Rosie’s positive birth story

Alyson and Paul’s Hypnobirthing Experience

Welcoming their little girl into the world using Hypnobirthing was something that was really important to Alyson. Being a medical professional herself, she'd witnessed a traumatic birth during her work that had left her feeling really anxious about giving birth herself. She and Paul really bought into the whole idea of Hypnobirthing and really utilised everything they'd learned when the time came to birth their little girl, Rosie. So-much-so that Alyson and Paul came back to me when they found out they were expecting their twins, Eilidh and Freddie. 

Excited to get started

My partner Paul and I completed Claire’s 1-2-1 hypnobirthing course in December. I decided I wanted to try hypnobirthing as I was extremely anxious about labour after witnessing a particularly traumatic labour. My partner was sceptical as he believed it to be about hypnotising and meditation. However, after joining Claire’s taster session, we were both very excited to get going and we are so glad we did.

At exactly 37 weeks I attended the maternity assessment unit with sever rib pain which was coming in waves. The midwives were concerned this could be related to pre-eclampsia so asked me to come up and be monitored. I was suffering with rib pain from around 30 weeks due to baby’s foot being in the way (short girl problems). When I got the hospital after various checks the midwives confirmed that in fact, I was contracting but due to the inflammation I was experiencing the pain in my ribs. The midwives offered me an examination at this point which I accepted; it was confirmed that my cervix was now 1 cm dilated. As the midwife had confirmed that my cervix was ready, I accepted a sweep at this stage. I was sent home to progress at home where I could relax and put what I learned from Claire into action.

Settling in to labour

Over the next week I would start contracting whilst sleeping and wake up feeling contractions for a few hours, but they would then stop. I also lost my mucus plug and had a “bloody show” during this time. For the first few days I used hypnobirthing tracks and made sure I continued to do things which made me relaxed and happy to ensure I was flooding my body with lots of oxytocin to try and get things going, however baby just wasn’t ready, and I began to feel frustrated. At this time, I contacted Claire for support. Claire was amazing and came back straight away with advice on how to get myself back into a calm and relaxed state and reminded me that despite all the techniques I could try to bring in labour baby would come when she was ready.

6 days after my hospital visit myself and Paul threw a birthday party in the garden on a particularly sunny day for Paul’s son who was turning four. We had a lovely day with our families’ opening presents and eating cake. My stepson had a great day and was so excited with his new presents. That night after everyone had left and we had tidied up my waters went.

I attended hospital around half past midnight to be examined by the midwives. My contractions had not yet started however despite my waters going and I was still 1 cm dilated. I was advised I would likely be sent home and brought back in the morning to be induced if my contractions didn’t start. The midwife wanted however to monitor the baby for an hour to make sure all ok before sending me home. Whilst on the monitoring I was listening to music in the room, the lights were dimmed, and Paul and I were excitedly talking about our baby and who she might look like and how excited her big brother was going to be. I believe that being so excited but relaxed during this time was key as by the end of the hour I was contracting regularly and was moved to the birthing pool. The lights in the room were dimmed and set up with tea lights creating a relaxed non-clinical environment.

Things really ramped up

I was given a sweep on the Tuesday and then went for a long walk, took a bath, and watched my favourite film to help boost oxytocin and keep me relaxed. I went into hospital on Wednesday morning and my induction was started at 11 am. The procedure for starting the induction was straight forward and I breathed through it. The midwives then ran me a beautiful bath and I watched more of my favourite programmes on my iPad whilst chilling in the bath, and within a couple of hours my contractions started. In the early stages of labour, I used my tens machine and birthing ball. The breathing techniques we learnt in our sessions I think were key to getting me through the next few hours.

By midnight I was moved to the labour ward as I was 5cm dilated and as contractions intensified, I used the gas and air along with my breathing to help with the surges. In between contractions I was able to chat with the midwives, and David and I were always fully aware of what was happening which helped to keep me calm and feel in control.

Once I had reached 7 cm dilated, I asked about additional pain relief and my midwife discussed all of my options along with the pros and cons of each. I decided to hold off and continue with gas and air. Twenty minutes after having that discussion I had an overwhelming feeling to push. My body just seemed to take over and knew exactly what it was doing. I’m honestly still in amazement of how amazing the body is! I wanted to get gravity to help with birth and my midwife knew this, so she got me up onto my knees leaning over the top of the bed.

After roughly 2-3 hours in the birthing pool listening to the hypnobirthing tracks my contractions where coming regularly and I decided I would try gas and air. Unfortunately, this made me very sick and had to come out the pool. As soon as I came out the pain became more severe, and I wasn’t coping as well as I had been in the pool. I was examined and found to be 7cms. I was so happy to have got to 7cms so quickly with no pain relief but at this point felt I needed something stronger. I was given morphine at this time. This helped to relax me between contractions and an hour later I was ready to push.

After 38 minutes of pushing my baby girl Rosie Eleanor Wilson was born weighing 6 lb 2 ounces. We were given skin to skin straight away and within minutes Rosie had latched on and was having her first feed.

I had a very positive birthing experience which I credit to Hypnobirthing

I had a very positive birthing experience which I credit to Hypnobirthing

I had a very positive birthing experience which I credit to hypnobirthing. Completing the course helped me to feel relaxed and in control during my labour thus ensuring there was plenty of oxytocin to help things progress on the day. I would urge anyone thinking of trying hypnobirthing to go for it especially with Claire who was so supportive through the whole process, including checking in regularly after Rosie was born.

- Alyson and Paul, 1:1 Hypnobirthing Course