Steph's Hypnobirth - Finley's Birth Story

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Our story to get pregnant wasn’t as magical as we had hoped. After a routine checkup at the GP, we found out that I had very little eggs left (in fact at the age of 27 I had the egg supply of a 55 year old). We were referred immediately to IVF to egg harvest and freeze. It was at these appointments that more tests were undertaken and revealed that I also have a unicornuate uterus – meaning that my uterus is half the size it’s supposed to be. It’s a congenital birth defect, and I had no idea of this until more tests were done. To top it all off, I also have endometriosis which I have had surgeries for in the past. We were told that IVF would be our only chance to have a baby and that even if I did fall pregnant, my reduced uterus size could mean miscarriages and preterm birth. We were given an egg retrieval date – the earliest being in three months time. The doctor told us that we could try and fall pregnant naturally, but that the chances were extremely low. With a further appointment looming and despite everything we had been told, we fell pregnant naturally in the first month of trying!

The hypnobirthing course was fantastic and Laura’s knowledge as a midwife really helped to answer all of the multitude of questions that we had! We practiced grounding techniques and did some of the meditations together. We left feeling confident and empowered about our birth. Doing a hypnobirthing course gave me the strength to ask questions and advocate for myself and my baby during pregnancy. Because my pregnancy was considered high risk due to my uterus size, we were under constant monitoring with the Preterm Birth Prevention Clinic at King Eddies. I was grateful for the care we received, but throughout the whole process I felt strong and confident and had the bravery to stand up for what I wanted. Despite half a uterus, my pregnancy continued with no complications and we were discharged from the Preterm Birth Clinic. The aim was to get past 37 weeks, as then I could birth at the Family Birth Centre. 

I sent a photo of my waters to our midwife and she confirmed that was would have to meet at the main hospital when the time came. As soon as my waters broke the contractions starting coming hard and fast, and I got into the shower to relieve some of the pressure. The waves got more and more intense and closer together very quickly. We called our midwife again and she gave us the option of either labouring at home for another hour or to come into the hospital. Being our first baby, we decided to come to the hospital to get assessed. It was then that I got out of the shower and my partner put on my TENS machine. I had my acupressure comb in my hands and was labouring against the bed as my partner packed the car and got things ready. 

We were planning to meet our midwife at 130m at the hopsital and I was glad for the short drive to the hospital as the waves got more intense. I focused on my breath, counting over and over in my head to geet me through the peak of the waves. We arrived at the hospital at 140am and our midwife was ready for us. The room had all of the lights off already and our midwife had everything that we might need. My partner quickly set up the room with our galaxy projector on the roof and my calming music playing over a speaker. Our midwife offered us a cervix check and I accepted. She asked me if I wanted to know how far along I was and I told her 'only tell me it it's more than 4cm!'. She told me that we were at 7cm and doing very well. She assured me that my baby has lots of hair! I continued to labour again the bed with my partner offering me sips of water after every wave.

I tried a few different positions from the hypnobirthing course, but couldn’t get comfortable unless I was on all fours or standing and leaning on the bed. After a little while my legs were beginning to get sore, so I climbed onto the bed on my hands and knees. My partner rubbed my back and spoke calming, positive affirmations as things ramped up and I felt baby move deeper into my pelvis. My eyes were closed during most of my labour and I remember seeing the midwifes suddenly had gloves on and there was a small light aimed at my behind. I remember thinking that we were getting close to meeting baby because they weren’t wearing gloves before! I said to my midwife ‘I think the baby is coming soon!’. She replied, ‘don’t be scared, your body knows what to do’ to which I responded with ‘I’m not scared, I’m excited!’ Using my breath got me through every wave. 

I’ll never forget the moment I saw my baby for the first time or how empowered I felt throughout the whole birth. Despite having to transfer to the main hospital and not getting to have the water birth we had planned at the FBC – I wouldn’t change anything about our birth story. Throughout the whole pregnancy and birth our midwife listened to our needs, made us feel empowered and advocated for us. Hypnobirthing allowed us to take control of our birth and we felt no fear. 

After our birth and golden hour of skin to skin we had almost every midwife on the ward that night come to visit us. They all wanted to see the woman who had birthed with no pain relief, in such a short amount of time and with no tearing or stitches! I was told that my body was made for birthing and that I was such a pro at birthing because I had so much control to birth my babies head. I couldn’t have done it without the knowledge and power that hypnobirthing had given me.