Hypnobirthing: My 'I Did It!' Story

When I was pregnant with my third baby I was determined to have my much-wanted ‘I did it’ birth! I wanted a completely natural birth, right down to delayed cord clamping.

My second birth: work stress and hospital intervention

During my previous pregnancy I experienced high level of stress at work, which is not the ideal environment for growing a baby. When it came to the birth itself, we wanted a home birth, but it couldn’t be staffed so we ended up in hospital.

I used hypnobirthing for all 3 of my babies, but after my first I chose to do the course with my husband. I know it definitely helped me cope with the work stress during the pregnancy.

Once in hospital for the birth, things took a slightly different path than we’d hoped. Rather than allowing ourselves to stop for a moment and use the tools we’d learned in our hypnobirthing sessions (like asking the right questions), I handed my power over to the midwives. As a result, intervention led to further intervention.

The outcome? I gave birth to a beautiful boy, and everyone was safe and well.

The after-effects for me personally? I struggled. I remember lying in bed on the ward about 8 hours later, crying, feeling so guilty and gutted that I had allowed my precious baby to arrive into this world the way he did, not naturally as I’d wanted, and feeling like I could have done better.

Instinctively I knew things could have happened differently, don’t ask me how I know but I just knew. But the fact is it happened as it did and it can’t be changed. Everyone was safe, but it’s still an experience that will stay with me forever.

Post-natally the midwives were excellent. I was able to go back and discuss the birth to understand what happened, which helped bring closure. 

My third birth and my ‘I did it!’ moment

When I got pregnant with our third, I remember around the second trimester, the old feelings started to resurface. The upset and guilt and frustration started to reappear.

I felt emotional, afraid and anxious, not wanting the same outcome again, and doubting my ability to birth a baby naturally.

But I was determined. I knew I wanted a natural birth. I focused on visualising my perfect birth, if there is such a thing. I used my hypnobirthing tools every day, I met with the senior midwife again to discuss a birthing plan which helped to reassure me, knowing we had agreed a plan (in theory).

For this birth I was 11 days over the expected due date. I thought I was going to be pregnant forever! I had never gone over my due date in my last two pregnancies and it was the longest wait of my life!

I’ve run 2 marathons and the thought of this birth felt as mentally challenging as doing a marathon. I walked into hospital so calm, though. The midwives were sure they were going to send me home. Not the case! I was already at 8 cm dilated and all I kept saying was ‘You are not going to break my waters!!’

8 hours later, I gave birth to our baby girl, and I finally had my ‘I DID IT’ moment. I got it all and it felt incredible.

Yes I had a moment when I felt like I can’t do this. But then I let my body take over and it felt amazing. I was calm, I trusted my body and my baby knew what they had to do. I felt in control and wow did I feel utterly empowered.

I want every woman to come away from their birth experience feeling like this. And just to be clear: it’s not about having a perfect birth. Life doesn’t work like that, but it is every woman’s right to have the right birth for her. It’s the reason why I teach hypnobirthing, the Wise Hippo way.

If you’d like to find out more about our Wise Hippo hypnobirthing programme, you can get in touch with me directly. I would love to hear from you.