A positive natural labour: Cora Edith’s birth story
This was my second pregnancy. My first was pretty ‘textbook’ in terms of mine and the baby’s health and I had a natural delivery. Emotionally however, the labour and start to motherhood left me a bit shell shocked and so I wanted to attend an antenatal course that would be both informative and give me a confidence boost! I found HPHB did just that during my pregnancy. I was particularly interested in learning about the benefits of hypnobirthing - a concept which I’d previously dismissed as ‘airy fairy’ - but I was really sold on the simplicity of the concept and enjoyed trying the techniques during the pregnancy. They were instrumental in helping me stay calm and positive, particularly when the labour started. My husband and I also found the session on medical care during labour especially useful - even though we’d been through it once before with our first baby – we felt far better informed about our options.
After my first baby, I remembered the labour as stressful, painful and utterly exhausting. However, my second labour couldn’t have been more different; both were pretty ‘straight-forward’ medically-speaking, however this time round I felt so much calmer and confident. I know some of that might be down to ‘experience’, however I think my takeaways from the hypnobirthing were key to my positive experience: I knew how important breathing was in managing the contractions. So, when my waters began to leak shortly after I’d gone to bed, I calmly took myself off to the living room and set myself up with a relaxing environment (classical music, supportive cushions to help me stay comfortable in a UFO position) and breathed my way through the contractions. Unlike in my first pregnancy, this time I understood how important it was to keep the oxygen and oxytocin flowing and ended up finding the contractions completely manageable. I had also been reminded of how important it was to conserve energy and stay calm, so I really focused on staying comfortable and calmly ‘riding it out’ trusting that my body knew what it was doing. After about 3-4 hours, the contractions were becoming more frequent and intense so I put a TENS machine on. This was a life saver! Each time a contraction came, I used the ‘boost’ option and found the vibrations brilliantly distracting - it also gave me a real sense of control. Things then picked up pace, I felt a heaviness in my pelvis and knew I needed to get to the hospital! By the time I made it to the delivery ward I was already getting the urge to push. I had been keen to try a water birth and the midwifes dutifully started filling the pool, but admitted that it probably wouldn’t fill in time before the baby arrived! I was also keen on the pethidine injection but it was too late for that too. So, with gas and air alone, but a focused mind and calm breath, I delivered our baby girl. I was very lucky in that the pushing stage lasted a mere 10-15 minutes.
I’m not sure I know how to describe how I felt when I first saw our baby girl. Everyone talks about this euphoric moment in which the mother is overcome with love - I think I felt amazement at seeing this perfect little baby that I had so quickly and confidently brought into the world. As she was my second baby, I immediately sort of recognised her as, my husband and I quickly agreed, she looked so much like her brother at birth. I think I immediately felt very protective and keen to soothe her first cries and maximise on the ‘Golden Hour’ and encouraging her to nurse, which went really well. I think it important to share though how this joyous experience was quite different to that of the first moment with my first born; I think a lot of new mums think they should feel a certain way after childbirth, but after my first born I just felt exhaustion and relief that I’d finally done it, but a bit of a disconnect initially with my baby. Again, I was so glad I’d done the HPHC course second time round because it really helped me approach the labour with so much more confidence and positivity which, in turn, got us off to such a positive start with our baby girl.
Perhaps it was largely down to the surge of ‘happy’ oxytocin hormones you get after the birth, or maybe it was thanks to the amazingly supportive and complimentary midwives, or- indeed- the confidence I’d gained from the HPHB course or- most likely- an amalgamation of all of those things, but I left the hospital a few hours after giving birth feeling like an absolute superhero who could take on the world! I really remember just how amazingly powerful I felt; I couldn’t believe how positively the labour had gone and how strong and well I felt in my body. This I really think helped set me up for those first few days and weeks. Yes, I was exhausted from feeding around the clock and yes, my body had some healing to do, but I’d felt so empowered from the birth experience that I had a confidence that made everything feel manageable. I was very grateful for the knowledge I’d gained from the lactation expert during the course, so felt well prepared to deal with the discomforts of my milk coming in, and how to establish a good latch and milk supply. Our course host Hannah, who was also a mum of two had given us some practical tips for managing a newborn and a toddler - this really helped ensure I got some much-needed rest and sleep. The course had also instilled in me just how important it was that I looked after myself both physically and emotionally, and didn’t rush anything, so I was much better able second-time-round to embrace the whirl-wind of it all, go with the flow more, and enjoy the fuzzy days and weeks as a new family of four.
I had done an NCT course with my first baby but was really drawn to HPHB due to the fact you get to speak to a whole set of experts. I was especially interested in the hypnobirthing but equally didn't want to commit to a highly expensive long course specific to it, so found HPHB great as it covered the basics. With my first baby, I'd found breastfeeding really difficult and encountered difficulties that I didn't really feel prepared for, despite taking an antenatal course which covered breastfeeding. But with HPHB, I was able to get information and advice on the lactation expert that truly helped me get off to a great start with nursing. I also really wanted to do an antenatal course that would put me in touch with other mums for the social support. HPHB is great for encouraging that during the course, and so I'm enjoying the local new mum friends!
Top Tips:
In terms of preparing for the labour: trust that your body is amazing and knows what to do, but the more informed you are of the labour process, the better you'll be able to assist it in its journey! So, chant those positive birth affirmations to yourself throughout your pregnancy and practice the simple, calm breathing. Have every confidence that you will have a positive, empowering birth, but also be open to the labour not going to plan. And that means more than just 'going with the flow' when the labour actually starts, but informing yourself beforehand of the realistic options. For instance, we hoped I wouldn't need a caesarean, but we were so grateful for HPHB for talking us through what such a procedure would look like and how we could take some control of it and find it to still be a positive experience.
