HypnoBirthing®

Client Testimonials

Experience a calmer, more relaxed, fear free natural birth

Thank you to everyone on this page for allowing us to share you story

Lisa & Chris with Chloe Anne's Birth

(Lisa had been experiencing practice surges regularly during the previous 3 weeks prior to the birth, and was regularly being checked by midwives in case she was in full established labour during these surges she was experiencing.)

Lisa's story

I could barely concentrate the contractions were very strong from an early stage. I was able to cope very well in the early stages with the HypnoBirthing techniques though.

We called the midwives at the start of the evening I had been having very strong contractions all day long from the early hours but they did not seem to be that regular so we were not sure whether it was another practice session. The midwives checked me and said that I was only 2cm dilated but that my cervix had started to thin and move - at one of the earlier practice runs I had been told that I was getting start/stop labour because my cervix was very posterior and it had to move before it would even start dilating. Chris's mom gave me a massage and this calmed the contractions down somewhat and the midwives left unfortunately this only lasted 20 minutes until the contractions came back big and strong but we left it as long as we could to call them back. They eventually came back in the evening when I was suffering very severe hard contractions and at long last I had made progress to 6 cm - it was a relief to know that this was it.

They immediately started to fill the pool - the midwives had said it would be another couple of hours however I began crowning on the settee before the pool was quite ready only an hour later and had to leg it to the pool which I was in for only 2 mins until baby was born and there was no slow birth with head coming first etc. head and then body slipped right out in one go but that meant 20 stitches! I was so relieved and happy to have such a gorgeous little girl. She got an Apgar score of 9.
 

Barbara & Peter with Tessa's birth - February 2008

A planned homebirth however Barbara was eventually transferred into hospital.  Here is a short video of her labour until she transferred to Hospital.

She was absolutely amazing staying very calm throughout her hours at home, the transfer to hospital and whilst waiting for her Caesarean.

Barbara's full birth story as written by Barbara is coming soon - watch this space!

Sarah and Andy - Dec 08

To anyone considering Clare as a Doula, do not hesitate!

Having only met Clare twice previously during 2 HypnoBirth classes, my husband and I decided that we would like to ask Clare to attend as doula during the birth of our baby. This was one of the best decisions we have made. Clare was a godsend to me, my husband, my sister and mother. Clare helped us all so much, for example: assisting in filling our birthing pool, making endless drinks for everybody, as well as providing constant encouragement, praise, kind words and laughter. She also questioned the midwives on various suggestions they were making with regard to the health and well-being of me and my baby.

It really was like having a best friend around that knew exactly what to say, and do, without being asked. She even stayed awake throughout the whole 17 hours whilst my husband, sister and mother took it in turns to have a quick nap through the night.

My labouring time at home was 30 hours in total; 5 midwives came and went while Clare stayed throughout.

We really can’t thank or praise her enough, she’s a total star!!!

Sarah & Graham with Adams birth - Dec 07

Following a sweep  - 'HypnoBirthing was of use as I had labour pains for 2 nights before going to hospital  and the breathing and the birthing ball were both used then.'

'Balloon breathing helped for some hours'

'It certainly wasn't the natural birth I was hoping for but the positivity of HypnoBirthing did help'

Jilly & Ian with Adams birth

I used HypnoBirthing when I had  my first son and will always look back upon his birth as a really positive and life-affirming event. When I became pregnant the first time I was very frightened of childbirth, particularly as my mum and sister both had hard times and ended up having large babies and caesarian sections. However, after the HypnoBirthing course, I stopped being scared and started looking forward to meeting my baby. The second time around my only concern was that the birth might not live up to my first experience! I therefore had a refresher course to remind me of the practical techniques and tried to fit in practicing them with looking after a toddler!

Second time around, the first phase of the birth went even better than before – I felt so in tune with my body I could actually feel my cervix being pulled open during the surges. When the time came for the baby to come out I started to lose concentration a bit and started using gas and air. I also got into the birthing pool at this point.  However, I am not unhappy about that – I never felt that I was losing control. When it came to making his entrance, instead of shooting out like a little torpedo as my first son had done, my second son just popped his head out. The midwife suggested I put my hand down to support his head and the next time I had a surge I pushed him into my own arms. I’ll always remember that moment and feel blessed to have had two such wonderful memories of the births of my two lovely boys!

 Adam weighed 9lb 12 1/2 oz!

Su, Andy and Luke's  birth - Dec 07

It was a wonderful birth experience, hugely exceeding my expectations. As my first birth had been an interventional hospital birth, I had to work hard at re-programming my consciousness to believe I could birth naturally at home in water. Even as labour was starting, I was still working on visualising my body being able to do it!! Having the cd playing constantly throughout labour really helped, as did my partner reaffirming all the while how well I was doing and reminding me to keep letting go and allowing the process to unfold.

My first bag of waters broke at 5am, accompanied by a show. No surges, just strong braxton hicks but easy to sleep through. Relaxed in bed, watching a film. Second bag of water broke at 12pm accompanied by stronger braxton hicks type surges, but carried on relaxing and breathing. Mid wife arrived at 2.30pm, checked dilation  - was 4-5cm. Quickly got stronger, 10 mins, then 5 mins apart - was leaning over side of bed kneeling. Decided after half hour or so to head downstairs to pool, had 2 almighty back to back surges at bottom of stairs!! Huge relief at getting in the water, surges got closer together, very powerful surges during transition, urge to poo, a bit panicy, felt babies head moving down under pubic arch and rotating in birth canal. Breathed the baby down, only felt urge to push at very end of each surge, so just beared down a little. 2^nd stage 10 mins. Crowning was the worst part, but was not scared to birth head and shoulders with final couple of surges as I had been with first birth. Huge relief as my baby swam out and most incredible feeling of awe as he came up to the surface all glistening and wide eyed!! Got out of the pool to deliver placenta on land, sitting up on futon. 10 mins or so - physiological 3^rd stage.

Although I had a tens machine and had requested gas and air to be at the ready, I completely forgot to use them. The breathing, relaxation, being comfortable at home and confidence in my bodies ability to birth seemed to get me through. But most of all, my partner was my anchor - we were on the same page, he said all the right things, and had utter faith in the natural process.

 I'm so glad we attended the hypno birthing course, it made all the difference!

Luke weighed 4.08kg

Sally, Paul and Tayler's birth - Aug 07

My first reaction to labour was to have an elective caesarean. Through talking with my husband and seeing that I was worried about the birth, he started researching the web for an alternative birthing option.

We Started the HypnoBirthing course early on as to gain as much information and skills to ensure that I was ready for a natural birth.

My elective caesarean appointment was 5 weeks before my due date  - we kept this appointment but I was so much more comfortable with having a natural birth by now that, that was the last appointment and my choice was made!

My waters broke and off to the birthing centre we went 10 hours later. I had an internal and was told to go  for a walk. I had requested not to be told how far dilated I was so as to not disappoint me. My Doula was told that nothing was happening at all. We went out for lunch and then to a local friends house as we were now living an hour away from our home due to flooding

Our Doula read a HypnoBirthing Script to me to which the surges started coming very strong. Back off to the birthing centre we went where I went into the shower before getting into the water pool . Our baby girl came into the world very quickly after approx 3 hours from surges starting strongly at our friends!

Tayler weighed 6lb 6.5oz

The HypnoBirthing was a great success and despite the difficult nature of the labour all the midwives were very impressed with how controlled we all were. 

Liz, Mike and Danni's birth story

Danni was born on Friday 31 August 07 weighing 8lb 12 ounces

Claire, TeJae and Caitlin's birth Story - June 07

Caitlin was born at 7.19am on 30th June 07 and weighed 5lb 15 1/2oz, so was a lot smaller than we anticipated from the measurements done at the weekly midwife appointments. 

The labour went well, not as I had hoped, but I was pleased. I was very relaxed and calm! I went into labour at 2.40am Thurs morning, and my waters broke about 5am. I rang the birth centre and they were open and they were empty. I was a bit concerned though as my waters were a little off colour, so the midwife at the birth centre wanted me to come in to check my waters. I was expecting to go back home, but that didn't happen, baby had released meconium inside, so unfortunately, the birth centre wasn't to be. I was put in triage while they sorted a room in the delivery suite, and I had a migraine. Normally when I get a migraine, I'm out for 3 days if I don't take my medication, but, somehow, I managed to only get the flashing lights, numbness and inability to talk properly, and a headache never developed!

 I tried to stay as relaxed as possible, and TeJae read me a few scripts, so the combination of this and the change in hormone level seemed to so the trick! Anyway, in the delivery suite, I remained calm throughout. TeJae did lots of reading, but most of the time, I preferred silence, and didn't listen to my CD at all! Baby just did not want to come out though. At 2.50am on the Friday, I had only just reached active labour and the doctors said I had to be induced as babies heart rate had dropped so low, it was getting dangerous, she had been surrounded in meconium for 24 hours now, and my blood pressure had risen significantly. 

They had wanted to induce me 10 hours earlier, but me and the midwife had managed to gain a few extra hours in the hope I might be able to do it on my own, but that wasn't to be, so I was given an epidural (my choice) and the induction drug, and baby was born 4 1/2 hours later. I had TeJae, my mom and dad in with me throughout the labour, but for the delivery, kicked out dad and had just mom and Te Jae there. As soon as she was born, they had to take her and pump the meconium from her tummy, she was covered in it when she came out. She was such a good girl, she didn't cry. She was jaundiced, so had to go on a bilibed to get rid of it, so she was on that for 2 days. I was in hospital for 4 days.

Holding baby for the first time really is such a magical experience. She didn't cry, she looked so peaceful and relaxed and so alert. I am sure she was so calm because of all the relaxation I had done prior to the birth, and how relaxed I was during labour. That day really is the best day of my life.

Little Caitlin is so beautiful and perfect.

Thank you for sharing your HypnoBirthing knowledge with us, I am certain it made a big difference to the labour, and has contributed to Caitlin's relaxed, serene, alert nature.

Sarah, Scott and Isobel's birth story - April 07

Read Sarah's story in the Express and Star article that is linked from our Media page!

The first sign of my baby arriving was my waters braking at 3:30 pm on Monday 9^th April 07. It felt like a little gush of fluid. I called my husband who came home from work then rang the hospital to let them know. They asked if the waters were clear to make  sure the baby hadn't passed meconium and to go in to be looked at some time during the evening. We ate dinner and put our son to bed at 8:00pm. I then went for a shower and got ready to go to the hospital. Apart from the occasional gush of more fluid I wasn't feeling anything else. I put my MP3 player on and listened to my rainbow relaxation CD on the way to hospital. When I arrived the midwife listened to the baby's heart beat, examined me checked the colour of the escaping waters, and asked if I was experiencing any contractions. I still wasn't experiencing any pain only the odd little twinge. She said that everything was fine, told me I was 2cm's dilated and asked if I would like to go home to progress on my own or stay in hospital. I elected to go home. Once home I went and lay down on my bed and listened to the rainbow relaxation cd and drifted in and out of sleep. At about 1:30 I was experiencing regular surges so decided to go back to hospital. As I walked down the stairs my Mother In Law saw me and said it looked as though I was in a trance and totally calm. We arrived back at hospital about 2:00 am. I was examined again then waked down to the delivery room. I was experiencing strong surges now and within 5 - 10 minutes of being in there I felt a massive urge to push. I had a little bit of gas and air then pushed my baby out. The pain of the contractions went away when I started pushing and I didn't feel anything when she was emerging. I did tear as she emerged but didn't feel that either.

My overall opinion of HypnoBirthing is its great, because it helped me overcome my fear of going into hospital after enduring a long and complicated labour with my first child. I think it also contributed to having a much faster labour and recovery second time round and a more relaxed and contented baby.

Scott says "The whole Hypno Birth experience gave me a part to play and gave me back some control over what happened."

Andrea and Baby Taylor's Story - Jan 2007

When I found out I was expecting my first baby I rushed out and bought all kinds of pregnancy and parenting books. I would spend hours reading all about my developing baby, but whenever I came to anything about labour I would quickly flick past. It took me months just to admit to myself that I was absolutely petrified of giving birth. By this time I had been fed endless horror stories from every mother I knew of just how horrific and painful it would be to bring my baby into the world. I continued to enjoy my pregnancy but secretly (and increasingly) dread the day I would meet my baby.

As my baby continued to grow inside me I realised that I had to face the reality of my labour day. I started researching on the internet and came across a book on HypnoBirthing. I had nothing to lose so I ordered the book and impatiently waited for it to arrive.

The book eventually arrived and it was worth the wait. I didn’t put it down. I wanted to find out more about the relaxed and easy birth it was offering. After reading the book I knew that I would have a hypnobirth. Following more research on the internet I found a local HypnoBirthing Practitioner who could carry out sessions in my own home. ‘Perfect’ I thought. I told my partner and parents all about it. They were not so sure but said they would support whatever I wanted to do.

Clare came to my house for four consecutive Saturdays from my 32^nd week of pregnancy. She made me feel relaxed right away and I knew I hadn’t made a mistake. She went through all the material in the book and her demonstrations helped me to understand some of the theory of HypnoBirthing. It really made sense to me that the more I could relax, the easier my birth experience would be. I became a dedicated HypnoBirther.

The guidance from Clare together with my relaxation practice in my spare time changed my attitude about giving birth straight away. I found myself actually looking forward to it. I became really confident in achieving a relaxed and easy birth experience. It is hard to explain because at no point did I feel ‘hypnotised’, but I certainly had completely changed my attitude to the whole experience. I felt empowered. I continued to hear the horror stories, but they no longer meant anything to me. People laughed when I said that I was looking forward to the birth and that I was aiming for a relaxed birth without any pain relief – but I didn’t care. The HypnoBirthing made me sure.

The day approached and I became more and more excited. The day arrived and everything went to plan. The HypnoBirthing was great. I didn’t even believe I was in labour. I didn’t feel anything until about 10am. I ran myself a bath, put on the rainbow relaxation CD and began my breathing practice. I thought it was just the Braxton hicks I had been having for the past few weeks and therefore and ideal time to practice my relaxation. Before I knew it, it was 12pm my partner had called my mom, she had arrived and literally had to drag me out of the bath. I was so relaxed I didn’t know where the time had gone. Once out of the bath I realised that my baby was really close to making his arrival. I just felt like I needed to push. At one point I really did think I would have to give birth in my mom’s car. It is really strange because I can’t even say what a contraction feels like because all I felt was like period pains (and not bad ones) and then an urge to push. 

We got to the hospital at 12.25 and I walked in fine but having surges every 30 seconds. We got into the birthing room and the midwife explained that I could be transferred to the water birth room in 3-4 hours. At this point I was literally pulling my trousers down and climbing onto the bed. The midwife said that I could get onto the bed, but that she would be asking me to get up and walk around in the early stages of labour. She explained that they don’t like to examine unless necessary. I said that I needed to push so she agreed to have a look. The next thing I remember she announced that she could see his head and that he had lots of hair. He was born at 13.12 and I used no pain relief as planned.

I remember using the J breathing technique, as opposed to pushing, during the second stage, and the midwife was great. Because I was at a birth centre and not a delivery suite they pretty much left me to it, just telling me to follow my body- perfect for HypnoBirthing. I do think I pushed a bit at the end, but that was more out of just wanting him out and safe. At one point in the second stage I actually asked if I was really in labour. I couldn’t wait to meet my baby, but I was just thinking ‘is this it’.

My son was born wanted to feed right away. We spent some time bonding skin-to-skin and it was important to me that his cord wasn’t cut until it stopped pulsing. I gave my son to his dad while I showered dressed. I felt great, full of energy and waiting for visitors. I even tidied around in the birthing room.

I spoke to the midwives about HypnoBirthing afterwards, but they said they didn't know about it.

We were home that same night in time for Eastenders.

I had a fantastic, easy and relaxed birth experience. I’m convinced it was down to my positive frame of mind and relaxed body due to the HypnoBirthing. A big thanks to Clare and HypnoBirthing.  

HypnoBirthing® is a trade name for a copyrighted childbirth education program. The use of the name HypnoBirthing®, all HypnoBirthing® materials and the information contained in them is intended for individual, personal use only and may not be used, sold, reproduced, distributed, or in any way disseminated by persons not affiliated with the HypnoBirthing Institute^SM.

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