"I had done it! I'd had a VBAC!"

As far as 'inspiring stories' go.....

Our Hypnobub came rather quickly into the world on November 17.

After a fairly traumatic labour and birth of my first child (which resulted in an emergency caesarean) I was desperate for a different experience with my second baby. And I got it!!

My labour came on very quickly, going from irregular surges to surges every 2 minutes in about an hour and a half. Even during the chaos of telling my husband to go to work (because I’ll be able to manage today - surely they can't be real surges, right??), getting my husband to come home again within 10 minutes of him getting to work (turns out they were surges and we didn’t have ‘loads of time’), packing bags for myself and my toddler, organising a babysitter for her and getting to the hospital I was able to slip into a state of relaxation during each surge.

When we arrived at the hospital, our mid-wife (who was absolutely amazing and very supportive of Hypnobirthing) commented to my husband on how calm I was and how I looked like I knew ‘exactly what I was doing’. I was so focussed on myself and my baby that I only found this out afterwards!

We hadn't been at the hospital long when I knew it was time to breathe down my baby. Unfortunately it wasn't without drama, as happened with my first baby, bub became stuck and was becoming distressed - this time around however, both my husband and I were able to handle things completely differently. My husband felt he was able to ask questions to ensure that everything my obstetrician was doing was necessary for bub and I. I was also better prepared mentally - one of the key affirmations I reminded myself of constantly during my pregnancy was 'i am prepared to calmly meet whatever turn my birthing takes' - and I'm so glad I did! Amongst everything that was happening, I just kept focussing on my breathing knowing that whatever happened was because it was best for baby.

With a little assistance, baby Emmy made her way into the world and was passed straight to me. Wow!!! For the next hour we were able to enjoy skin to skin before any of her obs were taken - what an amazing feeling, just being able to enjoy each other's company!

What a difference a calm, natural birth makes. Following the birth of my first baby, I felt guilty about how everything went and about decisions that I made (in hindsight, decisions I felt pressured into making). Following the birth of bub number 2 , I felt a sense of pride and achievement. I had done it! I'd had a VBAC even though I was told that I would most likely have to have another caesarean.

So thank you, I don't think I would have had such a positive birth experience if it wasn't for the Hypnobirthing course.

I would definitely recommend the course to anyone and everyone who will listen!

Many thanks

Kate