We all have our preconceptions about alternative therapies and hypnosis is probably one of the most questionable in many people's minds. I heard a theory once that the easiest people to hypnotise are those who had an imaginary friend as a child. Once upon a time I had twin buddies of just this kind. Ok I'm game ball.
Rewind just over 2 years, a shadow of my former self was wheeled to the ward from delivery at Holles St hospital. Traumatised doesn't even come close to how I felt after the long, clinical and stressful labour I endured with my son. Offered at the time, I would have taken a sterilisation there and then in the corridor. Labour was not what I was expecting, and not what I was ready for at all.
So after a lot of worry, heartbeats dropping, antibiotic drips, a botched epidural, continuous monitoring, a stay in the ICU for my little boy, and 27 scars on his head from blood testing, I was off home to spend the next few months reliving this over in my head and asking why everything went so pear shaped.
September 2014 finding out I was expecting my second baby was a mixture of excitement and also fear. Could I cope with childbirth again?
Having used Paul McKenna cd's and books in the past with good results, I believed hypnosis could be a good option for me.
However at my 22 wk scan I was told my placenta was very low, and I should prepare myself for an elective section. Much as nobody looks forward to the recovery of a section, I could now forget about labour and look forward to a calm delivery of my child. No panic, no contractions, no what ifs.
Returning at 34 weeks to confirm this, the midwife gladly informed me that the placenta had moved enough to facilitate a normal birth. I was both delighted and horrified. If I had known I was having a normal birth, I would have started some sort of preparation both mentally and physically weeks ago.
Immediately I got in touch with Vivienne Kerrigan, on a great recommendation of a good friend, and asked her was it too late to start. So at 35 weeks I began my home practice.
Track one also known as the Blueprint Change came to bed with me every night from then on. It works on eliminating fears and preconceptions about childbirth and fills you with confidence that everything will go as planned.
It's hard to explain the place in your brain you go to when under the influence of hypnosis. Paul McKenna used to say; "We can all be asleep and we can all be awake, but there's somewhere in between. When you are there you are VERY susceptible to suggestions."
I enjoyed doing this first track for a couple of weeks and I knew it was having a good effect. I was experiencing less anxiety about the labour, and I was sleeping brilliantly. However I was often drifting off in the cd, and wasn't sure if it was all going in or not.
Part of the course was 2 sessions with Vivienne in her studio. When I met her in person, she was not what I expected at all. I suppose we all expect a hypnotist to be a bit quirky or eccentric. A far cry from the down to earth woman having a laugh and joke with us. After a quick chat and introductions it was time to start.
Hypnobirthing works on the principle that a lot of pain is caused by our tension and reaction to it. So Vivienne teaches you to relax every muscle in your body to the deepest levels possible. To a level where you feel they just won't work. Then you also work to relax your mind in the same way, so as you won't panic or get caught up in anything on the day you give birth. You can make much better decisions and cope with everything that comes your way in this state of relaxation.
"I want you to start counting out loud from 1, and when the numbers are gone just stop counting."
Ok, I thought, I can count forever, I don't know if I buy into this.
"1, 2, 3", I will be counting for the day, "4, 5", actually I feel a bit tired now, 6", I know 7 is next but I'm too tired to say it. What was next? I don't know what number is next. What am I doing? I'm supposed to be saying something but I don't even know what it is anymore. Was I counting? I don't even know the names of numbers anymore. Vivienne you sneaky little minx, how did you do this?
A very heavy feeling came over my chest, and my eyes began to twitch a little. I wanted to resist this feeling, but I let it take over. This is when you feel your body and mind are so relaxed they no longer work. For me this was a very intense experience and something everyone should experience at least once in life.
During the session you are taught how to go deeper and deeper into this relaxation. You can hear everything going on around you. Vivienne inflicts pain on you and although you are aware of what's happening it does not bother or disturb you. For the purpose of childbirth this is very effective, as she teaches you to disconnect from all the muscles that will be involved from mid chest to mid thigh. This is called the centre position.
Hypnobirthing does not mean a pain free birth, it means you bring your pain down to a level where you can cope with it. You are so relaxed you aren't causing yourself any extra pain with tension, and you are not causing yourself any extra stress with an over active mind.
 |
| Some positive affirmations |
At the second session with Vivienne we intensified this experience. The aim was to get into the centre position giving yourself a numb sensation in all the birthing muscles. Then to learn how to keep topping that up and increasing the effectiveness. On the cd this track is called On the Day, and I didn't listen to that again until I was in labour.
So what's the game plan?
Every night listen to the Blueprint change, increasing confidence and reducing fear. Visualising the perfect birth for myself and baby.
Every day get into the centre position, prove to myself that I can relax and disconnect from what's happening in the birthing area of my body.
When labour starts, get into the centre position, and listen 4 times to the top up track.
So Weds 13th of May I went to bed, 6 days overdue and settled down with my blueprint change track. I started dreaming about labour and it was all very pleasant. I woke a couple of hours later to find my waters had broken and I was having some very mild contractions. So I told Steven to drop my son to my Mam's and leave me to my own devices for a couple of hours. Now it was time for all the practice to come into play.
First of all I got back into bed and got into my centre position. During the 23 minute track I had 3 contractions which distracted me a little, I wondered should I try to listen to it again. The next contraction told me no, as time went on the more distracting they would become. So I listened to the top up track. Got into the shower, got out, done my hair and makeup, and made sure everything was ready to go. Then it was back into bed, and I listened to the top up a second time. By the time I was ready to listen the third time things were progressing so I needed to move to the sitting room to the gym ball, and also used this opportunity to put the tens machine in place while all was still very calm. After the third session of top up, contractions were now 5 mins apart and it was approaching morning time. We decided to go to the hospital before any work/school traffic started.
Steven said I looked like Ozzy Osbourne going to Holles St. Did I care? Not really. I read once that natural light can slow down your progress in labour, and with no desire for a long labour I wore my sunglasses from home all the way to 9 cm. At that stage I suppose I wasn't afraid of anything slowing down. Along with the sunny-g's I had a very large pair of over the ear earphones to listen to my buddy Vivienne as much as possible. In deep relaxation you want to avoid general chit chat, and crap that involves the thinking side of your brain. So I found it most helpful to listen, even if not consciously to the tracks throughout the hospital phase of my labour. Along with these I had a device called Laboraide in my mouth. Scientifically these are highly recommended, the only complaint I had about it was it did make me gag a couple of times but hey, that's the least of your worries. A few drops of clary sage oil on each sleeve to increase the contractions and I couldn't go wrong. The tens machine I mentioned earlier was also a God-send giving great relief during contractions, however I had to turn it right down in between as I wasn't crazy about the sensation in between.
In the car my contractions had started to come very close together less than 4 mins apart, but on arrival to the delivery ward they slowed down again to about 6-7 mins. The midwife gave me a choice whether to stay on delivery or move down to another ward where I would have the freedom to go out and about if I wished. Although I chose the latter, there wasn't a bed available so I stayed in delivery. To speed up contractions I spent the next hour trekking up and down the staff stairs of the hospital. An old reliable trick to progress labour. When they had a bed free for me on the ward I spent the grand total of 20 mins there when they realised I was actually a lot further along and rushed me back to delivery in a wheelchair.
Time to take the soup.* Or the gas and air as it's more commonly known. At 7cm things were pretty intense and luckily this time round I got great relief from the entanox. During labour with Sam I was in such a panic I couldn't get the hang of this wonderful gas. My midwife Kate of the community midwife/Domino programme seemed to be made for me and the hypnobirthing techniques I was using. She was saying all the right things at the right times, and had mats, birthing balls, a birthing stool. heat packs for my back and hot compresses to avoid perineum tearing. It made all the difference to have a mobile active labour, albeit just distractions.
 |
| too funny, had to add this |
8cm, 9cm. Ok I've changed my mind. I want the epidural. Although in my heart I knew they wouldn't give it to me. I knew all their delaying tactics. I've seen them 100 times on One Born Every Minute, when a woman asks at this late stage in the game they will do anything to distract her. The baby will be born soon, just keep fobbing her off, I knew the game. I knew the begging was futile, but I couldn't honestly face the rest of my life with my womb without putting this plea out for her. The answer was no. And I was told in no uncertain terms "you need to have a baby, not an epidural" Ok to hell with you two where's my earphones, I don't even want to listen to your voices anymore.
"Your confidence is growing.... you have created the perfect birthing environment. .... you are stretchable and flexible and open" Things were extremely intense at this stage, but it was nice to hear that familiar voice and some of it was still affecting me positively.
When it came to pushing I chose to ignore them when they said hold your breath and push. (Also known as purple pushing) I was pushing, but I wasn't holding my breath. There is a programme called Gentle Birth which I had researched and taken some useful tips from. They say when you hold your breath and push, it can distress the baby and also can cause tears/rips. So, much to the annoyance of the midwife I continued to breathe and moan my way through the pushing stage.
How many stitches do I need? None. Point proven. (Given Sam was a pound smaller and I got 2)
My baby was born alert, and extremely relaxed. We had delayed cord clamping which was something I had really wanted for both my children but wasn't possible for Sam as he was born in a state of distress. Baby Summer fed quickly and easily. And also had some skin to skin time with Daddy while the placenta was delivered.
 |
| Just born |
"A relaxed and content little baby on the inside, is a relaxed and content little baby on the outside." Hypnosis put me into such a calm state for the final few weeks of pregnancy, it has definitely rubbed off on Summer. She is a pleasure to have, just sleeps and eats. Never cries unless she has to wait when she's hungry, a bit like her father in that respect.
Summer was born at 15.03 pm on Thursday afternoon. I was showered and dressed and walked myself down to the ward by 17.00. We all left the hospital a few hours later, calm, relaxed and not in the slightest bit traumatised.
I don't think any of that would have been possible without the confidence I gained and the techniques I learned from Vivienne's unique hypnobirthing plan. Instead of nightmares about childbirth, this time I look back with fondness on moments during the labour, and often laugh about some of the things that happened. I could do it all tomorrow if I had to, and will look forward to doing so at some stage in the future if and when the time is right.
Steven was very skeptical about the whole thing, but at the same time willing to support me if it was something I wanted to do. I think he began to change his mind when he tried to inflict pain on me in my centre position to test it out, a couple weeks before the birth. For anyone who knows Steven they will know he is fairly strong. So when I asked him was he messing and not really trying to hurt me, I think was impressed. He seen a different woman labouring this time, a completely uncomplicated birth.
I would recommend this to every pregnant woman and in particular those who are fearful. Particularly if like me if you are carrying a lot of fear and anxiety in relation to a previous birth. This is a programme with consistent results. I got through the process without epidural, stitches, intervention or complication. The money and time spent on the hypnosis was probably the best I spent my entire pregnancy, and I would dare to say in life in general. Never underestimate the power of your mind.
Click here to contact Vivienne for further information on her course.
