My goal in taking this course was to have a drug-free birth that was comfortable. What I found was empowerment and encouragement.

I wanted to express my thanks for this program. Other women’s stories helped me throughout my pregnancy, so I wanted to post mine. Hopefully, it can encourage anyone whose pregnancy doesn’t go “as planned”.

 

I started Hypnobubs during my third pregnancy. This was a surprise baby and I was considered “high risk” from the outset because I would be 43yrs of age at delivery. My goal in taking this course was to have a drug-free birth that was comfortable. What I found was empowerment and encouragement.

 

My pregnancy did not go as I had hoped. At 21 weeks I was in a bad auto accident that left me injured and changed my prenatal plans. All the while I continued to repeat the affirmations that I had heard so often in this program…I am prepared to accept whatever turn my birthing takes. The affirmations and tracks brought peace and comfort when my pregnancy journey felt overwhelming. I completed all the modules, engaged in birth practice and had my birth plan ready. I was going to labor at home using oils, a birthing ball, my husband’s light touch and anchor touch.

 

I would wait until the last possible moment and then transfer to a hospital so that no pitocin would be administered, no pain medications taken and I would give birth under the care of my medical doctor. We live in California, USA and at the time we were still under strict guidelines including wearing a face mask during labor and delivery. I wanted to minimize my time in hospital.

 

However, at about 20 weeks the baby started measuring 2 weeks larger than gestational age. I remembered an important part of this program-preparation & research. Bolstered by the program- I began to seek out natural ways to birth babies with minimal tearing and I started to repeat the affirmation-my baby is the perfect size for my body. By 32 weeks, baby was measuring 4 weeks ahead and I was diagnosed with polyhydramnios.

 

By 36 weeks, my baby was sitting breach, over 8 pounds and I had high levels of amniotic fluid. I was told that baby was unlikely to move to a head down birthing position due to his size, so I should prepare for a C-section. I was disappointed, but remembered the Hypnobubs videos and remembered that I can research, calmly accept the change of plans and prepare myself for a beautiful birth via cesarean. I went directly to the resources page of the program and used that as a starting point to research. I embraced the idea of a C-section, but at the same time, started doing natural interventions to try and turn the baby-visualization, yoga positions, birthing ball…etc. To my great surprise, at 38 weeks, the baby turned and I was once again preparing for a vaginal birth.

 

However, my doctor wanted to induce labor so that she could control the waters breaking and reduce risk of prolapsed cord. I was once again disappointed, as I wanted to labor at home. However, I went back to my research and reflected on the situation. In the end, I decided that an induction was the safest choice for me and baby.

 

The day of induction came after 3 days of preliminary surges-waters were broken, cord stayed safely intact and pitocin administered. I labored for 5 hours, the surges were intense but I managed them without pain meds or epidural. I found that I did not want to listen to any tracks other than the affirmations in my delivery room. I didn’t want any touch, oils, or other noise. I asked my husband to speak for me and my nurse respected my wishes and left me alone to labor.

 

I was so involved in breathing and managing surges, I missed the fact that I had transitioned and baby started crowning before the doctor could be called. My nurse caught the baby as he emerged. He was 9 lbs, 7oz. It was the most exhilarating moment of my life. I needed 1 stitch and healed easily. Baby needed 3 days in the NICU for some minor medical interventions. I was able to calmly accept this turn of events in our birth story and was grateful to have the care we needed. I brought the baby home on day 4 and have been adoring him these past two months.

Thank you for creating this program.