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!"

Getting the support you need, but not too much...!

The last few weeks of pregnancy are a funny old time - unfortunately for many of us the glow of the second trimester has transitioned into more of a hot, flustered, uncomfortable kind of look and that glow is normally a sheen of perspiration if you're battling through an Australian summer and fielding a million phone calls!

It's also a time when you can feel at your most vulnerable - every twinge gets you on edge thinking 'Is this it?'  and you're spending more time at medical appointments and sometimes it can all get a bit stressful with test results and the possibility of plans changing. Plus it's difficult to get comfortable with the baby mountain making sleeping and resting not as easy as it used to be.

So you've got a lot going on! How do you get the support you need but not too much?

Only you can decide what is right for you, but my advice is to speak up and set some guidelines about what you would like now and especially around the birth. Only yesterday I was speaking to several new mums who were bemoaning the myriad of badly timed visitors to hospital just after the birth or the annoyances of people 'popping in unannounced' to the house. It was something they found quite upsetting or are still angry about.

Let me just say, I'm not being a grinch here - so much love and support is needed at this time but think about it ahead of time and you can get the best support you need without having horrible stories to tell afterwards of being exhausted, boobs out, desperate for a shower and finally getting down to a nap when Uncle Fred calls unannounced!

One idea is to have a buffer - either your partner, family member or good friend - whose job it is to field all the calls, texts and facebook messages and let everyone know when they can and can't visit. Some people also pop a sign on their door when they don't want to be disturbed. You can also tell the midwife on duty if you don't want any visitors at certain times. Everyone wants the best for you so will respect your wishes and right to privacy.


Those first few hours and days with you and your baby are so precious - spend a bit of time upfront thinking about what you would like, telling everyone and you can get the best support you need without Uncle Fred syndrome!

xxx

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

The Babymoon Boom

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

We did it, most of my friends did it - there's even a term for it! Yes the babymoon is high on the 'To Do' list of many parents-to-be. Defined as a vacation taken by a couple that is expecting a baby in order to enjoy a final trip together before the demands of a newborn baby come along - it's become big news.

We recently took 10 days out for a trip to Bali and I must say I'm really glad we did. Like most expecting couples we were on the treadmill of trying to squeeze everything in before bub - so we'd just moved house, I was officially launching Hope & Honey, studying, setting up the baby's room....etc. So even though it felt like an expense we could do without, it was a good move. We relaxed, went for massages, long dinners, reading, swimming, lounging by the pool - it was pure heaven. Not normally ones to sit still on holiday (we're normally changing trains, changing currency and changing hotels more times than hot dinners!) it was a bit of a revelation. Now we are on the home straight to meeting our little one in a few weeks, I know that we will both look back on that time as really precious.

Our Bali Babymoon x

But did you know that the term 'babymoon' was officially coined by Sheila Kitzinger to mean a private time at home for the parents and their newborn to enjoy some time together and bond. Arguably, this type of babymoon is just as, if not more, important than pre-baby chill out time. With the introduction of paternity leave and more companies being flexible about time off around the birth; many families are able to get this precious time together. It can be a crazy time, particularly for first-time parents, where new skills are being learnt, sleep is a bit hit-and-miss and family and friends often descend for visits. 

My advice is to plan yourself a post-baby Babymoon too. Be strict with visitors - if they're just there to coo over the baby and don't offer to take the washing out or vacuum your floors - ask them to wait a few weeks before coming round. You don't want to spend the baby's best hours of the day wishing your visitors would nip off so you can have a sleep or just enjoy that time yourself. Also people can wait a few weeks - it's important that both of you and the baby are happy and settled before inviting the hoards round and yes you do have a choice!

Be kind to yourself and kind to each other - it's a period of adjustment for all of you, baby included! So don't be hard on yourself about what you're doing right or wrong, take advice on board and then make your own decision, don't be afraid to ask for support if you need it and if you can - snatch some time just Mum, Dad & Bub to just be together. Your baby has been bonding with you all the way through pregnancy, listening to your voices & feeling your emotions, but it's a very special time just after birth and one you can't get back. So let's bring back the good old-fashioned meaning of the Babymoon - not worrying about the housework, those pesky tasks and other people; take some time just for you and your new family member.

With love xx

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

Hope and Honey: The Personal Story

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the Hope & Honey blog.

Hi, I'm Karenna from Hope and Honey offering HypnoBirthing, childbirth classes, birth pool hire and much more in Perth, Western Australia. 

The home water birth of my daughter Isla

The blog aims to share the latest news and views from the world of fertility, pregnancy, birth and beyond and be a place to chat and share personal news and stories of your journeys. Hopefully it will be a bit fun, a bit serious when needed, but mainly be bits and pieces you should find interesting and give you a glimpse into the work of Hope & Honey. I will also share bits of my journey, my stories and my views so you can get to know me a bit better.

H&T and baby Leo - HypnoBirthing Clients

So first of all I thought I'd tell you the personal story behind Hope & Honey. Supporting and educating women and families at this amazing time in their lives has always been my major passion in life. I think the whole process of conception, pregnancy and birth are nothing short of a magic, a little miracle. I'm also fascinated by the mind, coaching and facilitating change in people and am continually dumb-founded by the evidence of the power of the mind over the body.

I feel that, in general, modern society doesn't allow a lot of time for us to really listen to our bodies, to connect our mind and bodies and to relax and nurture ourselves the way we should. Often many of us just need a bit of support and coaching to tune back into our bodies and what we need.

So after many years of volunteering in hospitals, sitting on maternity advocacy groups, doing an honours degree specialising in the transformation to motherhood, supporting women and lots of training and reading along the way - I decided to make the jump into running Hope & Honey. 

Becky and Baby Bella - HypnoBirthing Client

And I LOVE IT! Working with all of you gives me the greatest buzz, seeing clients transform before my eyes, reach their goals and create bonded, happy families is like a dream come true for me. So thanks for being part of this and making my dreams come true! Lets keep working together so yours can come true as well! 

Big cyber hugs xxx 

Karenna

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