Being pregnant for the first time and generally being an anxious person, (plus a global pandemic on top!); and by the recommendation of a girlfriend who completed the Hypnobirthing Australia ™ Positive Birth course (and swore by it!) through Mesmerised Mamas. I reached out to Marg and decided to look further into Hypnobirthing. The purpose of my reaching out was to get some techniques under my belt to make the birthing experience for myself calmer, and for my husband to be able to assist me as much as he could and us both be on the same page about my birthing preferences.
From my 20 week ultrasound I had always been told our baby was measuring slightly ahead, but the pregnancy still had a while to go and that it could change.
My husband and I started discussing my birth preferences just over the half way point. My preference at the time was to have a vaginal labour, with no pain intervention - however I wanted to keep an open mind and not get my hopes up and so I didn’t feel disappointed if things didn’t quite end up being that way.
We commenced our online course and started practicing all of the techniques (the breathing techniques relaxed me that much I fell asleep!).
At my 30 week ultrasound, our baby was still measuring ahead so we needed to do some further growth scans at 34 and 36 weeks. In the mean time we still practiced all of our techniques as the due date approached. At 34 weeks we were still measuring quite ahead, and discussed coming up with a game plan at 36 weeks if this was still the case - which it was! Our baby was predicted to be over the 99th percentile and was measuring weeks ahead. After discussion with the Obstetrician and my husband, and weighing up the pros and cons, I decided to book an elective caesarean. It certainly was not the way I envisioned how I’d birth my baby, and a vaginal birth at this point was still possible, but I was content with the decision I made. So we locked in a date unless I went into labour on my own in the meantime.
The “change of circumstance” course really came in handy at this point because I knew what kind of birth I would be having and I knew the techniques would be implemented for this kind of birth.
The day approached and it was time to birth our baby! It was time to go through to theatre and get prepped for the procedure - it was now time to do the spinal block. This is the part I was most anxious about. The breathing techniques were amazing throughout this process. It helped me keep grounded and calm, however we ran into some complications. Due to a condition I have with my spine not being straight. And after what felt like a life time of trying, my back wouldn’t numb and it was decided we had to do a general anaesthetic so I wouldn’t be awake when my baby was born which I was disappointed about, but as long as our baby and me came out healthy that was my end goal. Again the breathing techniques at this point were so valuable throughout this experience.
My Hypnobirthing course was fantastic and I got a lot of great tools and techniques out of it, especially the change of circumstance course! Unfortunately due to the nature of my birth and things quickly changing I didn’t get to implement all the techniques I was taught, but if there is ever a baby number 2 they’re techniques I will take with me to then!
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