My journey with Hypnobirthing began with the birth of my first child. I always believed giving birth could be a wonderful experience and was determined to birth my baby, without unnecessary medical intervention or drugs. Despite achieving this goal, when my baby girl emerged I was exhausted, disorientated and then had to endure an hour of surgery and a blood transfusion; separated from my newborn and unable to bond. My postnatal recovery was very slow. I was in shock and felt resentful…even angry, that my birth hadn’t played out as I had dreamt. When I fell pregnant with my second child I was determined things would be different. So I searched and searched for an answer. And that’s when I discovered HypnoBirthing™ – The Mongan Method.
My second birth was a very different experience and I am eternally grateful to Hypnobirthing for this. After completing the course and putting in a lot of home practice, I decided I would birth my second baby at home. The room was dimly lit by candlelight and soft music played in the background. Whilst I relaxed in the warmth of the birth pool, focused on my breathing and used positive visualisations, my husband Michael guided me through the birth using Hypnobirthing scripts, deepening techniques and prompts. Our midwives were tremendously supportive and simply sat back and observed whilst my husband and I gently and respectfully brought our son into the world. No pain, no fear, no manipulation, no forced pushing. All it took was a few gentle breaths to bring my baby safely and calmly into my husband’s arms. Our Hypnobirth was truly a family event, and my daughter Eloise joined us to welcome Oscar into the world. When the birth was over I felt elated, alert and completely energised. I wanted to do it all over again, right there and then. Oscar scored top marks on the APGAR score, and fed and slept beautifully in the weeks to follow.
Sounds too good to be true? Think again. When you learn the techniques of HypnoBirthing it just seems so obvious and simple. And it is. It is the fear of pain, a fear that keeps the body tense and closed during birth that must be released to allow the experience of gentle birthing to occur. Hypnobirthing exceeded all my expectations. Let me teach you its philosophy and techniques and you too will enjoy and truly safe, comfortable and satisfying birth.
Happy Hypnobirthing, Helen x