I was induced with my first born, Max, and I wanted to be more in control of my pregnancy,  my birth and to make my own informed choices.  My husband, Calvin, was happy to  do it too (after joking about it sounding a bit ‘hippy’ to begin with!)  We decided to opt for a course where the practitioner came to us, so that it was  personal and in the comfort of our own home. Amy, the owner of the The Happy Mother Company was fantastic, she made the sessions really relaxed and it tailored it to our needs. She was so professional and it’s safe to say my husband and I are hypnobirthing converts!

During the sessions, Amy happened to mention home birth and with help of medical facts and figures I decided that Is what I wanted to do! My husband wasn’t sure to begin with, but after hearing about all of the risks but more importantly the benefits, he was happy for us to have our baby at home so the preparations began…

I was so excited about the prospect of a home birth and my pregnancy was straight forward (apart from feeling sick for the first 12 weeks unless I was eating carbs!) Max  was induced at 41+5 and even though I had no problems and it was fairly straight forward, I knew I wanted my second birth to be different! 

We had the home birth assessment where the midwives came to our home,  bought the birthing pool and everything that goes hand in hand and were relaxed and confident that we had made the right decision so then it was a case of waiting until little one was ready to arrive… 

After reaching 40 weeks I went to the post dates clinic and had acupressure and aromatherapy, but little one was happy cooking for a little longer and after willing my first born to come, I was more than happy for this little one to wait. The following week, at 40+9 I went back to post dates clinic and had a second session of the acupressure & aromatherapy. I also opted to have a sweep, I was quite happy to do so and was fully aware of the risks and benefits surrounding this.  

That night, as I got home my contractions, or surges as they are sometimes known during hypnobirthing, started. During the night, they increased and were then happening every 10 minutes. I had a warm bath in clary sage oil and then went to bed to get some rest & relax as much as possible- easier said than done! 

We were woken up early by our  2 year old (standard!) and once I was up and about they increased in intensity & frequency. My parents came to pick up Max (and the dog) so we could fill the pool & prepare. We had decided that he would go to their house so we could focus and relax and also because he thought the pool was super appealing and wanted to get in too! 

During the morning I relaxed as much as possible, ate all the sweets I’d been stock piling, listened to hypnobirthing tracks and spent time with my husband. My contractions kept changing in length & frequency during the day & then started to become more intense again around 2/3 pm. My husband called the delivery suite and they sent a midwife to assess me. 

After she arrived, my contractions died off so she left us alone & told us to call if we needed her. She had examined me, as I had decided that I was quite happy for her to do so- it was surreal being examined on the sofa.  We had stated that we were hypnobirthing and that we wanted positive language to be used and for the environment to remain calm and relaxed. 

I then went for another clary sage bath, sorted some of babies clothes, the nursery & that seemed to make them pick up once again. By 6pm, my contractions were 4 mins apart & lasting 1 min each so I kept moving around to keep them coming. After using the breathing techniques to help, I asked my husband to call the delivery suite and they sent a midwife out to us. The midwife & student arrived  after about half an hour, at 8.30 pm. 

My contractions kept coming, increasing in intensity through the evening. I moved around different rooms in the house, snacking (eating more hair I!) drinking & using birthing ball to help as well as using the breathing techniques and visualisations. 

At around 12.30 am I felt I was ready to breathe baby the down so at 12.50 am I got into the birthing pool, turned on the play list of mine & my husbands favourite songs and used the practised hypnobirthing techniques. The second midwife arrived at this point. At 1am I started to breathe baby down. My waters went at this point & then pressure increased. 

Our second beautiful boy was born at 1.31 am in the birthing pool and was so chilled he was still asleep to begin with. We opted for delayed cord clamping after reading about all the amazing benefits and my husband and I admired our very chilled little boy!  My husband cut the cord & I delivered my placenta after deciding to have the injection to aid it after about half an hour in the pool with lots of skin to skin.  

Arlo George was born on the 25th October & weighed 7lb8 Oz (born at 40+11) I listened to my body and let it guide me using hypnobirthing techniques to help. I had no pain relief and I believe that this was down to the techniques Amy had taught us! 

I needed some stitches after having a 2nd degree tear so the midwife did these for me- in the bed! After they had weighed Arlo, watched him breastfeed and checked us both over and loaded the washing machine with towels (amazing!!) they left and it was just the 3 of us. It was surreal and I cried ugly happy tears and then, after pulling myself together and having lots of newborn snuggles , I sent Calvin out for a McDonald’s breakfast. I had definitely earned that sausage McMuffin! 

My little boy is now 9 months old and is the most happy, chilled out baby we could wish for. I really do feel that the relaxed way he came into the world has helped shape the little person he is today. We are definite hypnobirthing & home birth advocates and I can honestly say my labour was amazing. I would have done it again straight away. Hypnobirthing was hands down the best money I’ve spent during either pregnancy and would recommend hypnobirthing, homebirths & The Happy Mother Company to anyone! 

Written by Sarah Leuty.