Last Sunday early morning I had the honor of attending the birth of an adorable little boy who couldn't have had more loving parents. His mother is a 3rd time mom who had epidurals with her previous deliveries, but who had decided for various reasons to go unmedicated with this 3rd birth. To assist her in accomplishing this, she chose to attend Hypnobirthing . I can not say how AMAZING this birth was.
Before I tell the short labor story, (YAY for 3.5 hours of labor!) let me briefly explain the philosophies of hypnobirthing. Hypnobirthing focuses on relaxation and relieving tension during birth. The idea is that if a woman can relieve tension and let go of fear during birth, she will experience less pain and will actually HELP her body through the birth process by trusting that her body is doing it's job. It is a truly amazing thing to watch a woman be so focused with each contraction.
When I first met with this beautiful couple, I was told that the dad wanted to be VERY involved... basically, coached. My role was to help mom stay focused and comfortable but mainly to do those things through her husbands hands. (To make suggestions on position changes or show him pressure points that would elevate the intensity of her contractions.) I was really excited for this birth, I've never met a dad so loving and involved in the birthing process.
So I got the call at 4:27 in the morning and raced to answer the phone. I was certain that the only person who would be calling at this hour was a woman in labor. I answered the phone and could tell by her voice that she was ready! I got to the hospital about 15 minutes after the couple arrived to find her looking very calm. Her husband whispered to me that she was at a 7. WOW!! It was actually impossible to tell when she was having a contraction. Her relaxation music was playing, the lights were very dim and she sat in the bed as the nurse started a Hep lock IV. She was very comfortable and I was a little worried that I would be no help at all as she definitely had this under control. We chatted, joked, and I refilled her water for about an hour and a half before the midwife came in to check her.
It was right around 6:30 in the morning when the midwife pronounced that the mom was still about a 7 and offered to break her water (which we had discussed before hand). The mom was confident in answering that she would be fine with that and soon the membranes were ruptured. It took a few minutes before the contractions started up again but when they did, they came on with a new intensity. It was with the onset of this intensity that I became useful, although the mom was still VERY much in control. Pressure points and position changes were necessary to help keep the mom focused and dad was up for anything I suggested. The birth ball was a fantastic place for her to be for quite a while but eventually we found a very comfortable position for her sitting in the good ' ol hospital bed. Hospital beds are REALLY amazing. They do incredible things and with this particular bed we were able to sit her up in a perfect upright position with knees at about a 90 degree angle resting beautifully on the bottom of the bed... kind of like a wheel chair, for lack of a better explanation. She found that she very much enjoyed the "knee press" which was quite easy to apply in this position in the bed. It was really fun as she hopped out of the bed and paced around the room to bring the contraction on and then raced over to sit in the bed so her husband could apply that pressure to her knees. After only a few contractions she started to skip the hopping in and out part and resolved to stay sitting in the bed. It was very evident that the contractions were very intense based on small changes she had made in her focusing technique, but she never faltered from her focus. I don't recall her so much as grimacing her face. Through every contraction her body looked relaxed.
When the midwife came in and let her know she could push mom was not quite feeling the urge. It was at this point that everything just sort of happened. It's a blur for me, I can only imagine how blurry it is for her. The midwife offered to allow her to push in a couple of different positions and the mom chose the one she thought she would be most comfortable in. She pushed through 3 contractions and her beautiful son was born at 8:07 a.m. It was incredible.
The most inspiring/memorable moment for me was a few minutes after the birth. It seemed like mom had finally realized what had just happened! (Unmedicated birth is very surreal. You feel it all, but when it's over, you can't really believe what just happened!) At this moment of realization she kind of laughed and cried out loud, and her expression was unforgettable. So empowered, so thrilled, and so proud! If I could do that birth all over again I would! Over and over. (But I understand that the mom probably wouldn't be so thrilled about this idea.) It was perfect. This mother with so much determination to trust her body. A dad who never for a moment looked doubtful. He always believed in her, as I always believe in all of my mom's as they embark on this amazing/challenging/rewarding time in their lives! WOMAN ARE STRONG!! It's so fun to find other woman who believe it! :o)
Woman believe in their own bodies ability to ovulate, implant, nurture and grow their children. My goal is to help woman also trust equally their bodies ability to birth those little ones. Birth is part of the process, as instinctual as a newborn who takes right to the breast. It's BEAUTIFUL!!!
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