Amy, Sean, & Odin's HypnoBirthing Story

"We took the HypnoBirthing class with Danielle at the Livonia Yoga Center before we moved. During that time I was seeing our doctor in Livonia and was going to be delivering in Ann Arbor at UofM... once we moved to Grosse Pointe I knew that I would need to change plans because such a long drive to get to the hospital for our second baby made me anxious. It wasn't until 36 weeks pregnant that I finally made the switch, and this time went with a midwife group instead of a doctor/ObGyn. I'm so glad we did... the experience was completely different.

Leading up to the "guess date" I was certain baby boy was going to come early, but he had other plans... I had been feeling inconsistent surges and was nauseous during dinner that night, I actually threw up and couldn't bring myself to eat more. The next day, at 40 wks and 1 day, I had a midwife appointment and though I had been declining cervical checks I decided I wanted to know if I was dilated... and was relieved to hear that I was at 3cm so something was happening! That night I was nauseous again and didn't eat much for dinner, and didn't really feel hungry. We went to bed like normal but around 12:30am I woke up with strong surges. I focused on my breathing and listened to the Rainbow Relaxation to help me back to sleep. My attempts to keep track of how often I was waking up were very groggy, it seemed about every 30 minutes or so, and the surges were continuing to feel stronger but still not very consistent. When hubby woke I filled him in and suggested he still get ready for work just in case, because I wanted to labor at home as long as possible. The surges continued and felt like they were getting closer together so I decided to page the midwives and let them know... instead of hubby going to work, we headed to the hospital.

At St John Providence we were checked in at triage around 8am, I was now between 5-6cm. We were moved to a room in the ABC (alternative birth center) which is considered a low intervention room, which had a queen bed instead of a hospital bed and an epidural was not an option  (unless transferring to regular labor and delivery) and I would not be able to change my mind. When we were settled in the room I immediately got in the tub, sat on a birth ball and used the shower head alternating between my stomach and low back. When I felt like that wasn't working anymore I moved to the bed and tried various positions to labor in, changing when I felt the need to do so. My husband was a huge support and what helped the most was him squeezing my hips for counter pressure during the surges. I continued to feel nauseous and threw up multiple times, pretty much just water, so I made sure to keep hydrating since I didn't want an IV for fluids.

Eventually I wanted to get in the tub again, tried the birth ball in there but that didn't do the trick like it had before. Instead we filled the tub and turned on the jets, which was amazing. Though the nurse didn't think I was progressing based off how I was acting (yay HypnoBirthing!) I was fully transitioned by the time I decided to get out of the tub.

Once out of the tub, the surges were very strong and it was hard to stay focused on my breathing. I was going to get back in the bed but decided instead it was more comfortable to lean over the bed supported by pillows and a peanut ball. Then I felt the need to push. I really did not want to push this baby out like I had my first, but the need was very apparent and I had to listen to my body... so with my husband behind me doing counter pressure on the hips my first push ended up breaking my water (and he got splashed!) From there everything moved very quickly. I was trying to focus on my breathing and when I pushed I made that low moan sound deep in my chest which helped immensely. I could feel the "ring of fire" with baby's head wanting to emerge, but then felt him retreat back in when I stopped pushing. This happened twice... I desperately didn't want it to happen again, so I held on to the last push with all my might for as long as possible and using the low moan I'm sure I sounded like a demon - the midwife and nurse apparently suggested that I slow down and use smaller pushes but I didn't hear them, I was too focused on the low moan and getting baby out. 10 minutes after my water broke our baby boy was born at 2:48pm, with me still standing and leaning over the bed. The midwife passed him to me between my legs, I clutched him to my chest and rolled over onto the bed, elated.

I'm so grateful we went with the Danielle's Hypnobirthing class! I felt taking the class and continuing to practice the breathing and relaxation techniques daily were instrumental to achieving my goal of a natural birth. Baby brother is amazing and so very loved, especially by his big sister!"