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 7^th 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!"

Choosing where to give birth in Perth

Hi, I'm Karenna from Hope and Honey offering HypnoBirthing, childbirth classes, birth pool hire and much more in Perth, Western Australia. Here's my latest blog on birth options in Perth:

It's a tough decision - some people don't think much about it, they just look at what's available in their local area. Other people prefer to do some research on all the options. Whatever end of the spectrum, choosing where to give birth in Perth is a big decision, is really individual and one not to be taken lightly or to be rushed. 

But do you know all the options available in Perth? There's probably more than you think. Here's a link to a list of the options in Perth from my friend at Birth Savvy. 

There are so many opinions out there and many people turn to friends and family and good old 'word-of-mouth' to help inform their decision. There's also a place for some hard statistics but these are really hard to find. Below are some statistics on caesarean rates in this graphs below. It's not often we get the opportunity to compare the various hospitals across Perth so this is really useful, but remember c-section rates are only one part of a much bigger story. 

Caesarean Section Rates in Perth and Around the World

It does however give us some food for thought. Often a hospital with high c-section and induction rates (if not high-risk like KEMH) shows their policies are to intervene in birth so if you're looking for a natural birth - perhaps you could explore other options such as midwifery care, the family birth centre or an independent midwife. 

Hope & Honey don't advocate any particular hospital or way of birthing because the only thing that matters is that you and your family are comfortable and happy with your selection. It saddens me when I meet or hear about families who are getting increasingly dissatisfied with their care or feel that their caregiver isn't supportive of their choices. It takes a huge leap to step away from care that you're planning or have paid for but remember that getting the birth you want and being on the same page as your doctor is much more important. If you want to chat through your options, please feel free to contact me. 

What Hope and Honey do advocate is doing a bit of research, deciding which is best suited for you and working hard to develop a good relationship with your chosen caregiver. Feeling informed, supported and comfortable with your birthing decisions is the best way to ensure you get the birth experience you want and deserve.

Much love xxx

For more information and advice, why not sign up to Hope and Honey's HypnoBirthing or childbirth education classes?