First Time Mom Shana’s Hypnobabies Hospital Birth
“I was not afraid of pushing at all, and I must say that practicing directing my bright orange hypno-anesthesia (Hypnobabies technique for instant physical comfort) down to my cervix and out must have really helped because actually pushing him out was completely painless!!! They immediately put him on my chest, and it was the most glorious feeling I have ever experienced.”
Hypnobabies Childbirth Hypnosis really does help you enjoy a much easier and more comfortable birthing! Use code hypno1528 for 10% off our Hypnobabies Home Study Courses.
On Friday 10/5/2018 I decided to do some walking on the treadmill in hopes that it might bring on my birthing time (Hypnobabies word for labor), so I walked briskly for 1 mile in the late morning. I didn’t feel any different throughout the day, other than that I was a lot more tired, but I just assumed it was because I had walked more than usual. I took a pretty long nap in the late afternoon but woke up feeling the same as always. I made sure to listen to my Hypnobabies hypnosis maintenance track as usual, and went to bed at my normal time, around 11 PM.
At approximately 5:40 AM on Saturday 10/6/2018, I felt what I thought was a gas bubble popping in my lower/middle back, immediately followed by an intense cramping sensation that only lasted for about a second, and then proceeded to push out what I thought was just trapped gas (lol), but suddenly felt the feeling of warm liquid coming out, and immediately knew that my water had broken. I calmly got out of bed and told my husband that my water had broken and walked to the bathroom as quickly as I could, as my water was really gushing out at that point. I sat on the toilet as more water came out, and also what I assumed was my mucus plug and some blood.
I was not feeling any pressure waves at this point, so I decided to relax and take a shower. My husband began to load the car with our hospital bags (he had to make about 4 trips, and we live in an apartment… we had a lot of stuff!), as I laid back in bed and listened to the Your Birthing Time Begins track (Hypnobabies reminder of all the tools available for birthing). I ended up not listening to the entire thing because we decided it was time to head to the hospital, as my water had broken and even though in hindsight, we could have stayed at home a lot longer, being that this was our first pregnancy, we did not want to risk anything. My sister and her fiancé were living with us at the time, and my parents had also moved here from Florida to help us with the baby, but we decided not to wake anyone up, because we wanted the situation to remain as calm as possible. I then decided to switch to the Easy First Stage track (Very powerful Hypnobabies hypnosis track for remaining comfortable and in hypnosis) as we drove to the hospital, which is about 20 minutes (with no traffic) from our house. I was still only feeling very minor pressure waves (period like cramping) in the car ride.
Once we got to the hospital, since my water had broken already, I was admitted to Triage, wherein they inserted a catheter into my arm (we agreed with my OB ahead of time that this was fine), and checked for dilation. I had written in my birth plan that I did not want to be informed of my progress, but that they could tell my husband. Our Triage nurse reviewed our birth plan and was extremely receptive to it, and immediately began to speak softly and calmly. It was approximately 7:30 AM at that time, and I was around 3 cm dilated. I continued listening to Easy First Stage in Triage and walked around the labor and delivery floor with my husband.
We were visited by my OB who had forgotten my birth preferences and immediately told me that I was only 3 cm dilated and that since I was already “ruptured” that they might have to start me on Pitocin as now the risk of infection is a lot higher, etc. My husband and I were not happy with what she was saying, as it clearly stated in my birth preferences (which we reviewed with her in advance) that I did not want my birthing time augmented by any methods, and certainly not Pitocin. At any rate, my husband reminded her of our wishes, so she backed off slightly and then let us be. The fact that she was basically pressuring me to progress or else be put on Pitocin was not helpful, and it made my husband’s job a lot more stressful as he was worried that I wasn’t progressing fast enough over the next several hours, but more about that later.
At this point my pressure waves were still very manageable, and I was remaining in Center switch (Hypnobabies tool for Eyes-Open hypnosis) as we would walk, and then shut Off (Hypnobabies tool for remaining deeply in hypnosis while in a supported position) when I was laying in the bed. My mother and father in-law showed up around 9’ish, and my husband reviewed in detail our birth preferences with them, so that we would all be on the same page. At that time, they finally had a delivery room open for us, so we transferred there. We got to our room #43, which had a beautiful view of the ocean and coincidentally also of the marina where my husband and I got married. I had written out several birth affirmations ahead of time and stuck them around the room, and also setup our Himalayan Salt lamp to remind me of my bright orange hypno-anesthesia.
My husband setup the speaker to have the Relaxation Music (Hypnobabies special music with Binaural beats) playing, and we also sprayed the room with cleansing Sage spray to clear any negative energy. Our first labor and delivery nurse came in and hooked me up to the monitors to check on the baby, and also checked for dilation. I had only progressed to 3.5 cm, but as I mentioned, I did not want to be informed, so I continued to listen to my Easy First Stage track and relaxed in the bed, switching off each time I felt a pressure wave.
I was deep in hypnosis on the bed, so I did not know that my mom and sister had showed up (my dad was helping move furniture for my sister as they were moving out, so he showed up later), but the track had ended so I switched to center and opened my eyes and saw them there. I was still extremely relaxed and did not feel any anxiety or fear. I would switch back and forth between the birthing ball and the bed, several hours had passed but I did not have any concept of time. The nurse was able to get me the portable monitors, so I could walk around, and at that point my pressure waves were starting to get more intense.
My husband and my sister were helping me walk around the room and also around the hall, and as each wave would come on, I would hold onto one of them and try to go as limp as possible, and I was starting to have to make low-tone moaning sounds through each wave. The nurse wanted me to get up and move around because she felt that I wasn’t progressing fast enough, and especially with the looming threat of Pitocin, my husband was also intent on trying anything to get me to progress. My husband said at this point I was 5.5 cm dilated.
At around this time there was a shift change, so we were assigned a new nurse. The old nurse, the new nurse, my husband and my sister all discussed, and the new nurse felt that I was exerting too much energy trying to walk around and that I would be better off relaxing in the bed and letting the hypnosis really work. So, I got back into the bed and again listened to my Easy First Stage track, put on my eye mask and headphones, and went deep into hypnosis. I did not have any concept of time, but I listened to the entire track, really focusing my hypno-anesthesia where I needed it, which was mainly down in my pelvic region, not so much in my back.
My mother in-law and sister in-law were the only people in the room at that time, as my husband had gone out to the waiting room to check on my parents/sister and his dad. At that point my pressure waves had gotten really intense, and I switched to Center to see what was going on in the room. It had gotten dark outside and that was when I started to lose focus. The pressure waves were really ramping up, and not knowing how dilated I was started to interfere with my mental state. I wanted someone to get my husband, so my mother in-law went to get him. I told my husband that I wanted to know how far along I was, so he had the nurse check me.
They went outside and discussed and when they came back in the room, I told him that I wanted to know how dilated I was, so he calmly told me that I was 7 cm. I remember the nurse telling me that I was doing great and that she believed that I could get through it as I had gotten this far without any pain medication. She said that she had her two kids unmedicated, and that she knew I could do it.
At that point, I think I did come out of hypnosis, because I definitely went into my thinking brain, and started to tell my husband that I didn’t think I could continue, and that I wanted relief, and I actually said that I wanted the epidural! My husband asked me if I was SURE that I wanted the epidural, and I remember telling him that I didn’t care anymore, and I just wanted relief, and basically pleading for the epidural. My husband calmly said to me, “Okay. If that’s what you want to do, then that’s what we’re going to do.” At that point my husband had texted my sister who was in the waiting room saying, “We’re taking the epidural” and she quickly came to my bedside and immediately started telling me that I could do it, and reassuring me that I was going to get through it, and that I was so close, etc.
Meanwhile our nurse was preparing for my epidural and I believe I was going through transformation at that point, as the pressure waves were coming really close together and very intense. All of my other female family members came in (dads stayed outside) and all of them tried to comfort me in any way they could. I think I was laying on my left side with the peanut ball in between my legs and I had my mom rubbing my head, my sister holding my hand, my mother-in-law massaging my leg and my husband’s sister rubbing my back. My husband was coaching me through each pressure wave, making sure that I was making low-tonal noises, and using my PEACE cue (Hypnobabies techniques for instant physical comfort).
The nurse was getting me all hooked up to the IV as I had said I wanted the epidural, but I started to feel pushy. I believe the nurse then decided to check me because I had mentioned that I wanted to push, and she said that I was already at 9 cm! I couldn’t believe I had progressed to a 9 in what seemed like a short time, but I really don’t know how long it was as the pressure waves were so intense. My OB was still on her way, but the nurse said that if I felt like I needed to push, that it was okay. With each pressure wave I would get this really intense urge to want to just bear down, and at that point I was still laying on my left side. I kept doing what felt natural to me, and finally my OB arrived.
I’m not sure how much time had gone by, but a few other nurses had come in after the OB, and I think they started preparing the room for birth. The OB determined that being on my left side was not working so I think I tried getting on all fours and pushing that way, but it was causing more discomfort, and I realized that I just wanted to be on my back, so out came the stirrups. At that point I went into full on pushing mode, which was actually a relief, and everyone around me kept reassuring me that he was almost out, so that really encouraged me. By the way, this entire time (10+ hours) I had my eyes closed, I think I may have opened then a few times but very briefly.
I remember I told my husband to change the track to the Pushing Baby Out track (Hypnobabies hypnosis track specifically for pushing), but I honestly don’t know if I was even focusing on it, all I could think about was pushing this baby out! From what my family remembers (because I don’t), I pushed for a good 45 minutes. In the beginning stages of pushing the nurse told me that my pushes were not that effective because I was using too much energy on making low sounds, and I remember my sister in-law tell me in a very calm but poignant way (and she is an RN) that I needed to send my energy down to my pelvic floor.
So, I took her advice immediately and stopped making sounds, and really focused all my strength down and I remember everyone saying that my pushes were really effective after that. At some point the OB told me that I could reach down and feel his head, but for whatever reason, all I could think about was just focusing on pushing, and I didn’t want to move so I didn’t. I remember that the urge to push with each pressure wave hit a peak, and I pushed once, and then right after that the sensation was so strong that I pushed again as hard as I possible could, and out he came!!!
I was not afraid of pushing at all, and I must say that practicing directing my bright orange hypno-anesthesia down to my cervix and out must have really helped because actually pushing him out was completely painless!!! They immediately put him on my chest, and it was the most glorious feeling I have ever experienced. He had a full head of dark hair and was absolutely perfect! They delayed the cord clamping per our birth preferences, and my husband got to cut the cord. I birthed the placenta which did not hurt, however, the OB and a nurse started to massage my uterus really hard because I was bleeding a lot, and there was significant discomfort with that.
I am so beyond grateful to everyone that supported me through his birth, and extremely thankful to have had the Hypnobabies techniques to have the unmedicated birth that I wanted. Thank you so so much to Carrie Cesario Mendes our Hypnobabies instructor!!! Thank you for being available for Isaiah (my husband) to ask questions and provide support during our birth time, and of course for teaching us all of the invaluable Hypnobabies techniques. I truly believe that Hypnobabies gave me the confidence and positive mind frame to have the birth that I wanted, and even though I did lose focus towards the end, it was only a short time during Transformation and if I can do it, I know all of you ladies can too!!! 💖😉
