We did it! On Monday the 15th of July 2019, after 12 hours of labour, we achieved our natural physiological birth after two cesareans (VBA2C)! I truly do not think I could have done it without the knowledge and hypnobirthing techniques you gave us. If only all parents were taught the hypnobirthing course, I think there would be so much less of the unnecessary intervention and a lot more choices being made by parents.
Here is our story! I listened to 'surge of the sea' and the 'affirmation' tracks most days in the final weeks, while I had a lay down. I diffused the same essential oils I would use during labour and practiced the surge breathing. I had had prodromal labour for around five nights leading up to Olive's birth. The surges would come every 8 mins, so I would pop on the tracks, I would then fall back asleep and the surges would die off. On the Friday I had an adjustment and dry needling and felt very ready for baby. On the Sunday evening the surges were definitely picking up and did not seem to go away when resting. We decided to snuggle up and watch one of my favourite movies to get the oxytocin going, then an early night to rest. At around 10pm I was woken up again with surges, but these were definitely the real deal. They were coming every 8-10 mins and strong enough that I could not get back to sleep. To avoid waking hubby too early, I decided to heat a wheat bag up and set up in front of our fire place leaning over a bean bag with 'surge of the sea' playing. By around midnight, I felt i needed to move around. I decided to jump in the shower, left the lighting to a minimal and kept the tracks playing. With each surge I practised my surge breathing to relax my body as much as possible. By around 12.30pm the surges were coming every 3-5 mins, so I woke hubby and asked him to call our private midwife. I found leaning over the couch and squatting to be most helpful during the surges. Everywhere I went, the hypnobirthing tracks kept playing. Hubby turned on our diffuser with the same essential oil I had used during pregnancy. I fell asleep in between surges while hubby did some light touch on my arms. I laboured for quite a few hours, when I started to feel nauseous! Transition had hit! Just as i started to vomit, my waters released! Just like my previous VBAC attempt, baby was in a posterior position. We decided it was best to get out of the pool and try to move around as much as possible in hopes she would turn (which we later found out she did turn). After a while I felt I needed to get back to my safe space and into the pool. I started to feel more pressure in my bottom. I followed my body's lead and began bearing down during surges. Hubby repeated the affirmations while my hypnobirthing tracks continued to play on repeat.
After almost two hours of bearing down, I was starting to feel tired! As I had requested no vaginal checks, I was wondering how much longer it would be. My midwife asked me to see if I could feel baby's head. Sure enough she was right there!! I felt so excited that I would finally meet my baby and that I was doing it! After another half an hour or so, baby's head crowned, I stood up and i breathed her out peacefully into my midwife's hands. Hubby then helped her pass baby through my legs and onto my chest! We had a completely physiological third stage while we had cuddles in the bath and optimal cord clamping! I had no tearing at all, with only a very minor graze! I could not have done it without the tools you provided both hubby and I. I had trust in my provider, I had trust in the process and most importantly I had trust in my body! Knowledge is power! Thank you so much Hannah x
Birth story and photos shared with permission.