Alexandra’s Empowered Hypnobabies Hospital Induction
“Around 8:30 PM I woke up and my water naturally ruptured. My pressure waves started to intensify from that point. I continued to sit on the birthing ball and listened to Easy First Stage on repeat. I used my Peace cue (Hypnobabies cue for instant physical comfort) every time a pressure wave started.”
Meet Alaia Saige. Born on Sunday, September 20 6 lbs, 10 oz, 19 inches. She is my second baby but first Hypno-baby.
I was hoping for a spontaneous natural birth, however my blood pressure was on the rise during my antenatal appointment on Thursday, 9/17. When I came in for my routine prenatal check-up on Friday, 9/18 my midwife decided I needed to be induced that same day. As I was waiting for my midwife to get confirmation from L&D to admit me, I was calling my husband telling him he needs to buy a plane ticket home that night. My husband is currently active duty in the Marine Corps and is stationed in San Diego, while our son and I are currently living in the Bay Area until his contract ends in two years.
Later my midwife comes in the room and tells me the bad news, “They are on divert status due to the fires, so I need to transfer you to another hospital.” Throughout my pregnancy I had major anxiety, so the fact that I had to be transferred to another hospital that I never even stepped foot on gave me a panic attack. However, she said this hospital is well known for their midwifery program so she assured me that I would be in the best of hands.
After my appointment I went home to pack my son’s clothes before my brother-in-law came to pick him up. I really couldn’t control my emotions at that point because I felt like this was the beginning of a domino effect. My blood pressure was rising, I had to be induced, I had to be admitted to another hospital, and my husband might not make it home in time for our daughter’s birth. My son saw that I was crying and tried to encourage me by saying, “Mommy don’t be scared you’ve done this before! I’m excited to meet baby sister!” Little did he know his words really helped calm my nerves.
I was admitted to the hospital around 11:00 AM and after a cervical exam I was only 1.5 cm dilated. I provided my Hypnobabies birth preferences to the midwife on duty and she informed me a lot of what I laid out is what they already practice at their hospital, so it was assuring knowing they will respect my choices. She decided to start me on a half dose of Misoprostol to see how my body would respond to it. Throughout the day my husband and his Lieutenant were working on expediting his leave to the Battalion Commander so he can take the last flight home. It was a bit stressful because it wasn’t guaranteed his leave would be approved that same day.
After I officially settled down, I began listening to my Hypnobabies Birthing Day tracks. Luckily, my body was responding to that half dose of Misoprostol because I was having pressure waves (Hypnobabies term for contractions) every 3-5 minutes for 60 seconds. The nurses and midwives kept checking in on me asking if my husband will make it home that night and they helped keep my spirits up. Every nurse and midwife that saw me also kept saying how relaxed I was and to keep doing what I was doing because my induction was turning out to be a successful one.
After all the anticipation throughout the day my husband was not able to fly home that night because his Battalion Commander approved his leave late in the evening. So, he booked the earliest flight we could find the next morning. Luckily there was a flight available at 7AM from Burbank, so either my sister or his cousin can take him to the airport because they live close by. With the way my body was responding to the Misoprostol and how fast my first birth was with my son, I was hoping she would stay in until my husband arrived. Thankfully he arrived the next day, 9/19 at 10 AM and all the nurses and midwives cheered when he entered my room. I think they were more excited for me than I was.
I agreed to another cervical exam after my husband arrived, and after 22 hours of pressure waves, I only dilated to 2cm! However, my cervix was almost done thinning out and baby was halfway down. I tried not to be disappointed because I know that babies aren’t birthed by numbers. So, they gave me a choice to either do a foley bulb or start Pitocin. Although I really wanted to avoid Pitocin, I didn’t want to be in my birthing time (Hypnobabies term for labor) for that much longer with no progress. Also, with my husband now present I could relax more and allow myself to go deeper into Hypnosis.
Throughout the day I mainly listened to Birthing Day Affirmations, Fear Clearing (Hypnobabies track to release any fears or concerns) and Easy First Stage (Hypnobabies main birthing day track). I made sure to walk around, sit on a birthing ball, eat and drink in between pressure waves. The nurses came in every hour to up the dose on the Pitocin in order to keep my pressure waves regular. Around 7-7:30 PM I settled down into my bed and listened to Easy First Stage then fell asleep.
Around 8:30 PM I woke up and my water naturally ruptured. My pressure waves started to intensify from that point. I continued to sit on the birthing ball and listened to Easy First Stage on repeat. I used my Peace cue (Hypnobabies cue for instant physical comfort) every time a pressure wave started. My husband and the nurses also applied counter-pressure on my lower back because that’s where I felt the most discomfort. I also brought a personal fan to help me through the most intense pressure waves. Time went by really fast. What felt like only one hour to me was actually three hours.
Around 11:30 PM – 11:45 PM, my pressure waves were just so intense that it was hard for me to focus on my Hypnosis. I felt my body begin to shake uncontrollably and at that time I thought my body was starting to become tired, but when I think about it now, I was in Transformation (Hypnobabies term for transition). I requested to do a cervical exam just to see how far along I was and determine if I needed to get an epidural. When the midwife checked I was 8 cm dilated. I asked to get an epidural because I didn’t know how much longer I would be in this stage of active birthing, however as anesthesia came into the room, I felt my body pushing her down.
When the midwife checked he said her head was right there, so he shooed anesthesia away. I decided to lay on my side as I pushed because that’s what felt the most comfortable, and I didn’t want to move because I felt like every time I moved a pressure wave started. They were very close together and intense that I didn’t even have time to play the Pushing Baby Out track (Hypnobabies track just for pushing) because I was so focused on staying calm. The nurses and midwives respected my request of Mother Directed Pushing, so I pushed when I felt the need to. They did cheer for me as I pushed, but at that point I didn’t mind because I did need the encouragement.
Pushing her out felt less intense than my pressure waves. It just felt like powerful stretching with no discomfort, and it was also probably because my midwife was providing perineal support. After 14 minutes of pushing, Alaia Saige came earth side. She was not crying at first, but it turns out she was just stunned at how fast she came out, or so the Pediatricians say. Also, I had a very slight tear that could heal on its own, so my midwife said I didn’t need to be stitched up unless it really bothered me, but it didn’t.
I did experience a lot of bleeding and clots right after I gave birth, so a lot of doctors rushed into my room and had to remove the clots. I felt scared with all those physicians and nurses in the room, but then I used my “Bubble of Peace” (Hypnobabies tool to keep negativity away) to help me get through it. Thankfully I was OK and I’m grateful my angel nurse was very attentive and trusted her instincts to check me one more time. She was my nurse for those two days and made sure she would be there to help with my birth.
Overall, I’m so happy and forever grateful for Hypnobabies. I am currently two weeks postpartum and I have recovered faster than my first birth. I barely had to take pain medication. I feel calmer and I am also breastfeeding successfully. I had so much anxiety at the beginning of my pregnancy that I cried at my initial appointment because I was scared of giving birth and going through the postpartum recovery again. I think that’s why it took me so long to have a second baby, my first and my second are seven years apart.
I was introduced to Hypnobabies by my cousin who had a wonderful home birth, so I was inspired by her to have an unmedicated and peaceful birth this time. Although I was induced, my birth was still very empowering. Despite all the events that happened in the beginning (induction, divert status, husband trying to come home in time), I’m glad that everything worked out in the end. Even better than I expected.
Also, you CAN do the Hypnobabies program alone or without your birth partner. My husband is in the military and we currently live in different cities, so he was not able to practice Hypnobabies with me. He was however very supportive of me doing the program. I was basically a single mom, working from home, homeschooling a 7-year-old, while being pregnant in a pandemic. I did skip some tracks because…well life happens, and it was a crazy year! But if I can have a successful Hypnobabies birth then you can too!
