Suzanne's Birth Story

When I was pregnant with my third child, I decided that I wanted to have a home birth. 

I therefore spent my pregnancy preparing for the home birth by self educating myself about natural birth. I learnt a number of relaxation, visualisation and self hypnosis techniques. I also listened to hypno birthing programme CDs to prepare both my mind and body for birth and read a number of books about natural childbirthing. 

I had a strong belief during my pregnancy that I would cope perfectly well with the labour at home. 

Three weeks before my due date, my waters broke. As I was having my baby at home, I called the midwife to let her know that my waters had broken but the contractions hadn't started. A few hours later, I still had very little contractions. A midwife called around to see how the labour was progressing.

My partner decided to get the birthing pool ready and assembled it in the living room. I was still not having contraction, just flutters. I was informed by the midwife that if my contractions hadn't got going by the next day, then I would have to go to hospital and would be given drugs to stimulate the contractions. 

The next day came and no contractions. I went to hospital and was given drugs to progress my labour. It wasn't the home birth that I wanted but decided that I was going to make the best out of the situation.

I used my relaxation visualisation and self hypnosis techniques to manage the contractions instead of having hospital pain relief. I couldn't walk around , as the drugs to stimulate my contractions where administered via a drip but decided I would be more comfortable sat on a birthing ball instead of lying down and could use the birthing ball to gain some movement by moving in a circular movement whilst sat on the birthing ball. 

I continued with no pain relief up until the transition to stage 2 of labour, as at that point I was feeling tired. I had ten minutes of gas and air and then went back to using just the relaxation, visualisation and self hypnosis techniques to manage the contractions.

I felt ready to push and got into the birthing position on the floor, holding on to the bed. After a few pushes my son was born. 

The midwives commented on how well I had coped with the labour because when having an artifical labour, the body does not release natural pain relief endorphins in the same way, as the body does during a normal labour.