A beautiful birth story from a wonderful couple who did a course with me in November and got an early Christmas present when her waters broke early at 35 weeks ❤ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
STORY:"After my waters broke on 27th nov and a short stay in hospital they sent me home. Then on the 3rd I started getting contractions but irregular. Eventually after speaking on and off to them they asked me to come in out of concern for infection etc.. went into labour ward Friday and eventually after what felt like a life time on Saturday about 11.30am they decided I had to have an emergency c section due to risk. So it was insane. I have to say the staff were wonderful! There was only one moment that was off, when I said no to something as I was in so much pain and a midwife told me to think about the baby. I took a deep breath and my partner was amazing and just said enough, we needed to pause. Which they did and then it moved forward. So thank you for the reminder that there is always time for a moment.
The C-section itself was initially emotional in that I was not prepared having had no surgery ever or been in a hospital even. But again any fear or apprehension faded very quickly when I thought how it was just meeting the baby and that this would be happening imminently. With that I actually became quite excited. We had Xmas tunes on and I sang and bobbed my head- apparently a new experience for them 😂. The operation went very quickly minimal blood loss, he needed no respiratory assistance and came out screaming his little head off! They clamped the placenta and we had skin to skin. It was amazing! Oh and the cheesiest thing is he was brought into the world whilst Mariah Carey sang ‘ all I want for Xmas is you’
I do think there are elements such as experiencing PPROM (preterm premature rupture of the membranes) which I’d never heard of before and the amount of info that gets thrown at you when baby is suddenly in a situation. They tell you they understand and there lots and lots of info to process but can you do it right this second. All of these expectations and requirements to weigh up risk whilst thinking about your baby but also yourself. Which is why your message of time to pause, was so effective and It was the key to me getting through all the moments that could have gone another way. I think we all need to remember if it was imminent, if it was a no time to consider just react situation such as my c section then they just get on with it and so do you. Until those moments arise you always have time, even 30 seconds to collect yourself or feel the moment. It’s your time as much as theirs. Plus as I said anything that was happening as long as it was thoughtfully decided was bringing my beautiful baby to me... and I was so ready for that.”
This is such a brilliant example of how Hypnobirthing can help to navigate the surprises that may arise during labour and birth. It's definitely NOT for one type of birth, a common misconception. I feel so strongly about preparing women and their birth partners for the What Ifs? Birth is unpredictable and there is no way of knowing how it will unfold 100%. Positive birth experiences come in all shapes and forms and there are many routes to meeting your baby. On the day it might be different to what you hoped or expected but it can absolutely be positive - you can make plan B, C or D work for you!⠀