All birth stories are published with the consent of my clients.
Amy had a beautiful home birth with Rob supporting by her side. Henry was born in the pool and a few hours later they were all relaxing on the sofa with a takeaway!
Amy & Rob
The Friday evening before Henry was born, Rob & I got rare date night and went out for dinner. Throughout dinner I had spates of Brixton hicks that would last about 30 minutes at a time then stop and return. That night I went to bed hoping something would happen and sure enough at 6am I woke Rob as I couldn’t sleep. Not because of discomfort, but more because i was so excited! Around 11am the midwife called in and said she’d stay although at the time my contractions would stop and start. They’d be quite intense then I’d sit down or change position and they would just stop. I spent some time watching TV while rocking on the birth ball which seemed to move them along, then I had a bath and they stopped completely. After standing and rocking for an hour, with Rob as support, my contractions were very regular and about a minute apart but I still wasn’t convinced that I was even fully dilated or anywhere near for that matter! I even said to the midwife that I wasn’t sure that I was in labour at all as I felt absolutely fine & I didn’t want her to examine me as I thought she’d tell me I was 2cm.
40 minutes later Henry was born! After being in the pool for about 15 minutes I transitioned and the second stage of labour lasted only 20 minutes. During the first stage, I was relaxed to the point where I wasn’t entirely convinced I was in labour at all. I listened to the Hypnobirthing music, scripts and practiced the visualisations. I kept waiting for the midwife to say it’s all a false alarm and then with the second stage my body just took over. I got my natural third stage, which I didn’t get the first time round. And I didn’t tear or need any stitches! Henry arrived at 6.02pm and by 8.30pm the three of us were sat on the sofa with a Chinese take away and a bottle of fizz, definite perk of having a home birth! I’d recommend a home birth to anyone.
Thanks Sam for all your help and coaching. It was so good to refresh all the skills we learnt last time and pick up some new ones too. I firmly believe that Hypnobirthing made the world of difference and I don’t think I could possibly have achieved the two home births I’ve had without it.
Adele welcomed 8lb 11.5oz Percy into the world and found the breathing techniques particularly useful in dealing with discomfort towards the end of pregnancy and during labour.
Adele & Lawrence
“When I first attended the hypnobirthing classes, it had been recommended from a friend who spoke so highly of the techniques taught from her own birth experiences. On meeting Sam she was instantly friendly and make us both feel at ease. My partner was unsure of what to expect but he soon saw the value of the classes and he himself felt more than comfortable to ask questions and get involved.
Sam had a really soothing and relaxing presence which made me more engaged with the techniques that she taught. The breathing techniques for dealing with surges were most useful to myself!
During my labour, which didn’t go ‘to plan’, I spent the first 8 hours with no pain relief at all just coping using the breathing techniques and I recall the midwife commenting on how effectively I was able to deal with surges using these..... practice (when your feeling achy/ uncomfortable during pregnancy) really makes perfect.
During my labour my temperature was raised and so baby had to be monitored meaning I had to stay on the bed and not able to use the birthing pool/ move about like I had hoped for. The further 18 hours I was in labour for were a real test as my surges were close together throughout and even though I had pethidine and gas and air I continued to focus on my hypnobirthing breathing which really helped get me through a long labour.
I ended up having an emergency c section, however the whole birth experience was made much more bearable through the strategies taught by Sam and we were happy to welcome our beautiful 8lb 11.5oz healthy baby boy.
Samuel made a speedy entrance into the world, just like his big brother. But this time round, Helen and Chris were able to use relaxation techniques and felt more prepared and in control.
helen & chris
I came to Sam's hypnobirthing course while pregnant with my second son. My first son had turned up unexpectedly when my waters broke early at 34 weeks, before we had attended a single antenatal class or even thought about a birth plan. When I found out I was expecting baby number 2, I wanted to make sure I was much more informed and prepared.
There was no way of knowing if I would have another premature labour, but by attending hypnobirthing I felt confident that whenever he made his arrival I would feel as relaxed and in control of my labour as possible.
Luckily Samuel didnt make his appearance until 39 weeks, and just like his brother my first symptom of labour was my waters breaking at home. After speaking to the midwife we decided I would make my way into hospital, I was showing no other signs of labour, but they wanted to check me over.
What followed was a rather stressful dash to hospital as within 30 minutes of making the call to the midwife I had gone from no surges to one roughly every 3 minutes. I dont remember much of the drive as I was focusing so much on my breathing - I found the surge breathing technique invaluable at this point. (The one thing I do remember clearly from the drive is a song that was playing from our relaxing playlist Sam had recommended we put together!)
Once we got to hospital I was rushed straight into a delivery room as Samuel was ready to make his entrance. It wasn't the birthing environment we had planned as things went so fast, but we did what we could - asking for the lights to be dimmed and using breathing techniques right through to the end of labour. I also felt confident in my decisions about pain relief and to query treatments suggested by staff, which made me feel more in control of my labour - a definite contrast from my first birth.
Samuel was born at 6.17am weighing 8lb9oz, less than 2 hours after my first twinge!
I'm so glad we decided to do Sam's course, not just for the techniques that I used during the birth but also because it made me feel so relaxed and prepared in the run up, which I believe made all the difference.