How it all began - My HypnoBirthing Story - and conversion!

Late in 2011 I knew I wanted to experience the birthing of my firstborn in a different way than I'd seen on tv shows or movies with the screaming women and fear leeching off the screen. I had heard loosely of HypnoBirthing but if the clue was in the title then I was very intrigued. My husband and I signed up and learned an awful lot over 5 weeks from a lovely lady in SE London in the UK where we lived at the time. I practiced my visualizations and listened to the affirmations daily on my commute to and from work, listened to the warm and lovely voice of Marie (Mickey) Mongan in her recordings, and knew I could trust my body to do what it needed to do. We signed up to the local birthing centre and settled in to the 3rd trimester.

Early in 2012 I woke up at about 6am feeling a bit "off", and experiencing what I suspected were sporadic and inconsistent surges (aka contractions) and decided to sit on my birthing ball (so good for opening the hips!). I was just under 37 weeks along (36-6) so hadn't really been thinking of birthing yet. After watching an episode of tv I stood up and, sploooooosh, down came my waters through my pajamas. Ah. Hmm. It wasn't exactly the waterfall as advertised on TV - I figured either I pee'd myself or my waters have broken. Yup. I guess its go-time. I woke my husband (who initially thought I was joking!) and we packed up the last bits in the hospital bag, had showers, threw snacks in a bag, all whilst timing the surges.

I decided I didn't want my slightly panicking husband to drive (he had thought we had at least 2 more weeks to prepare!) so we ended up calling an ambulance especially as my surges seemed to have progressed to 2-3 minutes apart and I didn't want to give birth in the car. In retrospect, I had likely been quietly and calmly going through early labour whilst still asleep! As the affirmations say - I trusted my body to know what it was doing.

We arrived at the birthing centre for my examination and yup I was very nearly 10cms already. I was definitely feeling the urge to breathe that baby down! I waddled down the 10mile corridor to the birthing room (actually only about 10 steps but I was in the time vortex!) and immediately stripped myself naked. Don't ask, I don't know, I just knew I didn't want any fabric on me. They do say you lose a lot of inhibitions whilst you focus purely on what your body is doing. I used gas & air sips to take the edge off and those breathing techniques, and visualizations, were a powerful antidote to any anxiety and feelings of not being in control. I was comfortable and confident that everything was happening exactly as it needed. I was tapping into a primal self. Not long after I was moved to the birthing stool, and my little 5lb 14oz daughter was born in a few pushes - the midwife had to sort of leap forward as she hadn't been expecting her to slip out so easily (!), 4 hours and 15 minutes after I had awoken feeling "off" that morning. My body had done exactly what it needed to do. Marie Mongan had helped me prepare my mind to support my body, and not panic when the midwives needed to intervene a little towards the end.

I would not have described the experience as painful - intense, absolutely - and, to be frank, I recall doing some guttural primal form of "moo"ing (vocal sounding) to help ride those surges (I think at one point I was asked to quiet down - fat chance - I was in the zone!) but it was 100% not the screaming yelling panicking stressed women I'd seen on the screen. No purple pushing for me! It was stress free - I had felt in control of what was happening, I was riding the ride completely trusting the process, and could easily move with what needed to happen when it needed to happen.

And so it was that I was converted. There really is something to this HypnoBirthing!