse who wouldn't have been as accommodating. And just as I've heard other people say, all the nurses on the floor wanted to come in and get a peek at the girl who was quietly laboring without any medication. They all seemed pretty impressed.

Probably about three and a half hours after we got settled in at the hospital, I could feel the baby getting closer. I called out that he was coming, and there was a flurry of activity as the nurses called the doctor in and got all the tools and supplies ready. And shortly after, my son Bradley was born. He ended up being quite a big boy, weighing in at 9 lbs 3 oz. The nurses and my doula were all marveling at how big he was, but to me he just looked like a sweet tiny little baby.

All in all, I'm very happy with how things went. At the time, I was not mentally prepared to have to get through four more hours of contractions and pushing after arriving at the hospital, but I know I was only able to handle it because of the hypnobirthing training. I have to admit that the "ring of fire" was way more intense than I anticipated, and I do not look forward to experiencing that again in the future... In the moment, I told my husband that, even though I knew I was about to say something that was typical labor room talk, I never wanted to go through that again. As I expected, I've since reconciled with it and know it was completely worth it. My recovery was much smoother and faster than with my first baby. And my doula mentioned something I hadn't thought of. She said it's likely that if I'd been on an epidural that I would've ended up with a c-section because I wouldn't have been able to get up and move around to get the baby to descend. The doctor might have just said that since I wasn't progressing the baby would need to be taken by c-section. Who knows how things would have turned out, but thank goodness I was able to have the smooth natural birth that I wanted! Thanks so much for your class!

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Thank you so much, Danielle, for sharing your story! A lot of moms who have not the greatest, but not the worst 1st birth experiences end up taking HypnoBirthing classes so they can have the birth experience they knew they could have. I'm so glad that you were able to have such a positive experience and that the classes helped you with that.

If you are in the San Diego area and would like to take HypnoBirthing classes for your 1st, 2nd, 3rd or even 4th baby, please come join us! Carol's class info can be found at her website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net or she can be reached at 858-837-1259. If you are outside the San Diego area, you can find a HypnoBirthing class near you by going to www.hypnobirthing.com to the Find a Practitioner section.

If you are interested in hiring Danielle & Max's doula, Rosie Peterson, you can contact her at www.rosiedoula.blogspot.com.

Melissa & James' 2nd HypnoBirthing Story

Melissa & James took HypnoBirthing classes for their first baby a few years ago. She had a wonderful birth experience. When she was pregnant with her second child, she contacted me to set up some private refresher sessions. We did a private individual session midway through her pregnancy and then met with both Melissa & James' in a private session to review techniques and do a fear release/birth rehearsal imagery hypnosis session a few weeks before their due date.

Here is their story:

Thank you Carol!  I have brought both Guthrie and Corrina into this world naturally and just how it is supposed to be.  

Corrina Anne Peterson was born 11/15/2012.  She was 7lbs 8oz and 21 inches long. First off, I need to mention that I had done a private session with Carol Yeh-Garner around 20 weeks pregnant to do some fear release and to help me work through some anxieties I was having about pregnancy and our decision to have a home birth.  I left her office feeling emotionally lighter and ready to move forward confidently.  My husband and I read the hypnobirthing book, and I listened to the cd during acupuncture appointments, but not as often as I had with Guthrie’s pregnancy.  We did a refresher course with Carol at 39 weeks. We went through how I wanted the labor to go and any fears or anxieties I had.  MY LABOR WENT ALMOST EXACTLY AS I HAD HOPED FOR AND HOW ARE GUIDED MEDITATION WENT WITH CAROL.  We used Jamin and La Shel, San Diego Midwife, for her homebirth.

I woke up about 12am on 6/15 with mild surges, lasting about 30 seconds about 5-7 minutes apart.  I wasn’t convinced this was going to last, and I lied in bed watching the clock till about 1.  I texted my midwives somewhere in there to give them the heads up it might be happening, I still wasn’t convinced.  James was in and out of sleep and I was sort of anxious, not having the clear ‘yes your water broke this is happening now’ sign. (But I didn’t want my water to break, and had hoped and visualized it wouldn’t till end) So I wasn’t sleeping.  I kept having the urge to pee and I was passing clots.  About 2:30 I called midwife, Jamin, and at that point the contractions were between 3-5 minutes apart but still lasting less than 1 minute. She offered to come then, but I felt as if the contractions weren’t doing too much and felt pretty comfortable during the surge and I said I would contact her when it became more intense. 

I woke up James and told him to start prepping the house. In between contractions, I was very able to help set up. I was very alert and functional.  He finished setting up the house and I went and took a long hot shower for about 30 minutes while he finished prepping. The water felt amazing. I had candles lit and the lights off and I really got into the mode.  I held the shower head on my low back and did some squats.  James came in to check on me and to let me know everything was ready, except the pool needed to be filled when that time came.  I got out of the shower and I hadn’t felt any contractions for what seemed to be a long time, so James and I lied down to hopefully sleep.  I think the moment I lied down, I felt a sharp stab across my rib cage and it was on. I was incredibly nauseous, and became sick from both ends. I sat on toilet, swaying and moaning with each surge and the compression in my lower spine was intense.  James called the midwives. They came about 4:30 am. I was only 5 cm with a bulging bag. I honestly thought the midwives might not stay because I wasn’t far enough along.  I went back to toilet while they filled the pool. I did say to James at this point that this was so much worse than Guthrie’s and that I was questioning how long I could do this for. I did not think I was only 2 hours away from meeting her.  

I wanted to go into water soon. Midwives suggested I start walking and do some high knee type walking, so that is what I did-I have no idea on how long, maybe 1 minute, maybe 20.  Just before I got into pool, LaShel checked me said I was 8+ and my amniotic bag was crazy bulging.  My water broke right after. I got into the water at 6 am.  I had James call our friends to watch Guthrie thinking he would be up around 7 am and there would be no way for James to juggle his needs and my needs.  I probably had one surge and she started to come after that.  I wanted to put my legs together, to straighten them out...that was my immediate reaction but with James and midwives assistance, I held my legs back.  I honestly had no idea what the midwives were doing...they were doing nothing - nothing had to be done. But I kept saying help me, help me because I had thought there would be the whole "massage the baby out, help kind of tug her out". But no, the water softens the skin so there is no need for assistance. I wanted to push, but they just kept telling me to breath out and let her stretch it out and come.  She was born 6:30 am.  It felt just so natural to have her. It went the way it was supposed to.   Guthrie awoke around 8 am or 8:30 am, after they had already left.  I was in bed that day but we all were together.  I had a great first birth in the hospital, but to be home with my family that afternoon to eat as a family, to nap as a family and for Guthrie’s life to not be interrupted, was perfectly natural.  And I am a fan of the water.  I had no tearing, no burns, and the healing was quick. 

I am a massage therapist at Indigo Dragon Center and I work with a fair amount of pregnant women, and I get asked about my natural births and how hypnobirthing helped. For Guthrie’s birth, it provided me so much knowledge of how the process worked and what to expect, the biggest fear.  I used hypnobirthing to empower me to do what I know is already a very natural process and as for Corrina’s birth, it was a reminder of what I already have done and a guided meditation.  I was pleasantly surprised that my ‘plan’ was how it went, down to my 3 year olds time he woke up!  

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Congratulations Melissa, James & Guthrie! I'm thrilled that your birth happened almost to how you envisioned it and that our private sessions helped prepare you for Corrina's birth! Thank you so much for sharing your story!

If you're in the San Diego area & are interested in HypnoBirthing, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are outside of the San Diego area, please visit www.hypnobirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

If you are interested in hiring the midwives Melissa & James used, please visit www.sandiegomidwife.com.

If you are interested in getting a great massage by Melissa, please schedule one with her at www.indigodragoncenter.com or 760-652-1116.

Ani & Andre's HypnoBirthing Story

Ani & Andre took my HypnoBirthing classes in Encinitas (North County San Diego), CA.

Ani & I had been in contact a few times before the birth of her baby due to some issues with low amniotic fluid levels & the possibility of an induction. I encouraged her to drink plenty of fluid to ensure she wasn't dehydrated & gave her the numbers to some local acupuncturists to see if they could help induce her labor naturally. Her fluids were normal after she increased her fluid intake, but she still needed to be induced. She had the choice to do a foley ball or cervidil and she chose the foley ball. 

She wrote the following text to share her birthing experience at UCSD's Birth Center:

OMG...what an amazing experience. I ended up getting induced with pitocin nearly 24 hours but thankfully gave birth naturally & vaginally! It was beautiful. We did skin to skin contact right away and got all of the things we wanted on our birth plan. All in all, we are very grateful & blessed. My doula (a volunteer doula from UCSD's Birth Center) was shocked by how well I handled it all. I got my placenta encapsulated too. 

Many thanks to you. I owe it all to you, your resources & support. You made our pregnancy & birth so much more special & meaningful. I would do it again! It was one of the best experiences from our pregnancy. Till this day, we still talk about your classes and how it empowered us and gave us a beautiful birth.

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Thank you so much for sharing your birth story with me! I'm so glad that you had such a beautiful experience even with some scares towards the end & with an induction with pitocin!

If you'd like more information about HypnoBirthing classes in San Diego, please visit Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net. If you are out of the San Diego area, please visit www.HypnoBirthing.com to find a practitioner near you.

Please visit the UCSD's Birth Center website here if you'd like more information about birthing in a birth center with midwives within a hospital setting.