The trick to birthing well, no matter what turn your birth takes, is to trust your body and you instincts.
“Indigo Eve was born on the 26/08/2014 weighing 7pound13ounces.
The birth didn’t go how we had planned but it was still a positive experience and the hypnobirthing really helped us.
We did the affirmations/visualisations and breathing practice every day leading up to the birth.
I also did everything naturally possible to get the labour started before the induction date.
This little one found it very comfy inside my uterus and unfortunately reached the cutoff point at the hospital.
Induction began with the gels on the 25th at 6pm.
I started my hypnobirthing techniques straight away.
I was sniffing Clary sage and got myself into a meditative state and kept myself nice and relaxed.
At 11pm I didn’t need the second lot of gels as I progressed very well.
8:30am the next morning I was moved to the birth suite where the doctor broke my waters (I was 2cm dilated, with a very soft and thin cervix).
We had the affirmations playing and all my oils set up.
I had a shower to get myself cleaned up and 15minutes later I went straight into the heavy surges, they were unexpected and very painful, they didn’t have a break between them so I wasn’t able to recharge.
They were overlapping and extremely strong. I didn’t get to progress and work my way up into the heavy surges like i’d practiced and hoped for.
We persevered with them, we had calming music/meditations playing.
Andrew was making little concoctions with the essential oils, doing light touch massage and misting my face for me. He was an amazing support.
After quite a few hours it got to the point where I was exhausted from not getting a break between surges so I opted for the epidural.
Once that was in I was able to relax properly and regain energy to be able to push effectively once I reached full dilation.
I was still able to walk around, bounce on the birth ball, I was able to concentrate on my meditations and visualisations, and I progressed very well.
At 3:30pm the epidural had completely worn off and I felt my body wanting to breathe/push.
I was breathing down and pushing for 2hours straight with no progress.
I tried every position imaginable.
I kept my jaw limp and visualised the entire time.
I was exhausted by that point and no matter what position I tried she wasn’t getting any lower.
My intuition told me to stop and both the midwife and I agreed that we should get the doctor.
He got there at 6pm, he attempted the vacuum first but at the last second it slipped off Indigo’s head so he proceeded with the forceps.
After a bit of jigging around, he managed to get her head out, and then told me to reach down and pull my baby out.
I got to pull her out and onto my chest which was such an amazing moment.
She came out so peaceful and so aware of her surroundings.
I had a few hours of skin on skin with her and she latched immediately and continued to have the perfect latch for breastfeeding.
Even though I had overlapping contractions through the entire labour and 2hours of breathing/pushing to no avail, Indigo didn’t show a single sign of distress, I believe the visualisations/hypnobirthing techniques really helped keep my baby calm and happy through the labour.
The doctor told me afterward that it was an extremely tight fit and if she was any larger she wouldn’t have fit through my pelvis. (My Mum also has a narrow pelvis and had to have 3 cesareans, it’s very rare but unfortunately it does happen)
The midwives told me that babies who have been delivered via forceps or vacuum don’t sleep through the first night due to their traumatic entrance and injuries.
They told me to prepare for a very long night. Indigo had swelling and fluid on her head and a swollen right eye/cut above her eye.
After we got cleaned up and put into bed, I was placed in a room with a few other Mum’s who had just given birth.
Indigo was the only one that slept peacefully through the night and didn’t make a single peep.
The midwives were so impressed when they checked up on Indigo and I as they never see a forceps delivered baby sleeping through the night and so calm and relaxed.
We went home the next day, and she continues to be the most chilled and well sleeping baby.
We are now 7weeks post birth and still do the meditations together.
The midwives were fantastic with my hypnobirthing wishes and did everything they could to assist with it and make sure I was getting the birth I wanted.
They didn’t check me regularly for dilation, only once midway through the day where I was 8cm dilated and once again at 3:30pm at full dilation.
If I could give any advice to your couples I’d say to trust your body and intuition and that even if you do end up needing intervention, (which is rare, but does happen) do not stop the visualisation/hypnobirthing techniques.
I believe that Indigo and I progressed well due to all the practice we had and me remaining calm through the entire birth, and also by keeping the mood light and fun, we laughed through the labour, told jokes, shared experiences, it made the time move quickly!
You can still have a positive experience through induction!
Thanks for all your help Pip, your class really helped Andrew and I, and all the midwives kept commenting on how relaxed Andrew was and they couldn’t believe it was our first baby ^_^
