-Christina (Home Course)

​This was my second pregnancy and I was absolutely determined to have the birth of my son my way, since my first son was born by C-section due to complications which I attribute to unnecessary interventions by the hospital staff, since he was two weeks past the guess date. I had used the hypnobabies home study course with baby #1 but never really got to implement it fully during my birthing time, since once I was administered pitocin everything got really intense and I was unable to focus. I knew that chances of having a VBAC are much higher if you have a doula, and I wanted to use hypnobabies again, and that is how I found Carrie, who turned out to be a godsend.

As with baby #1, this one did not seem ready to come out on his “due date”. I went in for the non stress test at 41 weeks and was promptly advised to schedule another C-section then and there, simply because my amniotic fluid was slightly low, but not into the danger zone. I was confused and surprised, since I had been told by my doctor that she was very open to doing VBACs and that the hospital was trying to lower their C-section rate, that they so quickly threw all that out the window once I hit 41 weeks. Carrie was so helpful with sending me research and encouragement to stick to my intuitions, and I decided to decline the advice of the hospital staff and I had to sign a waiver releasing them of liability since I refused to do a C-section and I went home. Two days later I went back for another non-stress test and was given the same advice by the hospital. Again I declined the C-section and went home. The next day I went to see my OB who seemed very displeased to see me still pregnant, and she stripped my membranes and told me that I was dilated to about 2 cm. I went home praying that it would happen naturally that night.

I awoke on Friday the 13th of May still very pregnant and impatient! I was texting with Carrie frequently and she was being such a strong and supportive voice to me that it really helped me to calm down and just trust my body. I knew my baby would come when my body was ready for him, but I decided it was time to help him out. I drank a smoothie with 1 tablespoon of castor oil and waited one hour. No pressure waves yet, so I had some juice with one more tablespoon of castor oil. By 5 pm still nothing, so I decided to go and get a super delux pedicure to help myself relax and in hopes that the foot massage might kick-start things.

While sitting in the chair, lo and behold, I started having intense pressure waves that were coming consistently from 7-10 minutes apart. I came home and cooked dinner with my husband as they continued to come stronger and closer. The castor oil finally kicked in (it’s a powerful laxative) and I was unable to eat much dinner. Finally I texted Carrie and told her to come as the waves were consistently coming now every 3-4 minutes for over an hour. She arrived at my house quickly and I decided to take a bath while she began to coach me using hypnobabies scripts. The bath didn’t last long as I felt like the waves were already super intense and that we should go to hospital since they were so close together. We arrived at the hospital around 9:30 pm, and they checked me.

I didn’t want to be informed of my dilation so they told my husband while Carrie continued to coach me as I alternated from the birth ball to sitting on the toilet. I had no real concept of time as I was so focused on just relaxing and the hypnosis was really helping me to just feel the waves as pressure. There was no pain at all, just intense pressure that was definitely manageable with the support of Carrie there to remind me to just trust my body and allow it to open. I guess we were in triage for almost 3 hours before they moved me to a room upstairs where we continued to use all our hynobabies cues, and had dim tea lights throughout the room and music. I don’t think I spoke to a nurse more than once. I felt so in control of my body and my mind, and I attribute that all to hypnobabies. Not once did I feel like I needed any kind of pain medication or that this was something I couldn’t do. 

At one point, I think it was around 3:30 am, my water broke. They checked me shortly after and I was told that I was very close but not to push yet as it could set me back. We decided to put on the birthing time track and continued to change positions. I was going from the toilet, to the birth ball, to lying on my side with the peanut ball in between my legs. I was so hypnotized I guess I was even falling asleep in between waves.

Finally I was informed that it was time to push. At the time I was on the bed leaning on all fours over the birth ball facing the back of the bed. The nurses wanted me to turn around and get on my back and I refused. I knew that at that particular hospital they only “let you” deliver in the lithotomy position but I was just listening to my body and that was the most comfortable position for me at the time. I may not even have been able to move if I wanted to. I had no idea how quickly this next part would happen. I was just groaning and sending all my energy down and out when I heard them all saying they saw the head and to get ready. My doctor wasn’t even there yet!

​I remember saying to my baby in my head, “this is it, you are coming out in the next 2 pushes!” and that is exactly what happened! I felt my babies head travel from far up to down and out and he flew out so quickly no one even caught him and he landed on the bed! I had pushed him out from a station 1 in 2 pushes. They started telling me to turn around and grab my baby! So I did and there he was! My healthy 9 pound 5 ounce, and 21” baby boy was born at 5:07 am on May 14, 2016. It was the most wonderful and elating experience of my life. I feel so empowered knowing that I trusted my body and my instincts to allow it to do what it was created to do, to give birth, without any interventions or medications. I did it thanks to hypnobabies and Carrie with her awesome wisdom and support and I don’t think I could have done it without her. Thank you so much Carrie!