Birth Stories

HYPNOBIRTHING ALLOWED ME TO PLAY AN ACTIVE, INTEGRAL PART OF MY DAUGHTER’S BIRTH

The birth of Aurora, Dad’s story ...

I always had every intention of being a hands-on partner during birth as I have every intention of being a hands-on Dad. I have friends who’ve had next to nothing to do with their child’s birth and it didn’t seem right to me.

I wanted to start as we meant to go on as parents – a team. Birth, particularly hypno-birthing is an endurance event to be proud of. I’ve done marathons and Ironmans and this is easily the most challenging and the most powerful of all. It’s about energy; your energy, your partner’s, and the baby’s all working together as one.

But it’s important to remember that a woman’s body is doing everything naturally to prepare her for birth; adrenaline, hormones, endorphins – your body, the male isn’t doing any of that, not in the same way. I think fight, flight or freeze comes in to play. Prepare your body to ‘fight’ but in calm, supportive, heroic way – really, be the hero she wants you to be. Just remember to fuel it.

I suppose our birth story follows the same/usual trajectory really in terms of what happened when. Where it differed most was that the ‘medical’ information came through me. Even if at moments Laura could hear them asking me that they’d like to examine her, I acted like a gate-keeper which made her feel safer.

It can be difficult to hear that you’re at 5cm to find out 4 hours later your still only 6cm. You have to leave it outside the room! 1cm at that stage is a 20% increase – that’s what I went with, spinning it to a positive.

The nurses are only doing their job and speaking in a way that they trained. A key moment came when it came to what he hoped would be the last examination – were we 10cm dilated? I knew Laura was spent. I wasn’t much better and I was really questioning how much more we had in the tank.

The nurse confirmed that we were at 10cm and it was time to ‘deliver’. She then told me that Laura would have 1.5 hours before a doctor would have to intervene… what the hell does that mean? ‘Start to push but the clocks ticking?’ I couldn’t tell Laura that. I literally swaggered back in, full of smiles and said ‘We’re at 10cm, in 1.5hours our baby will be here’. Laura beamed. In a split second our tanks were full and we got back in ‘the zone’.

That’s my second overriding memory and something I was key in creating; the zone, the bubble. We built a connection between us, when Laura breathed I encouraged, when she relaxed I massaged and stroked. When she had to ‘put the hammer down’ I coached.

If Laura wasn’t comfortable I moved her, machines and all. It’s so easy to get bound by the room, the nurses, the bed – the MEDICAL. It’s not familiar. Make it familiar, make it home. I watched the midwives with the wires and sensors so I knew how to move Laura with them. When she needed the loo, I took her. When she wanted to move, we danced. When she was uncomfortable I moved the bed.

Honestly, I took over. I cleaned her bum, I changed dressings, I made tea, I massaged. The point is, we made the experience ours, we owned it. We lead it, the nurses just helped - we had control. When it felt like we lost control, we took a moment and got it back.

I believe this is why the midwives asked if I’d like to deliver Aurora. I had secretly hoped to do it but the TV programmes had made me think it was impossible. Rubbish. With guidance I stood at Laura’s side so I could move between her head and the ‘business end’.

I could tell Laura everything with excitement and amazement in a way that was familiar to her, from my heart. That made Laura feel excited too, not scared. The following happens in seconds, literally seconds.

The baby’s head emerges and retreats with the surges, suddenly a blue head ‘pops’ out – bam! The midwife guided my hand to support the head and explained what would happen on the next surge, needless to say I had a gorgeous little fast asleep, gooey, blue baby in my hands before she’d even finished the sentence. That’s it. Done.

It’s funny, all of the questions I had before the birth were about these few precious seconds. What’s it going to smell like? What’s the baby going to feel like? I wanted to prepare my senses with all of the stuff no one thinks to ask but is the stuff that will most likely make you ‘freeze’ or faint.

Trust me, in the moment you won’t even notice the blood or the fluid or swollen body parts that have made this possible; you’ll just have a very slippery blue baby that is the 2nd most precious person you’ve ever met. Your body as an animal will make you right at home, full of love and care.

Listen to your body and go with it. I laughed, I cried – everything all at the same time. You’ll definitely have a newfound respect for your Mrs. Tell her; it’s exactly what she wants to hear. I was very cynical about the midwives – they wouldn’t understand. I was wrong, they’ve been around the block, they’re just at work.

You’re having the most profound moment of your life and they’re just at work! The midwives were brilliant, every step. I was blown away when our midwife told us she had witnessed hundreds of births but hadn’t seen anything like ours. I’d say to anyone: that is possible for everyone.

Hypno-birthing for me was about learning where to take Laura when she was at a crossroad in her mind. Guiding her away from ‘pain’, ‘tightness’ and ‘fear’; all of the things that cause complications and instead encouraging her to focus somewhere else; ‘the cove of confidence’ or ‘cloak of protection’ whatever you want to call them.

Incidentally I still use the cloak of protection almost everyday at work. The methods of unlocking those doors are simple: breath, touch, soft spoken words – it’s not A-level physics.

Hypnobirthing allowed me to play an active, integral part of my daughter’s birth. Laura is telling me as I write this that I was an equal partner in the birth, how amazing is that? I think I was the hero she wanted me to be.

I CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT IT WAS THE MOST RELAXING AND SERENE EXPERIENCE

I started having surges at around 3am on Thursday 7th and they averaged at around 5-8mins apart for the next 12 hours. I spent the day relaxing at home, bouncing on my ball and breathing through each surge with the waves of relaxation breaths. By 4pm they were about 3-4 minutes apart so I called the midwife again and she arrived at around 5pm - we filled the pool up while we waited and Will got the room set up for labour.

When our midwife arrived she didn’t think my surges were strong enough to get anything moving so asked us if we’d like to walk down to the end of the road and back while she waited at home. By the time we got home I was stopping every minute for a big surge but was coping with my breathing.

Having read our birth plan Lorraine was aware I didn’t want lots of examinations but wanted to have a first look to see how far along we were. She told me I was nearly 6cm so at this point I got into the pool while Will lit candles and put on the relaxing Instrumental mp3 which we listened to on repeat for the rest of the night.

The second midwife Donna arrived at around 9ish and the four of us just relaxed in the front room together as I breathed through each surge.

At 10.30pm Lorraine asked if I’d mind if she examined me again if she told Will the results. I was keen to know how things had progressed and when he told me I was 10cm we got very excited about meeting our baby soon!

However ... after two hours of breathing and humming he still hadn’t come and Lorraine had to start negotiating with the hospital team about letting us stay at home for longer. It was at this time Will had to start making decisions regarding our care - starting with a catheter to empty my bladder in case that was blocking the baby’s route down and 30 minutes later allowing the midwife to break my waters.

After this Will and Lorraine disappeared into another room and I sensed that things were about to start changing - I asked the other midwife Donna if there was meconium in the waters and then Will walked in and explained to me that we were going to have to transfer to the hospital for that reason.

Within 10 minutes an ambulance had arrived but I was so deeply relaxed that it didn’t really register. They had brought a stretcher in for me but at the end of a surge I just stood up, popped on a dressing gown and walked out to them!

At this point I was really feeling the need to push but was told to wait until we got to the hospital. I did this for about an hour on the delivery ward but he still wasn’t coming. I had started losing quite a bit of blood (1.5l be the end of it all!) so it was at this time that it was decided intervention would be the safest way to deliver our baby. We first tried the ventouse but when this didn’t work it had to be the forceps. Two big pushes later he was finally here! He had struggled to come down because he had his arms crossed in front of his face, effectively doubling his size!

I got a short cuddle with Billy but had to be taken into theatre to stop the bleeding quite soon after which actually gave Will a lovely chance to bond with some skin to skin contact. After about an hour i was back, I fed him for the first time and Will and I enjoyed some jam on toast!

So all in all, things didn’t quite go the way we’d hoped. But I can honestly say that it was still the most relaxing and serene experience. The skills we learnt with you were invaluable for labour, but also in the uncertain weeks leading up to it - we’ve felt so calm and so far seem to have a calm and happy baby too!

Thank you so much,

Jennie, Will and Billy

EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT HYPNOBIRTHING!

Hi Louise,

So, below is our birth story. It's a bit long so do feel free to cut any bits out, but I do really hope this helps others believe in what hypnobirthing can do.

I don't mind sharing that as a first time mum, I was initially scared of giving birth, and having suffered from anxiety in the past, I was keen to do all I could to ensure a less scary experience.

Plus having watched a few episodes of 'one born every minute', I was amazed when I saw a couple of hypnobirthing videos on YouTube where the women seemed to be in very little pain.

So I thought it was worth looking into; I came to it quite late on in my pregnancy but the impact it had on our whole experience was fantastic, and our birth experience was really not far off the birth story I'd dreamed of and written down.

The first thing that happened was that my waters broke; it was 9:30am the day after my due date, and I was actually at my 40 week appointment with my midwife, Harriet. Harriet did a quick internal examination and said my cervix was really stretchy and I was already 2cm dilated.

It was obviously not ideal as my waters breaking meant we had a time pressure on us due to an increased risk of infection, but I wasn't too worried at that point. I headed home and called Ian, but we decided he should stay at work for the time being.

So I got comfortable bouncing on my birth ball and watched some TV. My surges started around lunchtime, so I had the chance to practise my breathing and visualisation techniques, which seemed to work well to keep me calm and relaxed. Ian came home at around 2pm, and we spent the afternoon watching DVDs.

As my surges started to become stronger and longer, we started timing them. Although they were getting longer, they weren't consistently getting closer together, but by about 9pm I'd had a few around 5 minutes apart so Ian called the maternity triage line. The midwife asked to speak to me, and I guess I must have sounded too calm as she said not to go in until my surges were 2-3 minutes apart!

I was finding it more difficult to relax through each surge but Ian kept me focussed and positive. Around 11pm we decided we should try and get some sleep, but after just two surges lying in bed, I had to get up again as I found it so uncomfortable. So I headed back downstairs and sat on the sofa listening to my MP3s, and dozing between surges.

At 2am, I went to use the bathroom and saw some blood in my waters, so we called the triage line again and they advised us to go into the MLU. The journey was quite uncomfortable but I kept breathing through each surge and we made it.

The midwife examined me and said I was 3cm but she could stretch it to 5cm. She said we could stay in if we wanted or go home and see how things progressed. We decided to head home, knowing that if we weren't much further along by 9:30am, we'd need to go back in anyway as it would have been 24 hours since my waters had broken.

Back home, Ian went back to bed and I sat on my birth ball again. My surges had started coming really intensely in my lower back, and already I was feeling urges to push. I wasn't expecting this, and I have to admit I found them very painful, but I just kept my breathing up and my mind calm and the hours rolled by.

Come the morning, my surges were really no different so we were advised to go into the labour ward where I would be assessed. After spending quite a while in a waiting room, we were eventually shown to a room where I was asked to get on the bed so they could attach a continuous monitor.

I didn't want to be lying down or be strapped up to a monitor but they said they needed to see how baby was doing. The midwife then started talking about being induced as although baby was fine, it had been more than 24 hours since my waters broke.

I was quite upset by this point, and exhausted from nearly 24 hours of surges, so I was more than a little relieved when Ian took control and told the midwife this wasn't what we wanted.

Once he had explained what we'd hoped for, the midwife spoke to the MLU who agreed to take us for four hours to see how we progressed. If I was no further along after four hours, they would induce me.

So, finally where we wanted to be, we settled into a lovely peaceful room and the midwife set me up with some aromatherapy oils to breathe and for Ian to massage my lower back with. I was still just taking each surge as it came, and although I was finding them painful, they were manageable with my breathing techniques.

Knowing each one would be over in only a minute or two and each one was bringing me closer to meeting my daughter just kept me going. Four hours later, at around 4pm, I was examined again, and was now 8cm dilated - I was delighted as it meant I was able to stay where I was.

A short time later, the midwife ran the bath for me. It was around this time the woman in the room next door started screaming in pain...and I started doubting myself! But Ian knew that meant I was going through transition and we would soon be meeting our little girl, so he just kept up the encouragement.

Not long after I got in the bath, at 7pm, the midwives' shifts changed. I was thrilled as my community midwife, Harriet, had come on shift, and took over our delivery. She was great, equally as encouraging as Ian and the three of us sat there with the lighting dimmed, music on in the background and chatted away.

Harriet kept checking our daughter's heart rate after surges and every time shook her head in amazement; "she's as happy as Larry!", which just made me feel as though I really could trust that 'my baby and body know what they're doing', as one of my favourite affirmations went.

As my baby started crowning, coming down the birth canal and going back again a few times, Ian went and made us all a cup of tea. Both Harriet and Ian say their lasting memory of the birth was of me sat in the bath, a baby's head between my legs, while I drank tea and ate chocolate, chatting and laughing!

Soon afterwards, our daughter's head came fully out, and I prepared for the final push. As she came into the world, Ian leaned into the bath and delivered her into my arms, and we sat in the bath for some time just staring at each other in amazement! It was incredible, I had done it!

We waited for the cord to stop pulsing before Ian finally cut it. I'd also opted for a natural third stage, but unfortunately my placenta wasn't coming away so I chose to have the injection and have Harriet help deliver it rather than risk having to go into surgery to have it removed.

So, Rosa was born weighing 6lb 9oz at 8:31pm. I'd not really realised, but at 36 hours from my waters breaking, apparently they would have taken me in for a C-section; Rosa was born after 35 hours! Harriet still says she was on a high for days afterwards, and tells my story regularly to show how a birth experience can be.

I had no pain relief (apart from a bit of gas and air when my placenta was pulled out) and purely relied on the Wise Hippo breathing techniques I'd learned in our hypnobirthing classes. These were all I needed; for me, I struggled with the visualisations but then I had done throughout practise so that didn't come as a big surprise, and I just accepted they weren't going to be part of my birth experience.

It wasn't quite as I'd envisaged; it did hurt, but I felt totally confident that I could cope with it. I also wasn't completely quiet like the women I'd seen in some of the hypnobirthing videos, but I found the primal, animal-like instincts took over and apparently I needed to let some of the energy out vocally.

The other major benefit of hypnobirthing for me though, was what it taught Ian. I would probably be telling a very different story if he hadn't had the confidence gained through our course to question the midwife who wanted to induce me.

And if this isn't enough to convince people to at least try it - of the five couples on our antenatal course, I was the only one who had an amazing birth.

There were two C-sections, one vontouse delivery and one forceps delivery between the other four, and all remember their birth experiences as being awful. It may just have been a coincidence, but there's also a chance it wasn't, and I definitely would recommend hypnobirthing to anyone for that reason!

I'm happy for you to share this in any way you wish as I'm just amazed more people don't know about hypnobirthing and the impact it can have on your birth experience.

Laura & Ian, Reading xx

IT SHOULD BE COMPULSORY FOR EVERY MUM TO BE!

Hi Louise,

We did have an amazing birth. My body tried to make it memorable again having a very looooong period of surges but the time distortion made it all go smoothly (-ish I had my moments 🙂 . We had very supportive midwives and did feel this time that it just happened the way we wanted.

The birth stage was just beautiful and Andy was the lucky one to put first hands into Rebeca and bring her to me.

Rebeca is the most chilled out baby on earth so far... And it melts my heart to hold her... and that's all what I'm doing so far while poor Andy is dealing with the rest.

We would love to catch up with that coffee to introduce you to Victor and Rebeca.

I am still on 5,4,3,2,1 relax... And can still hear the sea of serenity in my head, it does seem to have had a good effect on Rebeca.

Thanks a lot for all the amazing hypnobirthing techniques that we learnt with you. It should be compulsory for every mum to be.

Cheers, Andy & Marta

Marta & Andrew,  Reading

ZONED OUT!

I'd been meaning to drop you a line anyway to say thank you for your hypnobirthing course.

We ended up going to an NHS antenatal course and also an NCT one but all they did was reaffirm things that you had already discussed with us - although in a way it was good to reinforce our ideas.

However, none of the other course leaders were anywhere as good as you and I wanted you to know that I found your course useful as antenatal info as well as hypnobirthing teaching.

My labour ended up being induced due to blood pressure spiking high combined with a predicted big baby (she was 10lb 2oz when she arrived) and the induction worked instantly so I think I'd been hovering on the edge of labour anyway.

Throughout the labour I remained calm and I have huge gaps in my memory where I think I was simply "in the zone" of having contractions and relaxing in between. I think the most important thing that I learnt from your course was to take the trust I already had in Ben and to take it to a new level.

He was absolutely perfect during the labour and everything I needed - he got all the information from the medical personnel when we needed to make a decision and then he'd talk calmly directly to me to confirm the decision.

Had the mischievous little (or big!) baby not decided to turn her head at the last moment and try and come out ear first then I think it might have been a successful natural birth. As it was we ended up with attempted but failed forceps and then c-section under general anaesthetic as the epidural had stopped working.

However, I still count it as a positive experience as no-one forced us into anything at any point. We had a demon of a midwife who completely protected us from all the other medical personal.

It was a great experience and I was so pleased to remember all the deep breathing exercises to remain calm and zoned out.

We called our little girl Rosa-Marie Serenity and I've attached a little picture of her.

Thanks, Nikki (and Ben & Rosa-Marie), Reading

MIDWIVES ENJOYED THE BIRTH TOO!

Hi Louise,

Really good to hear from you. Hope all is well??

Sorry we haven't been in touch the last couple of weeks have been a bit of a blur. Finlay Brown joined us 2 weeks a go today - weighing in at a whopping 9.2lbs (we aren't too sure where he was hiding) the midwives were quite shocked when he came out.

The birth went really well, had a very relaxing day on the Monday with light surges throughout the day. Went for lunch and had a walk, and then at 10pm that evening it all just went mad.

My surges went from every 10 minutes to all of a sudden 3 minutes apart, we arrived in Wallingford by 10.45 and Finlay was born by 7.30 the next morning. Considering he was back to back we managed to have a nice quick and smooth birth.

Our hypnobirthing helped immensely - I wasn't quite as serene as some of the video's you showed us as I felt the need to be a little bit loud on occasions but I felt in complete control at all times. 🙂

I think part of it was primal instinct to make some noise - and as he was back to back my urge to push was much sooner than I needed to. I used gas and air for about an hour when I was 8 cms to help manage the pushing urge but things progressed quickly and he turned when he needed to. The water bath helped manage the pushing urges until that point.

My waters never broke so he came out in his sack - which apparently is quite uncommon so he is a true water baby.

Patrick was brilliant and helped me every step of the way. The midwives commented on how controlled we were and what an enjoyable birth it was for them. They said that is heart rate didn't fluctuate at all throughout the birth which showed how relaxed Fin was throughout.

I will send on some pictures soon. Thank you so much for all your help and we are so happy with how our birth went thanks to hypnobirthing.

Nicky and Pat, Aldermaston

DELIGHTED DAD

Several of my friends have had babies recently, and many of them told me it was a traumatic and stressful experience.

They said they felt powerless to ease the pain their partner was going through, and didn't know what they were supposed to do.

Thanks to the techniques that Jenny taught us, I was able to help Catherine right the way through, and we both thoroughly enjoyed the birth - it was fantastic"

Mark Jackson, Jersey

CAN'T RAVE ABOUT IT ENOUGH

I gave birth to Fintan Joseph on Mon 10th May at 20.04. My surges started irregularly about 1pm, I then started timing them about 2pm. Called Steve home from work at 3pm, because I wanted to relax more. Had a long deep bath, and they seemed to kick in fully then.

Midwife arrived at 7pm (when I was 7cm) and Fintan was born at 8.04pm. Pretty swift really. Oh and I had him at home as planned - which was lovely. Midwives were well impressed at how calm and serene I looked.

I found that sleep breathing was excellant. It really did make the discomfort go away and is empowering as you know what your body is doing so you work with, instead of against it.

Steve was a fantastic birthing partner, calming me and talking me through my breathing - I wouldn't have been able to do it without him. I played the CD constantly as well, and kept saying the affirmations in my head to make me focus on the job-in-hand.

As for the J breath, I loved it - it made the actual delivery easy-peasy.

I can't rave about it enough. Plus one push and the placenta was out - who needs drugs?

Believe in the power that is hypnobirthing and you too will be talked about at midwife meetings.

Our community midwives actually said it was one of the easiest first time-mother births that they had seen in 20 years - now that is some recommendation!!

Marie Cooksey, Northamptonshire

(Hypnobirthing couple featured on "Richard and Judy") 

HYPNOBIRTHING FOR A BREECH BIRTH

Hypnobirthing has given me one of the most wonderful experiences of my life.

Early in my pregnancy, I was convinced that I needed an epidural since all expectant mothers around me were doing that. I heard about hypnobirthing and loved the idea of following a technique to lose fear and allow a natural painless birth, which is what the miraculous female body is destined to do naturally.

My husband and I took the course and were convinced how beautiful and peaceful the natural birth can be.

Since I was having a breech baby, our doula recommended a chiropractor to perform the Webster Technique to help me turn our baby. In addition, I practiced a relaxation CD for turning our baby in my daily practice.

Even though our baby did not turn at the end, our doula introduced us to a midwife who empowered us to switch to a doctor skilled in natural vaginal breech births since my own doctor wanted to schedule me for a C-section. Our meeting with our doula and the midwife happened the night before my membranes released.

Because we followed our instinct and based on our knowledge gained from the hypnobirthing classes, we felt confident to switch our doctor at the very last minute and, thankfully, he accepted us! Our doula was amazing during my birth and helped me go through the surges in a totally relaxed and empowered manner thanks to the relaxation practices I had been doing for a couple of months prior to that moment.

My mother and husband were also present and they were quickly believers when they witnessed a totally relaxed birth experience in spite of the complication of having a breech birth. As it turned out, my labor went unusually fast mainly due to the fact the doctor administered Pitocin, which I had no option out of under the circumstances, but mainly that I was very relaxed through the surges.

From the time they administered Pitocin to the time I gave birth, it had only been less than 3 hours, which even the doctor and attending nurses were surprised to see for a first birth. I remember feeling our baby wanting to come into the world and after that surge, one foot came out. Shortly after that, the other came out.

At that time, the doctor and nurses arrived and realized that I was fully dilated and it was time for our baby to be born. After two slight pushes to get the head out, Lili was born!

Our experience is special and one that I will never forget in my life. hypnobirthing our doula were very instrumental in helping and supporting me to believe it could be this way in spite of a breech presentation. The experience helped me realize and believe that you should trust yourself and your body and allow it to do what it is naturally meant to do.

Jackie Gadret, France

(Jackie took her classes from an American hypnobirthing practitioner)

ANOTHER RAVER

I can't rave enough about hypnobirthing. My husband and I decided to do the course as I was interested in what it involved.

Don't be sceptical until you have tried it.

We started off with the intention of having our baby in hospital but by the end of our course decided to try and have it at home and hired a birthing pool which was lovely.

As the labour progressed, Andy took me into relaxation which enabled me to relax and even sleep while in the birthing pool.

I did go into hospital as a precaution as I wasn't dilating enough [and] on entry to the hospital they wanted to give me a c-section straight away, believe it or not. However, I had a fantastic midwife who new what we wanted to do for the birth of our baby and gave us a chance to continue with that as the baby wasn't distressed.

Andy took me into deep relaxation at this point and I actually fell asleep for about 1/2 an hour in the peak of my surges ... it was at this point I believe my body had rested and relaxed enough to allow my baby to move ready to be delivered.

I do genuinely believe that if I had not had the hypnobirth experience I would not have realised the potential of my own body and how it needs to be able to 'get on with the job in hand' without the addition of stress which fights it all the way.

When in relaxation I would describe it as that Sunday afternoon sleep that you contently drift in and out of. I could feel the surges and would describe them as the ache you get during your period.

Happy hypnobirthing!

Heather and Andy Goram, Northampton

RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE

My husband and I found the hypnobirthing sessions informative in explaining how the female body works during the birth and how to maximise the effectiveness of it. The positive nature of hypnobirthing helped me to look forward to the birth and to believe that a pain free birth is possible.

We both felt very relaxed leading up to the birth. Unlike others in my NHS antenatal class, I never complained of sleep problems. The relaxation techniques didn't just benefit me; my husband, who frequently suffers from insomnia, experienced the best sleep of his life!

My waters broke at 5:30am. My husband and I prepared to go into hospital and were there for 7:30. What I now know to have been the beginnings of my surges started at about 7:00.

At 9:00, the hospital sent me home and told me to go ahead with my obstetrician's appointment the next day. I should have been more assertive in insisting that I believed I would have my baby that day. My lack of pain appeared to lead the midwives to think that labour had not started.

While I relaxed in the bath, at home, my husband timed my surges - 60 seconds long and 2 minutes apart - so back to the hospital we went. On returning there, at 12:30, I was 5cm dilated.

I cannot explain very well what happened during the first stage of labour. I continued to practise the breathing with each surge whenever I felt a tightening. At some point, my body seemed to take over. My uterus seemed to convulse, pushing downwards. This was totally involuntary on my part! The midwife felt that my body was taking over and knew exactly what to do.

During this time, my husband took over all discussions with the midwives and I was able to use the self-hypnosis techniques to totally relax, shut out the outside world and focus on my surges.

The midwives and doctors were incredibly supportive of our wishes to use the hypnobirthing techniques. My husband and I both enjoyed the birthing experience.

We felt relaxed throughout and so did Amie as it appears to have transpired. The techniques taught to us certainly helped me to relax my body, which I believe enabled me to be pain free.

I had been anxious at times during the pregnancy because of my medical condition, which could have created problems during the birth. However, the hypnobirthing sessions gave me the confidence to take greater control of the birth while respecting the need, in my case, for considerable monitoring and potentially for medical intervention.

I would certainly use the techniques again, should we have more children, and would recommend it to anyone.

Clare Sparks, Northampton

MUCH BETTER THAN PREVIOUS BIRTHS

This birth was much easier than the last four - I was quite detached from any pain and I felt much more alert by the time she was born.

The slow breathing and the balloon were the things that helped me most. Luis was great - he kept talking and stroking my back throughout.

I feel that I have recovered much more quickly this time - I was not wiped out by the birth like I was with the others, and our baby is feeding well and is very alert.

We did not have much time to practice for our Hypnobirth and it still made a big difference...

Abigail, London 

12 HOURS OF CONTRACTIONS - AND NO PAIN

LABOUR IS A BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL THING

As soon as we knew the signs that our baby was coming to us, we were very excited, we talked about what the baby would look like.

We were very positive and both extremely relaxed. We knew this was going to be a great day.

I was feeling only tightenings in my stomach, I visualized the muscles stretching up then pushing down to open the cervix. I felt very happy to have this feeling as I knew the baby was coming to me.

I was never uncomfortable and it was very peaceful as I listened to music and the colours of the rainbow tape. With each wave it was if my body went into a totally automatic relaxed but focused state. Between the waves I felt so relaxed, I felt sleepy.

Soon I felt the urge to push, our little "Lucy Maree" was handed to us after 3 pushes of non interference labour.

The hypnobirthing programme and Peter had shown me how to enjoy my labour. With each surge I felt very happy and confident. Labour is a beautiful, beautiful thing and I wish everyone could experience the peace and calmness that I did whilst birthing our baby.

My recovery was very quick as I had not used my energy in fighting fear of my birth. The hypnobirthing technique has become a very special gift in my life. I feel totally privileged to have this knowledge to have given me the ultimate birth experience.

I remember at one session with Peter watching a video of this total in control mother giving birth and I thought, wow. But no I still don't think I'll be like that. .... Well from the first wave to the last I was like that lady, but I wasn't even trying to be.

It's exactly like I learned, "Turn your labour over to your body". I was so proud of myself, and my husband couldn't believe what I was like. Due to work commitments my husband was unable to come to all the classes, he was happy for me to do the programme.

The point I would like to make to all the mothers is, "It is possible to do this on your own". Geoff my husband was extremely supportive throughout the pregnancy and the birth and was so proud of me. He is now so positive of the hypnobirthing programme.

Thank you so much for helping me to enjoy birthing as it should be enjoyed, also enjoying life as it should be enjoyed.

Tania, Geoff, Samuel and Lucy Sharman 

SO QUICK AND CALM THE CARPET GOT WET

I was 39+1 on 20th April (2005) and the day was the same as any other. I picked my eldest daughter up from school at 3pm & drove home.

Hubby started making tea at 4.00 but I really didn't want anything. He insisted I had something & I was just sitting down to eat it at 5pm when I felt quite 'wet' down below. There was no gush of waters, and both my other labours had started with contractions not the waters going, so I was quite dubious at this point that it was my waters.

I ended up changing my knickers & trousers 3 times in the space of 10 mins before thinking that maybe this was it. I told my hubby "I think my waters have gone" and sat back down to eat some food, figuring that it'd probably be hours before anything would happen, but just hoping that something did start, because I really didn't want to have to go in to be induced.

At that point my waters went with a gush. I wasn't going to phone the midwife at this point but hubby wanted me to, and I decided it'd be a good idea to get in first, as another one of her mums-to-be was booked for a home-birth at the same time, so just in case she also went into labour I thought I'd let her know.

I phoned her at 5.15 & she said to phone her back when I needed her to come, and if nothing happened I would probably have to go in at 5pm the next day.

I ran a bath & started playing one of my hypnobirthing CDs that my trainer had given me for when I was in labour, and phoned my mum to let her know (she lives in Kent, I'm in Wales, and she wanted to try & make it down in time for the birth).

While I was in the bath I started getting contractions, and I knew this was it. I got out of the bath at 5.55 & the midwife was knocking on the door - she'd been passing the house & decided to call in to listen in on the baby. I told her the contractions had started, so she said she'd examine me as well.

By this time hubby was frantically trying to get the kids off to bed so that he could start to set up the room for me, and I decided I wanted to put my TENS machine on. I gathered all my relaxation CDs & went downstairs to be examined.

At 6.15 I was told that I was 4cms & my cervix was very thin, [and] the midwife said I'd deliver between 3-6 hrs, which I was very pleased with. She said she'd go home & I was to phone her when I felt I needed her here. Hubby was still putting the kids to bed so she said she'd put my TENS machine on for me before she went.

By the time that was on (6.25) I felt very tired I said I wanted to lie down on the sofa. I started my relaxation & breathing & the midwife actually asked if the contractions had stopped, as I was making no noise & was so relaxed. No, I said, they're getting a lot stronger. They were also coming every 2 minutes.

Luckily, at this point she decided that she'd stay as she thought I was progressing quickly. I say luckily because at this point, it was 6.35 & I could feel the baby coming down.

It was the oddest feeling, because my body was telling me this baby was coming, but my head is telling me "you're being silly, you were only 4cms a couple of minutes ago". Thank goodness the midwife realised what was happening & managed to get my trousers & knickers off while phoning the other midwife to tell her to come.

I admit I did lose some of my composure at this point. I couldn't believe what was happening & that it was all so quick. The second midwife arrived within minutes, and was here just in time to help me get onto my knees to deliver.

Tamina Rose was born at 6.50pm to a very shocked mum & dad. We hadn't managed to get my music on, or anything set out in the room, so the carpet got a bit wet.

I was in shock for a few hours & needless to say my mum didn't get here in time, although she arrived at around 10.30/11pm that night.

The girls had fallen asleep by the time we'd cleaned up the mess & we went to get them, so we waited until the next morning to show them their baby sister.

I have nothing but good things to say for the hypnobirthing course that I did. I am convinced it contributed to my quick labour & until the point where I had a little panic when I realised how quickly she was coming, I was very comfortable the whole time. I only wish I'd had a longer labour in a way so that I could have put more of the techniques I'd learned into practice.

Tamina is an angel so far. I think the quick & calm birth really shows in her, as she's slept & fed well right from the word go, and only cries when she wakes for a feed - which is totally different to the way her sisters were, who both cried for hours on end, especially in the nights.

I was also delighted to get back into my jeans exactly a week after the birth & I'm now 9lbs lighter than when I got my BFP so I'm very pleased with that. And Tamina is absolutely arored by her sisters, so I think she's going to be a very spoiled little girl with all these women fussing over her.

Gemma Silcox, Wales