I am just now getting around to writing Emmaline’s birth story, even though she was born on March 18th. Emmaline’s home water birth was a truly wonderful experience and Hypnobabies helped me tremendously through a 36 hour birthing time! Emmaline weighed 10lbs. and was 22 inches long. Because I want to be totally honest about my birth experience, there are a few aspects that you might need your BOP for and I have indicated that below, so please skip that part if you feel you need to.
My birthing time began around 4pm on March 16th, which was also my 33rd birthday. I was 41 weeks and 2 days at this point, so I was very ready for my baby’s arrival and beginning to feel like I’d be pregnant forever if something didn’t happen soon.
My early pressure waves were about 5-6 minutes apart and very manageable so I continued to work on my computer for a couple of hours. Around 7pm my husband got takeout for dinner and I ate a full meal. I had emailed my doula earlier in the day to let her know that I thought my birthing time might be starting and that I might need her that night.
By about 8pm it was clear that my pressure waves were becoming more intense, so at that point I asked my husband to help me through them. I spent a lot of time sitting on the birth ball and trying to relax while my husband used light touch massage on my back. I never consciously used my finger drop technique, but I did try to relax during each pressure wave. I listened to the birthing day affirmations track on my ipod at one point, but that was the only time I listened to any HB tracks.
I decided to call my doula at 10pm to check in with her and she suggested that I try to rest as much as possible since it was getting late and to call her back if things continued to progress. I was sure that I’d be calling her back soon, but I agreed to try taking a shower to see if the pattern of my pressure waves would slow down or stop. They didn’t. Things continued to get more intense so I called my doula back around 1:30am and we decided that she should come to our house. She arrived around 2:30am and took over the light touch massage for my husband so he could get some rest. She also set things in motion for getting the birth pool set up.
Hours went by but my experience of time during my entire birthing time is very hazy. I was not consciously aware of the passage of time because I was so focused. Because we were planning a home birth my husband and I didn’t bother timing the duration or frequency of my pressure waves. However, my doula and midwives did keep track of them. They told me later that my pressure waves were between 3-6 minutes apart for most of my birthing time and they typically lasted about a minute to a minute and half.
Once the birth pool was ready in the early morning hours of March 17th, I spent about 3 hours in it and it was very relaxing. The rest of the time I alternated between the bed and sitting on the birth ball. Almost the entire time I listened to ocean sounds on a sound machine. I tried to listen to HB tracks on my ipod, but for some reason I just felt that my pressure waves required too much concentration and I was doing fine without the tracks. (editors note: Most moms find that the Hypnobabies tracks help them to concentrate. But this mom followed her intuition and did what was right for her.)
My doula had been keeping my midwives updated about my progress and they arrived around 1:30pm on March 17th. Everything was consistently normal with the baby’s heart rate, and my blood pressure, pulse and temperature were also normal, so everyone kind of hung out while I continued to manage each pressure wave one at a time. By around 8pm on the 17th when it was clear that I had been having regular pressure waves for 24 hours, my midwives offered me the option of a cervical exam to see how far I was dilated. I was thrilled to find out that I was 6cm dilated and the baby’s head was very low in my pelvis.
My midwives suggested that I try out the TENS machine I had bought just to see whether it was helpful, even though I was having no problems managing my pressure waves. I put it on and found that it was really useful. It creates tiny electrical impulses through four electrode pads placed in the middle of your back. I felt that it mimicked the sensations of light tough massage that I really enjoyed. I used it for at least a couple of hours before deciding to get back in the birth pool. I liked the birth pool because I could rest my head on the side of the pool and lay down in the water to rest in between pressure waves. The warm water was also very relaxing.
It was around midnight on March 18th when I first started to feel the urge to push. My midwives asked if I wanted another cervical exam and we were not surprised to find that I was 10 centimeters dilated. However, I did have a little bit of a cervical lip remaining on one side and my membranes had not yet released. They suggested that I try to resist the urge to push and change positions through several pressure waves to see if the lip would resolve itself. I was able to do that for several contractions even though it was clear that my body wanted me to bear down. At some point my membranes finally released while I was sitting on the toilet. From the time that I first felt the urge to push until I started the active pushing stage about 5 hours passed.
Although I only spent about 2 1/2 hours actively pushing, it felt much longer at the time. While I was pushing my midwives encouraged me to feel the baby’s head and that kept me going because I was starting to get tired and needed the extra boost of encouragement. I was so relieved when it finally seemed like my pushing was paying off and I could feel my daughter’s head coming down. It was such an amazing moment when her head finally came out! I have to give my HB practice lots of credit for helping me stay so focused and calm throughout my birthing time and the experience could not have been better!
BEGIN BOP
My natural birth was such a wonderful experience and I’m so glad I used HB to prepare for it. But I did experience discomfort. My pressure waves felt like intense menstrual cramps almost the entire time. Also, although I definitely did not have back labor, I did feel some discomfort in my back during some pressure waves.
The hardest part of my birthing time was resisting the urge to push when I was trying to help the cervical lip resolve. For me the urge to push was almost completely involuntary and trying to counteract that sensation was extremely difficult because it hurt a lot.
That said, all of the sensations I experienced were completely manageable and I did not ever feel the need to go to the hospital to get an epidural. I also never felt that I couldn’t handle things or experienced any fear.
As a result of my experience, I have come to believe that the reason some women have pain free births is not just mind over matter (though I’m sure that having the right mind set helps); the baby’s size and position can make a huge difference in my opinion. My daughter was 10lbs and her 14 1/2 inch head was slightly crooked in my pelvis. Had she been smaller or put more even pressure on my cervix, it’s possible I’d be one of those women who has a pain free birth.
(editors note: Indeed not all moms are going to have completely comfortable births. The position of the baby can play a roll in the comfort for mom. But this mom was able to use her tools to manage the discomfort she did have! Great job!!)
In between pressure waves I was able to walk around and talk to my birth team, but during pressure waves I could not sit quietly and use my finger drop technique. I felt the urge to make noise during every pressure wave and staying still was actually less comfortable for me than moving around. I also had no interest in listening to HB tracks whatsoever during my birthing time.
(editors note: This is why we have center switch, so mom can move not only between but during her pressure waves as well!)
That said, I really do think that practicing hypnosis helped me a lot. Had I not done Hypnobabies, I would not have handled the discomfort so well and I’m sure I would have been afraid. Although I didn’t use Hypnobabies in the way that I planned, it definitely helped me have the birth that I wanted.
END BOP