SO, let me start off with telling you how I even came to thinking about changing my perspective on birth and how I found out about HypnoBirthing.
A couple years ago I worked at a credit union; during this time, I worked with a girl who was filling in from another branch. It was the first time we had met. Coincidentally, we were working in the same office. During some down time, we often chatted trying to get to know each other. Our conversations led from one topic to another until we began speaking about her past pregnancy with her baby girl. I wasn’t pregnant at the time but I was intrigued with her story and experience. She was describing how easy her pregnancy was and how much she enjoyed it. I loved listening to her speak. You could feel the positivity and love flow from her mouth.
Out of curiosity, I asked her about her birth story. I was expecting her to describe it as the most painful experience she’s ever been through. To my surprise, she started explaining how it was the most beautiful and miraculous thing she’s ever done. I was intrigued. Giving birth to a baby is beautiful of course, and I knew that, but what about the part with all the pain and the horrifying details other mothers usually speak about?! She never spoke about that – she said she couldn’t remember anything unpleasant about her birthing experience because of how beautiful it was.
She said like me, she was fearful of giving birth. She wasn’t generally a pain tolerant person, but told me it had nothing to do with the level of pain tolerance someone had; it was all about changing your perspective and training your mind. While pregnant, she decided to give birth naturally, took classes and successfully did so – she said it was the best thing she’s ever chosen to do, both for her body and baby.
Driving home, I couldn’t help but think about how beautiful her birth story was. It was the first time I had heard someone describe it with so much love and from such a pleasant memory.
About a year later, I found out I was pregnant. During the beginning of my pregnancy, I remembered the beautiful birth story of my former coworker. I started researching different natural birthing techniques and to my surprise, learned that there were many. Some of which include: the Alexander technique, the Bradley method, HypnoBirthing, Lamaze, and a water delivery. For a few days, I researched these different techniques in order to choose one in which I felt would fit me best. For some reason, HypnoBirthing spoke to me. Its technique, theories, and practices all made sense to me. It was the technique for me – I knew right away. I then researched which local hospitals offered these classes in order to equip myself with all the necessary knowledge and resources that I needed for my labor.
I found a hospital that offered classes once a week for five weeks and signed up for it. I signed up to take the classes two months before I was expected to give birth so that I would be able to learn the theories and concepts and practice them at home right before it was my time to go into labor. I told my husband about the classes since he would have to attend with me; he was stoked, he was very open to learning what his role would be during our son’s birth.
My experience with the classes
Before attending the classes, the hospital mailed out the HypnoBirthing: A Marie Mongon Method book as well as the two relaxation audios in order to prepare us for the class. We were required to read the entire book and listen to the audios multiple times before attending the class. We were also instructed to bring a blanket and pillow with us in order to practice some of the relaxation exercises in class.
Our class instructor was an experienced RN that had worked in the labor and delivery room for over thirty years. Her passion and love for natural birth and babies was very obvious from the beginning. We were in the class with three other couples that shared the same thought process, interests, and ideas.
During the five days that we attended the classes, we watched videos of other natural birthing experiences, practiced relaxation methods, and did exercises that allowed us to release any fears that we may have had associated with giving birth. Our partners were also taught what their role would be during the labor process and how they could aid in getting the mother to further relax and take control of her body.
Reading the book and practicing the exercises is very important; however I would definitely recommend taking the classes as well. Practicing the exercises with an experienced instructor and with others makes a big difference. Also, sharing your thoughts and stories with like-minded people is very beneficial and further increases your confidence with your decision to use HypnoBirthing as your birthing method.
Now lets put HypnoBirthing to the TEST: Did it work!? My birth story
I remember I kept telling everyone that I was EXCITED to give birth. Everyone thought I was crazy. My own mother thought I was crazy. She used to joke about how my excitement would vanish the minute I felt one contraction. But I was determined to be excited. Why? Because I wanted to challenge myself. I wanted to see if I could do it; If I had learned the techniques, if I had practiced enough. If I really wanted it that badly.
I had prepared my HypnoBirthing hospital bag earlier in the month with everything I thought I would use or need in order to deliver my baby the way I intended to. My bag included items such as lavender massage oil (relaxing scent association), earphones in order to listen to the relaxation audios used by the method, and the relaxation exercises that my husband and I had practiced during the last few weeks. I also made sure the hospital had a birthing ball since I found a lot of relief using it prior to going into labor.
As with anything in life, usually things don’t go as planned – which is a point the HypnoBirthing method stresses. The method isn’t made to give you a concrete 1-10 step plan of what to do during labor – because that won’t work. It is to give you confidence in your body and in the process, to teach you how to deeply relax, and to enable you to be able to switch your focus using relaxing visualizations. As the method states, you will not have the exact birthing experience you imagine – which is normal – but you will have a beautiful and memorable experience using this method.
and finally; it was time.
I was two weeks overdue and I had been contracting for almost 3 days. My labor had started on its own and I was 4 cm dilated however it was progressing very slowly. Since I was two weeks overdue, I was being monitored on a daily basis by the medical staff at a local hospital. I was told to come in if any sudden changes occurred.
It was 12:00 a.m. I was experiencing a high fever and felt it was time to go to the hospital. Once we arrived, I was assessed and told my baby had a high heart rate and that it was time for me to be induced. I was given the option to have my water broken in order to speed up my labor process. The doctor explained that if I have not further dialted within an hour, I was going to be started on Pitocin. I wanted to avoid Pitocin since I wanted my birth to be as natural as possible however since I was two weeks overdue with a fever, it was inevitable.
An hour after the doctor broke my water, my labor hadn’t progressed and the nurse started me on Pitocin. I was also told my baby was face up (“sunny side up” or occiput posterior) which caused me to experience back labor since the back of my baby’s head was pushing against my spine. I was told if my baby stayed in the position and didn’t turn during the labor process, an emergency C-section would have to be performed. My baby’s position was being monitored and checked regularly.
My labor started progressing at a good pace – about 1 cm per hour. My waves (contractions) were becoming tighter and tighter. The nurse increased the amount of pitocin I was receiving as needed. My waves (contractions) had become less than 30 seconds apart. This was a crucial time to start using the techniques I had been taught through the method.
Since my baby was occiput posterior, I was instructed to stay laying on my back the entire time. I asked to use a birthing ball or to try different birthing positions however the nurse advised against that because of my particular situation. Because of this, I did not end up doing many of the birthing exercises or using the birthing ball that I had intended to use.
However, I used two HypnoBirthing techniques that truly changed the way I felt. The first being the breathing technique and the second was the deep relaxation technique. I would breathe through every contraction – right from when it started to when it ended. (If you have never watched a video on the HypnoBirthing breathing technique, I would urge you to do so – there are many on YouTube and it is truly effective and a game-changer). The breathing allowed me to feel fully in control and in tune with my body. Secondly, every time a wave (contraction) would begin, I would switch my focus off of my discomfort and focus on holding my baby in my arms in a lavender field. The lavender field was my “happy” space. It was where I would see myself in order to relax or take my mind off of anything bothering me. I had practiced visiting this lavender field with my baby for weeks prior to giving birth – so anytime I needed to visit it again, it wasn’t difficult and it allowed me to go into deep relaxation.
And finally after a long 8 hours, it was time to meet my precious little boy.
Thankfully, during the labor process my baby turned and was in the correct position for me to give birth naturally. After 15 minutes of pushing, my baby boy was born at 8:13
a.m weighing close to 10 pounds. I had successfully given birth to my baby with no epidural and no intervention. Just the way I intended to do so; thanks to the HypnoBirthing method. It was truly one of the most magical times of my life.
HypnoBirthing works. It really does. If you believe in the natural process of your body and have learned the ability to deeply relax, it works. I highly recommend it and will be using it for my next births.
Below is a little summary from the back of the HypnoBirthing: A Marie Mongon method book that I would recommend reading:
Childbirth is not something to be feared; it is a natural expression of life. With HypnoBirthing, your pregnancy and childbirth will become the gentle, life-affirming process it was meant to be. In this easy-to-understand guide, HypnoBirthing founder Marie Mongan explodes the myth of pain as a natural accompaniment to birth. She proves through sound medical information that it is not our bodies but our culture that has made childbirth a moment of anguish, and that when we release the fear of birth, a fear that is keeping our bodies tense and closed, we will also release the pain. HypnoBirthing is nature, not manipulation. It relaxes the mind in order to let the body work as it is designed.
Disclaimer: I am not against medication or anyone that takes medication and neither is the HypnoBirthing method. This was something I wanted to do for myself and baby. I would obviously not recommend going through any type of birthing technique without consulting a doctor. I would also not follow instructions of any technique against the word of any medical staff – in the end keeping your baby and body as safe as possible is what matters most.
4 comments
Thank you for sharing your story! I love reading birth stories! I’ve learned that the skills you learned in hypnobirthing will serve you well with parenting too. Deep relaxation is an amazing stress reliever!
I agree! When taking the hypnobirthing classes, we discussed how these skills can help during parenting too. They are life long skillS. Thanks for reading and stopping by!
Lovely lovely story. So glad breathing worked for you too! I think the most important thing is sharing these positive stories, o that more women can believe a positive birth experience is possible.
Thank you for your comment! I appreciate it! I fully agree with what you said, through my experience I’ve realized people don’t believe in having a positive birth story – that’s why I’ve written this blog, I want to show people otherwise. Thanks for stopping by!