I’ve been meaning to write something like this for ages. This is the story of me and my wife Anna and our experience of Hypnobirthing. Not only was it incredible for my wife but also life changing for me…
In 2008 my wife gave birth to Max in a “traditional” hospital birth. It was everything you’d expect- a very traumatising experience for the 3 of us. A long drawn out, painful birth, on her back with a monitor on her bump being told she couldn’t move. It ended with an epidural and forceps delivery. It was very difficult for me because I’m a doer- I like to get involved and help with things.
I hated just standing by and watching while my wife was in so much pain and I was doing nothing.
When my wife got pregnant again in 2012 she was not surprisingly very scared about the birth. She started to have panic attacks almost every night so we had to do something. We had looked into Hypnobirthing and even though my wife was sceptical she was ready to try anything. Five months into Hypnobirthing practice seemed to stop Anna’s panic attacks. Despite the doctors telling Anna she couldn’t have a home birth we decided to go against their advice and have one anyway.
Anna went into labour and we did the breathing/ relaxation scripts as we had practiced throughout pregnancy. It was amazing! After 2 hours the doula came over – Anna had been quiet and in the “zone” pretty much the whole time. We called the midwife to let her know a couple of times. The second time the midwife asked if she was in the final stages. I asked her how can I tell- the midwife told me that she would be screaming in pain. As she had been on her hands and knees, completely quiet the whole time I told her probably not then. After the call a few minutes later Anna made a strange kind of groaning sound. She still had her pyjamas on so I took them off and the baby’s head was right there! I quickly called the midwife back and asked her to come. There were two more contractions then Anna’s waters broke and my daughter came flying out in one easy motion! I technically delivered my own daughter with the doula’s help! My daughter never cried and was very calm – she looked me right in the eyes and looked around the room, calm and alert! My wife was so shocked that she had given birth so easily she couldn’t speak for almost an hour afterwards. She had given birth in under 3 hours with no painkillers and most importantly no fear or stress. It was incredible and nobody was more surprised than my originally sceptical wife! I felt amazing too because I actually had an active role in the birth. Our hypno-baby Ruby has kept her calm, chilled personality. She was amazing at sleeping through the night and she hardly ever gets ill.
Hypnobirthing (especially the guided relaxation scripts) had a profound effect on my creative output and this realisation also triggered a spiritual change that has continued to this day. I have since taken up tai chi and meditation which I now practice on a daily basis. It has quite literally changed our lives.”