Daisy's HypnoBirthing Waterbirth 

As I awoke on day 40+14 I knew this was the day that I was going to have my baby.  I was seeing my midwife for a routine check up and to have my fourth sweep.  I was also planning on taking some castor oil, albeit a very small amount, but I felt this was better than the scary thought of being induced.  There was talk from the midwives and doctors of being induced at day 10 but after some advice from AIMS and support from my fantastic community midwife, we stretched it to day 14 (although I would have gone a few more days).

For the last week I had walked for an hour every day, had three sessions of acupuncture and a reflexology treatment, so for me the castor oil was my last hope!

I took three 15ml spoonfuls of castor oil with a MacDonald’s chocolate milkshake and then nervously waited…two hours later whilst doing my cleaning I then spent two hours or so on and off the toilet. It wasn’t a problem though, merely a ‘good clearing out’ and just as I had expected two hours later I was starting to get regular Braxton hicks (or pre-labour warm up’s) as we call them in HypnoBirthing.

They didn’t feel anything more than Braxton hicks but after timing them with my trusted Iphone app, we realised they were coming every three minutes.  My husband Karl took our daughter to stay with my parents for the evening and I called my community midwife to inform her that my labour was starting. I wasn’t expecting her to come at that point, but I was just so excited and needed to share my enthusiasm with her, I had waited for this day for nearly 10 months!

When Karl got back at 8pm we headed to the woods! I got my bottle of water, clary sage doused handkerchief, put my wellies on and off we went with our dog. Thankfully my SPD was manageable and I was able to walk for an hour or so, only stopping to breath through my surges. They were coming every three minutes and lasting for thirty seconds, but during the walk they were starting to last longer which was great news! It had rained on and off all day but during the walk the sun came out and it was such a beautiful evening.  All my senses were heightened and the smell of the flowers and the trees was beautiful! It really did feel amazing to be in labour and be surrounding by nature. There seemed to be an energy that was exuding from the forest, the endorphins that I had read about where definitely starting to kick in, I felt positively high!

We arrived home at 9.30pm and my surges were now lasting 45 seconds. I was very pleased and knew that the walk had paid off. I started to bounce on the birthing ball and used my labour homeopathic kit and clary sage.  We set the scene in the lounge, dimmed the lights, lit the candles and got the Hypnobirthing CD on. I walked as much as possible only stopping to breath through my surges, whilst my husband used light touch massage (a light stroking technique) all over my arms, neck and bump during a surge. We walked up and down the stairs and I used different positions on the birthing ball to aid with dilation. With every surge I imagined my cervix opening up more and more and by 1030pm my surges were now lasting a minute. We decided to call our midwife and after having a little chat felt that we would call her back when the surges were two minutes apart. With each surge I used my slow breathing which is taught in HypnoBirthing along with visualization. I had practiced throughout my pregnancy visualizing a wave rushing in and out but during my labour I kept hold of an image of a large oak tree in our garden.

After the walk in the woods, I felt the tree gave me strength and thinking of something else other than the surge took the edge of it and made it possible for me to cope with each surge.

I mean this from the bottom of my heart when I say I enjoyed the surges. I felt totally empowered by my body and what it could do, and that with each surge my body was bringing my baby closer to me. I wanted to totally embrace it and enjoy this amazing journey. I was able to talk, eat and drink between each surge, but when that surge came, I needed to totally surcome to it each time, every time; breath, visualize, relax my body. The light touch massage I found was amazing and I noticed the difference when Karl didn’t do this.

I can honestly say that during my labour I felt high, I felt fuzzy and emotional. My senses were heightened and the endorphins that I read about where now definitely kicking in….could labour honestly feel this good??

We called the midwife again at 11.15pm and Nuala arrived just after 11.30pm. After doing the usually checks Nuala confirmed at 12am that I was 5 cms dilated.  I was so happy J I still felt that I had a bit to do, but I felt so positive. Nuala suggested walking up and down the stairs to get the surges longer and stronger. Karl and I walked to the top of the stairs and back and by this point we had to stop every minute to breath through the surges. I felt they were getting quite strong so I decided that I would take two paracetemol and get into the pool. Even at this point the surges weren’t painful, sometimes I had a niggle in my back and it was by no means ‘easy’ during a surge, it took control and focus from both Karl and I, but there was no pain attached to the surge, only a feeling of complete power in my body. The surges felt so powerful, like they were totally consuming my whole body, but I could cope 100% with them, just believing my body, breathing, visualizing and having support from Karl, it really is possible :-)

It was now 12.50am and I got into the pool….wow! The warm water was like stepping into heaven. The niggling that I had in my back was now eased and my whole body felt weightless. It was amazing! I was able to move freely in the water and the warmth was beautiful on my skin. After chatting to Nuala she decided that she would give us some privacy and come and check on me again in 15 minutes. We put the HypnoBirthing affirmations on and Karl got into the pool with me. I had only been in the pool for a few minutes and had two surges when the next surge was an uncontrollable bearing down. I couldn’t actually believe the power in my body and how my uterus was now pushing my baby out. All I was doing was breathing and my body was doing the rest.  Nobody telling me to push or pant, my body was doing it all by itself. I couldn’t believe it, I had only just got into the pool but here was my baby coming! 

Nuala came back in to the lounge and we talked about how the surges had changed and how I could feel the head coming, all very calm and relaxed….could this be happening?  With the next surge came the head, our beautiful baby daughter with her waters still intact. At this point my husband and I started to use a hypnosis script called glove relaxation and we started to count down from 40 to 1, which each number I became more and more relaxed.  During the countdown I had two more surges where again there was an uncontrollable bearing down, I didn’t push, didn’t need to, my amazing body was doing it all by itself, I simply stayed calm (with Karl’s support) and breathed down to my baby.  Unbelievably as we counted to 0, our beautiful daughter was born with her amniotic sac still intact, she actually broke it with her little hand. 

Karl lifted her up on to my chest and we both started crying, we did it! To be in the warm water was the nicest thing ever, just the three of us cuddling in the water in the midst of the night.  Daisy was born at 1.01am, 11 minutes after getting in the pool and one hour after Nuala arrived. I was in established labour for just 3 hours and my entire labour was just 5 hours. This was so different to my first labour which was 21 hours, having had my waters broken and put on a syntocin drip to ‘speed things up a bit’.

Our midwife Nuala was amazing and we owe so much to her for allowing us to just have a natural, calm, labour.  She believed in us and supported us 100%, and I will never forget what she did for us.  We waited for the cord to stop pulsating and then Karl cut the cord. After the placenta was delivered we all go out of the pool. As I fed my little Daisy for the first time, Karl and the midwives (the second midwife had just arrived), had the customary tea and toast! After a shower the three of us all in got in bed and spent out first night of many together.

I have had the hospital-augmented birth with my first daughter, I have had the pain relief and the long 21-hour labour, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Hypnobirth and waterbirth are a match made in heaven, for me personally to do it at home was the icing on the cake! Women’s bodies were made to do this, it can be exhilarating, amazing and breathtaking, just believe in yourself, your body and your baby.

Finally, I hope you enjoy the video and it inspires you to experience birth as it should be :-)


Video of Daisy's Birth