Here is a birth story just passed on from a HypnoBirthing practitioner in Australia. Enjoy!
It all started about at about 3.30am when I woke up feeling crampy as if I had some food poisoning. I had eaten an omelette at a new cafe the day before so I thought it might have been disagreeing with me. If you've ever had bad food poisoning, you'll know the pains come in waves so I didn't even think that I was in labour. The cramps literally weren't any more uncomfortable than food poisoning.
I thought I'd put on my ipod and listen to the Rainbow Relaxation to try to get some more sleep. I should have known something was up though.......I actually made it through to the end of the Rainbow Relaxation without falling asleep FOR THE FIRST TIME!!
After about an hour of trying to get back to sleep, I thought I'd move to the couch and watch some bad TV to try to make me sleepy. At just before 5am, I went to the loo and had some diarrhoea. Still thinking I had food poisoning...but starting to wonder if perhaps this was the first signs of labour. Our doula mentioned that for each of her three births, she had diarrhoea beforehand.
My state was decided though when I discovered some blood. "Oh no", I cried....."I'm in labour!"I then (now don't laugh)....logged on to my work emails and sent a message to the management to consider me on leave from that point. Yes, seriously!
At this point, I thought maybe I should start seeing if those food poisoning cramps were coming at certain intervals, but I didn't try too hard as all the info you read and all the mid-wives tell you not to get pedantic about it as it stresses you out. I figured they were coming approx 2-3 mins apart.
To figure out when I needed to call the Birth Centre, I started to read through their info booklet that they gave us at the info night only 2 nights before. They mentioned to call the Birth Centre if the blood was a rich, bright red. Mine was, so I called them at about 5.30am. The mid-wife asked how I was feeling and I said I was feeling quite good, and experiencing cramps every few minutes or so but I wasn't really timing them. I was starting to have to breathe deeply through them at this stage to make the cramps more comfortable to deal with. She asked me to keep them updated and try to get some rest.
S woke up with the sound of me chatting to the Birth Centre. I told him I was in labour and he wondered why I hadn't woke him up before then. Everyone tells you to let the hubby sleep as long as possible so they can get rest, so that's what I was doing. Since he was now awake though, I asked him to help me pack a bag for the Birth Centre. I know, I know......I should have had the bag packed already! In my defence, I was a week out from my due date and the midwives kept telling me that first times mums 85% of the time birth late. I did have a list though, and the bag ready ;-) Just before 6am, I couldn't help S any longer with packing the bag.
I was curled up on the bed trying to concentrate on my breathing. I was using the count to 20 and then count backwards to 1 to get through the surges and really concentrating on going "lucy limp" in between every surge. I tried to help S in between surges to tell him where things were to pack the bag. It didn't help that the clothes I wanted were waiting to be washed! As well as sending him all over the house finding things, I was starting to get annoyed at him because he wasn't helping me to relax in between surges or helping me with any of the hypnobirthing techniques. I think I yelled at him "you seriously have forgotten EVERYTHING you've learnt, haven't you!" Side Note - to help your hypnobirthing partner during this 'exciting' time, print out reminder signs of all the techniques that can be employed.......and pin them to the bedroom wall and the bathroom wall!!
The dogs started to get worried about me now as I was starting to get quite cranky. K (our 2 year old), jumped up on the bed and was trying to kiss me all better. I barked at S to "give me the phone now!" I then called my mother and calmly announced that I thought I was in labour, and could she come around and get the dogs as K was starting to get freaked out by me. I said to S that I was going to have a shower now and he should call our doula to come around. In the shower, I shaved my legs in between surges and chatted to S. By the end of the shower though,I was shivering, feeling nauseous and I curled up on the floor repeating "have you called D?"(D is our doula).
My mum poked her head in at this stage and tried to perk me up by saying that I'd soon meet my baby. It probably would have helped to listen to the Birth Affirmations at this stage as I wasn't even thinking of the baby, I was lost in the feelings I was experiencing.
I managed to get back to the bed and the surges ramped up at this stage. They were about a minute apart. The surges started to feel quite different now, I think it was after 6.30am. During some of the surges, my body was starting to 'push'. My waters released during one of these. I started to get a little panicky now as I didn't feel that I should be progressing quite so fast. I was also sounding like Rain Man with my counting to 20! I suggested to S that I thought we should leave for the Birth Centre. He thought it was too early and to wait for D, who thank goodness arrived soon after that.
D's gentle suggestions to let my body do what it needed to do, and her support were just what I needed....someone who knew what they were doing! She asked if I wanted to have a bath, but I told her I wanted to go to the birth centre as I was pushing. S called the Birth Centre to tell them we were coming and that I was pushing. They suggested we leave immediately or head to the nearest hospital.
We went in D's car as I was too nervous to be without her for the car ride. After about 10 mins or so, I announced that I could feel ahead. D calmly asked me how I felt about X Hospital. S responded by driving faster as he kept thinking 'L doesn't want to go to a hospital, I've got to get her to the Birth Centre'! By that stage, I felt perfectly fine about X Hospital.
So we detoured.....
D kept me focused on the baby now by announcing that our baby had a beautiful head of hair!
At the hospital, D ran in and found the midwives and four came running out to the car. After determining that I was not going to move from where I was, and checking the baby's heartbeat (which was a little low), the midwife told me that they needed me to birth the baby as soon as possible. After two or so more surges, I had my beautiful little boy on my chest. It was 8:01am.
What a sight.....four midwives standing at the car door holding up sheets so I could have some privacy...D was in the car boot taking photos of me...and proud Daddy S was in the driver's seat crying with happiness....oh, and the garbage man was moving his garbage truck out of the way as he was trying to collect the garbage at that particular moment!
After shimmying out of the car into a wheelchair I was wheeled through the ante-natal clinic past a room full of expectant mothers waiting for their appointments. I could have died of embarrassment ifI had been at all with it. Apparently they all thought I was a hero.
I birthed the placenta about 10 mins later, and was resting comfortably soon thereafter. Just a few stitches were necessary, but they weren't a problem at all.
So much for my desired water-birth! I firmly believed that I did make this kind of birth happen though. Every person upon asking me which hospital I was booked into commented that Y [another hospital] was so far away. My standard response (which I must have said about 20-30 times) was that if I was going to have a baby that fast on the side of the road, that the birth would be so normal and fine that I wouldn't even need a hospital!!
Without even realising, I visualised the birth I was going to have. I felt so great that we were home relaxing on the couch by 2pm.
Hypnobirthing helped me immensely to relax in between every single surge. I believe everything happened so fast because I was so relaxed and was letting my body do what it was supposed to do. I didn't use the breathing towards the end as it was in my head to try to slow things down, so I was using a Lamaze style blowing-out-the-candle type breathing to cope with the baby coming down so fast which D suggested to me.
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