Sunday 5 July 2015

The home HypnoBirth of Ellie Wood - mindset, preparation and a bit of a surprise!

Hi I'm Karenna and I run Hope and Honey - offering HypnoBirthingChildbirth ClassesFertility Coaching and Birth Pool Hire in Perth, Western Australia.

I recently gave birth to my beautiful daughter - Ellie and here's our birth story.

The birth of my first daughter, Isla, was pretty long (27 hours!) and you can read the full story here. It was a really positive home water birth, but at times I struggled mentally to keep strong which I think resulted in the long labour. So this time, I was determined that this labour would be shorter and that I wouldn't let any fears or doubts into my mind.

I prepared for the labour using the HypnoBirthing hypnosis and affirmation tracks - listening to them regularly and even more so in the final weeks. This relaxation time was also really important in preparing for life with 2 under 2! The repetition of the affirmations was especially good and there were 3 in particular that really resonated with me so I printed these out and stuck them around the house. Every time I went to the fridge or my daughter's room, I read the affirmations and the words and meanings really stuck in my mind and came to me during the birth. (Read more about how effective positive affirmations can be)

I also prepared for the birth doing perineal massage and using the Epi-No (more information here) This is a great practical way that you can prepare for birth and I did this at the same time as my relaxation. For me, this was really important for my home birth as I didn't want to have any post-birth complications due to tearing and have to be transferred to hospital after a successful home birth. Of course, if you have a great, relaxed natural birth you are less likely to tear anyway but for me it was helpful for my mindset to know that I had prepared my perineal muscles for birth. This may seem a slightly alien concept to some but it's something I always ask my clients to consider doing as research shows perineal massage in the lead up to labour reduces tearing and other related complications.

Another thing that I always 'preach' is patience when waiting for baby to arrive - viewing your due date as a relaxed estimate and not putting pressure on yourself. As I approached and went past my due date, it felt pretty hard to practice what I preach! I was torn between my rational side - knowing that baby will come when baby is ready and irrational impatience. My husband had joked that he wanted out of something at work on a certain date and for some reason this date got stuck in my head and I felt frustrated when this date also passed.

On the day my labour started, I remember finally finding peace - truly believing in what I 'preach' and finding patience. After waving off friends after dinner at our house, I started to feel a few twinges. As I'd been experiencing these for a couple of weeks I wasn't expecting them to turn into anything. Our other daughter Isla must have known however that this was it. Normally very good at going to bed, we tried for nearly 2 hours to get her happily into her cot. All the while, I was getting surges and starting to think this could possibly be it but keeping that to myself in case it wasn't.

At 9pm, Isla finally went to sleep and instantly my surges came on much stronger. I finally said to my husband, Lee, I think this is it - time to get set up. So we set to work, changing beds, getting out towels and preparing the birth pool. I must say changing sheets on the bed was a lot of fun whilst getting strong surges but it was probably good for me - keeping active in early labour is a great way to get things going.

Finally we felt all prepared and I got onto all fours, leaning on the birth ball, in front of the fire. It was a lovely stormy night with the rain hammering down and it felt so cosy to be in front of a roaring fire. The fire was something I'd actually pictured as part of my labour as well as it being at nighttime. I desperately wanted to birth overnight with our other daughter Isla managing to stay asleep so we didn't need to call on friends to help out. So I felt lucky that this was what was happening so far.

By this point, my surges were coming every 2 minutes and we rang our midwife Wendy to let her know I was definitely in labour. We decided to just keep going ourselves and call her in half an hour to update her. I was using a contraction timing app to get an idea of how frequent and how long my surges were. Although this was a bit of a distraction - it did make me laugh when it kept flashing up 'Go to hospital or call an Ambulance IMMEDIATELY!'

The living room was cosy with the fire, candles and my favourite tunes playing. Time didn't really seem a factor and it was actually over an hour before we called midwife Wendy again. At this point, I was starting to feel a little nauseous at the end of each surge and was using low moaning noises to help me through each surge. As soon as Wendy heard this, she was at the house within 5 minutes. I remember Wendy arriving, taking my blood pressure and then saying she was going to start her notes and set up. This was about midnight I think. My surges were becoming pretty intense and I kept asking if I could get into the birth pool - I now needed something to assist me. Lee and Wendy were still fine-tuning the temperature and level of the pool so asked me to wait. At one point, when changing over between the hot and cold taps (and the resulting pressure difference) the hose fired out of the pool snaking across the living room and soaking me during a particularly strong surge. We had to laugh - the water was dripping down the walls and I was also dripping wet! Poor Lee was running around towelling down the walls and furniture whilst trying to fill the pool and trying to help me through my surges!

As mentioned, I was determined with this labour to keep focused and not let any fears or doubts creep into my mind. For me, birth is a bit of a solitary exercise - no one can do the surges for you and you can only rely on your own mind and body to guide you through. I know this will be different for others but this is an area I struggled with during Isla's birth - expecting others to be able to help in more ways than just being supportive and present with me. Birth is a journey that within my mind I have to walk alone. The only points where I found my focus dropping was when Lee was trying to help me with massage or words of support as I almost wanted to reach out to him and ask him to bear some of the load. His support was paramount but actually I needed to be completely inside myself - I couldn't let myself reach out to him.

After a particularly strong surge, I was almost begging for the relief of the pool. Wendy asked me to go to the toilet for a wee before I got in as a full bladder can actually inhibit labour / the descent of the baby. I knew getting to the toilet was going to be tough. I'd spent all of the surges leaning over the fit ball on my knees and when I had moved upright the surges were much stronger. So with some trepidation I set off down the corridor. A surge came on strong half way there - Lee held me up and told me I had to keep quiet not to wake little Isla - a tough moment!

I made it to the toilet and had a couple more strong surges there. Wendy and Lee were still tinkering with the birth pool. All of a sudden, I felt this monumental movement within me - I could feel the baby descending and twisting. I shouted for Wendy and Lee and said "it's happening, she's coming right now." It all happened so quickly - I felt her moving downwards and then the head coming out. I didn't push, or in fact do anything at all. It was like an unstoppable force I was witness too and almost not a part of. The head came out after a few seconds and then there was even more unbelievable movement as she twisted and turned (360 degrees apparently!) and literally twisted her way out. It's only at this point as her shoulders and body emerged that my waters broke. Her head came out completely in the membrane (something called 'en caul' which is quite rare and many midwives believe to be lucky). I remember Wendy holding the membrane up wondering what to do with it!

The birth happened at 00.40 - so the labour was only 4.5 hours - amazing!

So here we were all squashed into our tiny toilet - Ellie was straight up on to my chest and latched on to feed almost immediately and I couldn't believe it was all over. Even with the last strong surges, I still had no idea how far along I was into my labour and after a long labour the first time had expected it to be much longer. I think Lee and I were both in a bit of shock at how quickly it had happened by comparison to last time.

At this point, our two student midwives arrived in time for the third stage. I was still chewing on my pulsatilla tablet (homeopathic remedy which can assist the placenta to come out) when I felt the placenta coming. Only ten minutes after birth, the placenta was out, Ellie was feeding well and I was still sat on the toilet in awe of what my body had just done.

We moved into our bedroom, Lee cut the cord (read more about the benefits of delayed cord clamping here) and Ellie continued to feed for at least another hour. It gave the midwives a chance to recoup, write notes and have some chocolate cake and tea! So it was a couple of hours after the birth that Ellie was weighed (7 lb 9 oz) and checked (perfect!).

One of the best things about home births is afterwards - you are in your own bed, in your own home and no one has to go anywhere. It felt amazing that Ellie was here with us, we'd had our perfect birth with no interventions or examinations, no talk or knowledge of 'how many centimetres dilated' I was and no tearing. It was just as I'd visualised and hoped for - short, overnight and Isla woke up in the morning to meet her new baby sister!

I am ever grateful and amazed by the HypnoBirthing techniques for helping me achieve the birth we wanted. My mindset never wavered and I put that down to the preparation beforehand using the relaxation, affirmations and visualisations. That and also my absolute determination! Also a huge thanks to the Community Midwifery Program here in Perth who make home birth possible.

If you'd like more information on HypnoBirthing and how you can achieve the birth you want, contact Karenna from Hope and Honey.

Monday 8 June 2015

How can positive birth affirmations help me have an easy, comfortable birth?

My birth will be easy because I'm so relaxed and confident - my favourite positive birth affirmation
Hi I'm Karenna and I run Hope & Honey offering HypnoBirthing, Fertility Coaching, Childbirth Classes and Birth Pool Hire in Perth, Western Australia.

One of my favourite things about working with clients is seeing their confidence grow and see the change from fear of birth to being excited about their labour.

So how does that happen and how can you make that change and be truly looking forward to the birth of your little one?

Partly it's about education - learning about the natural process of birth and how our body responds to relaxation and reacts to fear. Another part of the transformation is 'changing your mindset' - sounds a bit tricky eh? Well it doesn't have to be!

Our minds work through pathways. When we develop a habit our brain trundles down the same old pathways. When we want to create a new habit or train of thought - we have to create new pathways and that can be hard at first. It's almost like trampling down a new path in a meadow - it's hard at first and you have to consciously do it, but after several times it becomes easier and soon you can walk down that path easily and without much thought.

A great way of creating new positive thoughts about birth is to use positive birth affirmations. An affirmation is:

  • a positively phrased statement to yourself
  • phrased in the present tense
  • simple and short
  • a statement that starts with the word 'I/My/...'
E.g. - I am choosing healthy food that makes me feel good. The practice of doing affirmations allows you to begin replacing some of your stale, worn-out or negative mind chatter with more positive ideas and concepts. It is a powerful technique, one that can in a short time completely transform your attitudes and expectations about life, and thereby totally change what you experience. 

I'm preparing for the birth of my second baby at the moment. Here are my top 3 birth affirmations - the ones that really resonate with me:


  1. My birth will be easy because I'm so relaxed and confident
  2. I release my birth over to my body and baby
  3. My baby is perfectly positioned for an easy, comfortable birth

Imagining your baby is perfectly positioned for birth - a good positive birth affirmation
But there are many more to choose from...

  • I am focused on a smooth, easy birth
  • I am prepared to meet whatever turn my birthing takes
  • I put all fear aside and welcome my baby with happiness and joy
  • I deepen my relaxation as I move further into labour
  • My mind is relaxed, my body is relaxed

So why not try using some affirmations when preparing for your birth? You can say them out loud, listen to some recorded affirmations or my favourite - print them out and stick them around your house. I find this really helpful as you see these statements and images regularly - helping your mind take in these statements repeatedly.

It's natural to be apprehensive about an upcoming birth and that's okay, but if you're feeling fearful or negative - try using affirmations to help you change your mindset and be able to get excited about your labour. For more information or to book HypnoBirthing or antenatal classes, visit Hope & Honey.

Positive Birth Affirmation Example

Saturday 9 May 2015

Does HypnoBirthing Work? A Hope and Honey client shares how it helped her birth quickly, gently and easily

Hope and Honey offer HypnoBirthing, Fertility Coaching, Private Antenatal Classes and Birth Pool Hire in Perth, Western Australia. Here is a birth story from a HypnoBirthing client, a 2nd time mum who benefited hugely from the whole journey of HypnoBirthing.

"I was 40 weeks + 5 days it was Saturday the 7th February. I was relaxed and not at all anxious about the +5days I was very keen to let labour start naturally without any intervention. I had been swimming everyday and walking as much as possible to support this. I went to bed the night before after eating a vindaloo curry and slept as usual with no signs of anything happening.
K & Baby B after their gentle, calm HypnoBirth
I woke up at 0730hrs and was planning on swimming again with my husband and daughter, I felt some tightening shortly after I ate breakfast at around 8am, I wasn’t sure that it was a contraction so I carried on getting ready for the pool. I felt a few more tightening sensations and began to think that it was contractions. I used an app on my phone to time them and had 3more in very close succession, I realised at this point that I probably wouldn’t go swimming however I didn’t rush to ring the hospital or anything like that as I was keen to stay home as long as possible.

I put on my affirmations and had a shower and got dressed my surges continued every 2 minutes and were getting more intense. I did my relaxation breathing and continued with the affirmations whilst walking around the house. I called a neighbour to look after my daughter and I just felt really calm about it all at this point. At 1010am, all of a sudden with the next contraction I felt a real sense of pressure and I was very nauseous. I instantly knew the head was bearing down, I felt scared at this point and called the hospital. I was very uncomfortable and anxious. We arrived at the hospital at 1040am, I knew the baby was well on its way to being born my contractions were further apart but lasting for longer. I stood at the side of the bed trying to restore my inner calm and just trying to do my surge breaths.

The midwife attached some monitoring and then examined me confirming I was fully dilated but membranes were intact. I was instructed to begin pushing whenever I felt the surges, I was asked to lie on the bed at this point which I really found uncomfortable but my obstetrician needed to rupture my membranes because she saw that baby looked tired from the monitoring and was suspecting meconium in the waters. Once the membranes were ruptured there was indeed meconium present and so a paediatrician was called, I was putting lots of energy into my breathing but fear had defiantly taken over at this point. I was experiencing a lot of pain and wanted it to be over.

Karen, Baby B and Big Sister M
Luckily I didn’t have to wait long as my beautiful baby girl was born exactly 1 hour after arrival at the hospital at 1140hrs, only 3.5 hours after the onset of labour. I did have an episiotomy because Beatrice had her hand up on her face during delivery.

Hypnobirthing was a real journey for me, it helped me plan out and make decisions about how I wanted my birth to be. I planned it, I visualised it and it happened. My hypnobirthing practitioner really opened my mind and introduced me to techniques and therapies I hadn't known before. It was about more than just the labour itself and I feel I benefited hugely, I will and have recommended it."

Karenna from Hope and Honey says - "K had a very quick first birth with her first daughter nine years previously. In some ways because it was so quick, there was a bit of fear still there from this birth even though overall the experience had been positive. So through HypnoBirthing, we worked on reducing that fear and by the end of the classes, K was really looking forward to the birth and had planned out everything she wanted. I'm so pleased for them both that their journey was as they wanted, loved working with them and love keeping in touch with them and seeing pictures of Baby B growing up already!"