Testimonials

Jennifer and Gianni

I had a wonderful birth and don't really remember the time between the hours of 11am and 4pm as I was so relaxed and in my 'zone'. Having the relaxation music on really helped me stay calm and go deep into relaxation. I was so relaxed I nearly left it to late to go to the the hospital and nearly delivered the baby in the car on the way! My partner, Gianni, gave me so much support and really helped me stay calm at the last stage of my labour. I had no drugs or intervention and my baby was fit and healthy and went straight to the breast. I had no tears or stitches and also delivered the placenta naturally. Rosa is a very contented baby and I believe that this was down to me staying calm during my pregnancy and also by having such a relaxed and happy birth. Hypnobirthing® helped me look at going back to nature and realising that birth is a natural process; without doing these classes prior to my birth, I do not believe that I would have stayed so calm and relaxed. The only thing I would do differently next time would be to have a home birth.

 I would like to thank Clare for the knowledge and support she passed on to Gianni and I, without this we would not have had such a fantastic BIRTHday for our beautiful little baby girl, Rosa. It was the greatest, most memorable day of my life and I will never forget how happy we both were when little Rosa arrived.

Jennifer, Gianni and Rosa

Alison and John

John Patrick Felix McHugh was born on Monday 23rd February 2009 and weighed in at exactly 7 Lbs.

At 8am I saw something that I took to be my 'show', so I told John that I thought my 'plug' had come away - he was half a sleep and thought I was talking about an electric plug for my hairdryer! My surges started soon after, then my waters broke and I thought that three signs all at once might be a good indicator that things were happening. By the time we were ready to go, I already felt quite far on. John did a good job of getting me down our tenement flat stairs to the car and thankfully got us to the Southern General in 15 minutes. The balloon breathing was key to managing the surges during this stage and it kept me calm.
 
We arrived at 11.30am and went straight to the labour ward, where the Lead Midwife for the day, Cathy, was lovely. She took us to the birthing pool room and went through every single one of my points in my birth plan, stopping if I had a surge. I think this was a great distraction and gave me confidence that the midwives were going to support me in our wishes for a normal birth with minimum intervention. Cathy noted that I wasn't keen on a vaginal examination from my notes and said that if I really didn't want one she would'nt. I explained that I didn't want to be disappointed. However, I was also curious, so said "go on then". She asked if we wanted to have a guess, John said 6 cm and to be honest I couldn't really speak at that point. I was very happy when she said 10 cm! The birthing pool was a great tool and the key benefit was that the water kept me buoyant and allowed me to get into different positions. Having had such a quick first stage my expectation was that the second stage would also be quick.
 
Another midwife, Mairi, then took over with Kirsty (a student midwife). They also read my preferences, adhered to them and were lovely to us. I did that walk that the Mexican women did in your video where she hung on to her husband and walked round the room. It wasn't long before I felt the need to bear down, so I went back into the pool. About 30 minutes before the end (although I didn't know it at the time) I asked for Gas & Air, but the midwife said that I was passed that stage and it wouldn't help. She said to just keep doing what I was doing and that my HypnoBirthing® teacher would be proud of me! John kept me hydrated with lots of water and we kept my relaxation CD on throughout. He used the depthometer and stroked my arm which helped me to really focus. I did make a lot of those primitive noises (that you'd mentioned in class) throughout the birthing stage and couldn't believe it was me that was making such a racket! John Patrick entered the world into the water at 2.56pm. That was truly amazing! He came to the surface gently and I held him for the first time. Perfect. I showed him to John and he said he's a boy! I managed the third stage after about 40 mins by getting John Patrick to suckle. Overall I could not have asked for more - we had a very alert and calm little baby in our arms. I had visualised the birth taking 3 hours in your class and so I am over the moon with 3 and a half hours at the hospital and a total of 7 hours from beginning to end.
 
Once again thanks for all your help and support! We whole heartedly recommend HypnoBirthing®!

Alison, John & John Patrick (JP) McHugh