Mabel- December 2021

When I heard of HypnoBirthing during my first pregnancy, I was certain it was not for me. It sounded too ‘kooky’ and too ‘natural’ for me. I had a lot of preconceived ideas of what it was so did not look into it. Unfortunately, the birth of my eldest daughter was very traumatic. I had not thought at all about the birth apart from that I was flexible and open to whatever happened.

This was definitely not enough preparation. I was 10 days overdue and was induced, which led to very strong contractions very early. I had an epidural to manage the pain and when my daughter was born, she inhaled meconium and had to be resuscitated and then medivaced to Adelaide. Whilst this was none of my fault, I took on a lot of guilt and was extremely nervous in the lead up to and during the birth.

For my second pregnancy, birth preparation became even more important when some complications with the pregnancy meant that I had regular medical check ups and was booked to be induced anytime around 37 to 39 weeks. This was very stressful and so I looked into what courses I could do in person in Alice Springs and the only option was HypnoBirthing. I contacted Jo and from the very first conversation, a lot of my negative feelings about HypnoBirthing went away. At 28 weeks of pregnancy my partner and I started the classes with Jo and it was exactly what I needed.

Firstly, it gave us a space to dedicate to thinking about the birth and what we wanted. It became clear early on that HypnoBirthing did not exclusively have a natural birth agenda but simply aimed to provide me with lots of tools that would enable me to face a very important moment in my life calmly and positively. Although a lot of how a birth goes is completely unpredictable and out of our control, I felt like HypnoBirthing allowed me to prepare for this positively and calmly. HypnoBirthing was collaborative with the medical supervision that was required during my pregnancy and labour.

During my pregnancy I practiced HypnoBirthing breathing every night. I listened to the relaxation tracks daily and I began to really look forward to my second birth. I started to find the mantras really useful as my induction day approached and as I had to manage the complications of pregnancy. Every time I got nervous or worried, I repeated to myself “I am strong and my baby is strong”. This helped me enormously.

Two days before I was meant to be induced at 39 weeks, my waters broke and I went into labour naturally. I was already at the hospital for a routine appointment and the labour advanced quickly, so I could not labour at home. I adjusted to this by putting in my iPod and listening to the birthing affirmations while I waited for my partner to join me.

Throughout the whole labour I listened to the HypnoBirthing tracks as loud as I could and breathed through each contraction. My partner said he couldn’t tell sometimes if I was having a contraction because I was so calm. Although I definitely did get louder as the contractions got stronger, so this wasn’t always the case. I had printed out affirmations and photos to help me stay calm and my partner had practiced what to say during my contractions to remind me to stay relaxed.

Due to the pregnancy complications and necessary supervision there were some things that did not go my way, but I felt that the HypnoBirthing allowed me to accept these calmly and positively. During my labour my baby’s heart rate became too high and so there was a lot of medical staff around and a suggestion of a caesarean. My HypnoBirthing training allowed me to stay calm through this and I constantly repeated to myself that ‘I was strong and my baby was strong’. I was able to stay calm and collaborate with doctors while also stating my birth preferences.

The birth was extremely quick- 2.5 hours and I was able to use all the tools, to ensure that I remained calm and in control. I am happy that even with the pregnancy complications I had a natural birth and was able to avoid intervention and did not use pain relief. Which was exactly what I wanted to heal from my last birth.

My second daughter’s birth was such an incredibly positive and beautiful experience and extremely healing. Even now, I still use HypnoBirthing when I am feeling anxious and it has really allowed me to keep a positive and strong mindset when approaching difficult situations. I recommend it to every friend who will listen!

Relaxed baby Mabel with Mum Suki at the Clay Pans after the rain January 2022