Baby Elicia

Sara and Chris wanted a HypnoBirth® for their first baby, because of a personal recommendation.A good friend of theirs, who is affectionately described as “not good with pain” sailed through her labour and that was enough to convince them that they should do the course too!

Sara’s waters released five weeks before term, so she went into hospital for monitoring.While in hospital, Sara began to feel cramping, similar to period pains. She notified the staff, who told her repeatedly that she was not in labour, (a common thing with HypnoBirthing mums) and was more likely to have uterine infection, because the pains were too low to be labour. The pains got worse, and Sara began to worry about what was causing them.Despite being worried and getting a little upset, she tried to stay calm and relaxed using HypnoBirthing® techniques of breathing and relaxation.

After a night of this, she told the staff that the pains were so bad – she could no longer stand it.She was examined, and her cervix was found to be 5cms opened!Once she knew she was in labour, the pains changed.She relaxed, stopped worrying, and felt absolutely fine.It was no longer painful! (this is the crux of the HypnoBirthing philosophy – if there is no fear, there need be no pain). Within 5 hours, she was fully dilated.

During the second stage (when baby comes out), Sara was progressing slowly.After three hours, the staff wanted to intervene with an episiotomy and ventouse, but, thanks to the confidence which the classes gave her and her husband, they had the confidence to decline this, and compromised instead with an agreement to try a drip to help the uterus contract.Baby Elicia came out half an hour later, healthy and alert with an apgar score of 9.No pain relief for mum, because “it wasn’t painful”.Sara’s midwife, Lorraine, said that her faith in natural labour had been restored (hospital midwives don’t often see calm, natural births).

They are now all three doing fine, also thanks to the fact that baby Elicia was born a good feeder and sleeper – typical of HypnoBirth® babies!