A positive hypnobirth with a change of plan

The birth of Nieve Olivia

The birth of Nieve Olivia

“The hypnobirthing course empowered us both to have the natural birth we wanted”

Sarah and Jack attended a group hypnobirthing course with me at my home in Wakefield at the end of 2022. I was over the moon to hear the news that they had a baby girl and that even though the birth wasn’t their plan A, they still used all of their hypnobirthing techniques to have a positive labour.

Thank you so much for sharing your birth story with us all.

The birth of Nieve Olivia:

“My husband and I attended Hypnobirthing with Hannah in Nov with a due date of April. We both really enjoyed the course and found it very useful, using the tracks regularly throughout my pregnancy.

A change of plan from a home birth

We had intended to have a home birth and picked up a birthing pool a week and a half before my due date. Later that night I started to feel surges. As I wasn’t due yet I wanted to check that the surges were the real thing and not Braxton Hicks so I downloaded a contraction tracker app. I was in a dark room, using my breathing techniques and a tens machine and was coping well. When I confirmed that the surges were the real thing we telephoned the community midwives to let them know that I had gone into labour. It was at this point we were informed that there weren’t enough midwives to facilitate a home birth and on top of that the local midwife led unit was also closed due to minimal staffing.

Coping with the change of plan

This was not ideal and meant that when it came to it we would have to travel 40 mins in the car to the hospital. Not what I had planned!

Thanks to Hannah we did not let this affect us and I had a eye mask on throughout the journey to hospital. My husband Jack was really supportive and informed the midwives at the hospital the we were hypnobirthing and requested a room with a bath if it was available. We were placed into an assessment room waiting for a delivery room to become available.

Using hypnobirthing techniques to remain focused and calm

Jack made sure the main lights were off and we put the bed to the max height as I wanted to remain standing and active but have something to lean on. On arrival into hospital they asked to do a vaginal inspection, I said I wasn’t sure if I wanted one as I was scared they would send me home and it was such a long journey. They informed me that they weren’t going to send me home and so I consented and was 4cm dilated at this point. I found being in the assessment room quite stressful as I wanted to get into the delivery room and into the bath. However, we used the hypnobirthing techniques and tens machine to remained focused and calm. 

4 hours later…

We finally got into the delivery room, Jack put out battery candles and had a spa playlist on our portable speaker creating the perfect environment for me to progress. I got into the bath and some time later, I had no clue about the passage of time, I felt the overwhelming urge to push. This made me feel a bit panicky but I was aware due to the course that this was probably the transition phase and this helped me a lot.

I was pushing for some time in the pool with no progress being made. At this point the midwives asked if they could examine me to which I consented. Following this they told me that I was 8 cm dilated and that was why the pushing wasn’t going anywhere. This really disheartened me but Jack was encouraging me, putting cold flannels on my head and making sure I drank water.

I was on my back on the bed for the examination and didn’t want to move after it, I knew through the course that this was not an ideal position to be in, however I was exhausted at point and needed rest in between surges. A midwife suggested I lie on my side with one leg in a stirrup, allowing me to rest between surges but allowing my pelvis to open up. In this new position I started to make progress and the surges became really intense. I requested a bit of gas and air at this point and was mindful of Hannah’s advice not to bite down on the mouthpiece. 

Nieve Olivia is born

At 1217 our beautiful daughter Nieve Olivia was born. I am really glad that we attended the hypnobirthing course as it empowered us both to have the natural birth we wanted although it was in a hospital setting.” 

Sarah and Jack 2023