Caroline’s Hypnobabies Hospital Birth with a Change of Plans
“My hypnosis was really working, and I barely felt any discomfort at all even though my pressure waves were right on top of one another.”
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At 2:30 am on Sunday, the full moon weekend, I woke up to pee and experienced intense pressure in my lower back and tailbone area when I came back to bed I woke my husband and asked him to put counterpressure to help. In my third trimester I have been having pretty uncomfortable lower back issues, so I didn’t think a lot of it. He put some pressure where I needed it and at that moment my water broke. I almost immediately posted on this Hypnobabies support group. I didn’t feel any pressure waves so on the one hand I felt like I had time and then on the other I wasn’t sure how far along I was. I took a shower and finished packing some items for my hospital bag.
I called my OB and she told me to come in. I knew that because my water had broken I wouldn’t be sent home. I listen to my Birthing Day Affirmations in the car and started my Birthing Time Begins track. After being admitted and taken to triage, the nurse came and checked me, and I was only .5 cm dilated. I gave them my birth plan and they were very supportive of my wishes. I was moved to a private room and assigned an incredible nurse who specialize in natural childbirth. She was wonderful.
A couple of hours later I hadn’t progressed much, so I gave my OB permission to strip my membranes. Things became a little faster after that and I began having pressure waves every two minutes. My hypnosis was really working, and I barely felt any discomfort at all even though my pressure waves were right on top of one another. I did notice that I was primarily feeling them in my back and begin to mentally prepare for the possibility that my baby hadn’t quite found the right position for her yet. I’m not sure how many hours went by, because I was in such a Zen mode that time really did seem to fly by, but it turned out to have been 10 hours.
My original OB had come and gone, and I had a new Doctor who I had met before and also really liked taking over. They checked me, and I was still only one and a half centimeters dilated. This was when I fell out of my hypnosis and lost focus. I was already feeling very tired and without being fully focused, I became very uncomfortable and scared. I looked at my wonderful nurse as I was pacing around the room and told her that I had lost focus and that I was scared she brought me back to my birthing ball and helped me breathe and relax through my pressure waves using the cues. We decided to set the bed up in a seated position and I immediately put on the Deepening track.
I alternated between Deepening and Special Safe Place and creating hypno-anesthesia. Again, before I knew it almost 3 hours had gone by. To me it felt like a very uncomfortable 20 minutes. I was having intense back discomfort and we guessed at this point that she probably was not in the ideal position. I was checked again and had dilated to 4 1/2 cm. At this point I had been in early birthing time for 16 hours. My body began to show signs of exhaustion. I was shaking uncontrollably and dry heaving with every pressure wave.
After talking to my care team and my birthing partners I made the decision to get the epidural. My epidural wore off after 20 minutes due to a kink in the catheter. I was still deep in my hypnosis, but my body was not responding well to my strong pressure waves. After two more hours we did another epidural. This time it worked, and I was able to refocus and prepare for the second stage of my birthing time. After another few hours however, I still had not made any progress. I allowed my medical team to assess the strength of my pressure waves to see if they could help me move baby along. It led to starting a low dose of Pitocin. My epidural was wearing off and I began to feel the need to push.
Because my cervix had not improved past 4 1/2 cm I was told that pushing could be dangerous, so I continued listening to my tracks and breathing through my pressure waves. At the 24-hour mark and when I still had not progressed past 4 1/2 cm it became clear that baby was having a very difficult time moving in to my pelvis. Not only was I not progressing, but baby had stayed at -2 station the entire time as well. It was at this time that my very caring OB gently discussed the possibility of a C-section. After she left the room, I grieved over the changes in my birth plan and then accepted the fact that I just needed to get baby out safely.
Two hours later Waverly Carabelle McClain was born into the world. She was 7 lbs. 7 oz. pink and perfect. We could all tell how hard she worked by her little cone head and bruising on her forehead. She had tried so hard to get to where she needed to be.
My Hypnobabies gave me the serenity and grace to accept this outcome that I would not have had otherwise. My team of medical professionals were blown away not just by my stamina but by my attitude towards the drastic changes in my birth plan. I am accepting and grateful that a healthy birth is a successful birth.
The C-section didn’t come without the medical crazy train and the four days in the hospital we’re very difficult. We are safe, healthy and happy at home now and loving our special, strong little girl.
Thank you so much to this support group and to Hypnobabies for helping me keep it together to stay calm for myself and my baby. ❤️❤️❤️
