I attended Colleen’s harmony hypnobirthing course with my husband two months before my due date. I had previously been a birth partner for my sister and had felt at the time that I wished I knew how to help her more during her labour and feel more useful and involved. Once I was pregnant, I wanted my husband to be more equipped and he wanted to feel useful and have an active role during the labour. The hypnobirthing course was perfect for this. We developed a birthing plan of how to increase my oxytocin and reduce my adrenaline when I went into labour and this is what really helped me on the day to have a positive labour experience.

I was due on 5th April however the days started to go past slowly and I was becoming more and more worried I would need an induction. I spoke to Colleen about my worries and she sent me a lot of helpful resources and statistics on how to feel more prepared and still get a positive experience should an induction be required.

A few days before my due date I was worried about some possible reduced foetal movement. I went in to be checked over and they placed the monitors on baby for half an hour. During this time baby started kicking a lot again and all tests came back perfect and healthy. I felt reassured. However, a doctor spoke to me and advised me to be induced later that day due to my earlier concern. I declined as baby was very active again and the monitoring showed no issues. Instead I had a sweep and agreed to daily monitoring to ensure all was ok. I did however agree for an induction to be booked at 12 days past my due date. My first sweep did not work. Two days before my induction date I went in for my daily monitoring and had my second sweep. This time it worked and by midnight that night I was in early labour.

This was exactly how I had wanted it. Early labour at home and to try to stay at home for as long as possible. My husband was beside me the whole time and knew what I had wanted during this stage. He put on friends on the tv to distract and relax me and kept offering me sips of water and lucozade. As the contractions started to ramp up he applied my tens machine and encouraged me to breathe and relax through each surge. He ran me a bath and we listened to Colleen’s hypnobirthing MP3. At other times I remained active with the help of my birthing ball. We managed to stay at home until 6am when I felt I needed some gas and air. On arrival to hospital I continued to breathe through each surge and kept saying positive affirmations to myself which we had already prepared and created during the hypnobirthing course. This really helped me feel empowered instead of scared.

On arrival to the hospital I was told that I could not go to the birth centre as planned. This was  due to my daily monitoring and now slightly raised blood pressure. I was initially disheartened as every monitoring had been fine anyway.  But I soon saw how lovely the delivery suite room was and how lovely my midwife was. They read my birth plan and truly tried to follow it with birthing balls, keeping friends on in the background on my husbands iPad and cord free monitoring for the baby so I could remain active. I loved the gas and air and this also really helped with remembering to breathe, it also helped to lower by blood pressure. I had only wanted to have gas and air and the tens machine but by later that evening and 14 hours into labour I was feeling exhausted. I was offered an epidural, the power of suggestion won and I agreed. However, this gave me the chance to have a nap for an hour and I really feel I needed that. I was then woken and told I was ready to start pushing.

The epidural had worn off slightly as they advised it would and I was able to feel my contractions and some urge to push without any pain. They said this should help reduce the risk of tearing and intervention. They were right and after a short amount of time pushing without any intervention and only a second degree tear my baby was born and I finally got to meet him. I actually found this to be a lovely experience as I was very much present and “in the room” when my baby was born with great memories.

I now wish I had not got myself so worked up about the thought of induction as I feel I worried in those last few days instead of enjoying it.

Even though my birth was not exactly how I had planned, I can honestly say I think back to my labour as a really empowering and beautiful time and kind of wish I could do it all again.