“Thanks to Hypnobirthing, we had a wonderful, calm birth that was all our choice.”

Emily and Ben attended a group hypnobirthing course with me at my home in Wakefield during the Summer of 2022. I was over the moon to receive their birth story and hear how they used everything I had taught them to have a positive birth experience. They used all of their hypnobirthing techniques to make decisions that felt right for them and their baby. The biggest congratulations to you both and thank you so much for sharing your story with us:

The weeks leading up to birth

Weeks before our due date my partner and I moved into our new family home. The nesting period didn't go quite to plan and instead it became apparent how much work we had to do to make the house livable. Instead of decorating a nursery for our new arrival, we were fixing leaks, rewiring and at 40 weeks pregnant I was painting ceilings. I dreaded our baby arriving into chaos but through hypnobirthing, I somehow knew baby would come at just the right time. At 39 weeks my midwife was already discussing sweeps and induction and it is all credited to hypnobirthing that I had the knowledge and power to decline these. I felt they were unnecessary and baby would come at the right time for us.

Sure enough, we hung up our paintbrushes on the Friday night, ready for the long weekend and at 2am on Monday I was awoken by my surges beginning. I left Ben in bed and went to doze on the sofa. When Ben awoke for work, I excitedly asked if he was ready for baby to come that day/the next day. We spent the day going for a walk and snuggling up on the sofa just enjoying the idea that we would soon meet our baby.

Labour starts to progress

At 2 am on Tuesday (24 hours after), I started to become frustrated that my surges were still ten minutes apart. I tried to sleep, got many baths and listened to my hypnobirthing tracks. Later that morning I was really urging the surges to come quicker as I was getting tired. I went up to my bedroom, put on a Disney playlist and danced/waddled around my room to get the oxytocin flowing! Finally, at 4 pm we were ready to go to the birthing suite at the hospital. I put on my sunglasses and earphones and practised relaxation in the back of the car. On arrival, the midwife detected that I had very little energy in my urine sample and I needed sugar to progress the labour. After I consented to an examination, I was told I was 3cm dilated so to go for a walk, get some sugar and come back in a few hours.

”2 hours, a Lucozade and many jelly babies later…”

I was near to 5cm and ready to go to my room. I had planned a waterbirth however, at this point I had been labouring for so long on very little sleep, I felt that I could use some pain relief to help me along. Through my own choice, I decided to opt for some morphine and was led to a beautiful birthing centre room. I can't have been in there longer than 20 minutes when I had the morphine and my waters broke. It felt physically like a huge relief but unfortunately, meconium was in my waters which meant the baby had to be monitored and we had to move rooms again.

As soon as I got into the next room I felt my surges change to a downward sensation and I was ready to push. Still wearing my sunglasses, Ben joked about how I looked like Honey G, whilst stroking my hair and breathing with me, keeping my face as relaxed as possible as I leant over the back of the bed on my knees. Within the hour our beautiful baby girl (8lb 2) entered the world safely, without any intervention or complications.

Hypnobirthing is beneficial for both parents

Hypnobirthing gave us the tools and knowledge to birth our baby in a calm, relaxed way that was all our choice. I couldn't have done it without my gorgeous fiance who was by my side throughout, encouraging and massaging me as we breathed through the surges together. Hypnobirthing ensured Ben had a key, valuable role in the birth of our baby and I knew I had an advocate if I needed one.

Thank you Hannah for everything. We are absolutely in love with our baby girl and are so grateful for your teaching that helped to get her here.

Emily and Ben 2022