Birth Friendly Client Testimonials
“our baby was born at home at 3.14pm on Sunday 25th July 2010, 9 days past his due date. The midwife arrived at 3.26pm to find me with the baby in my arms. He was obviously just too eager to make his appearance and couldn't wait for her to arrive. He weighed 8lb 7oz. Mum and baby both doing really well.” Karen, Linton, Cambs July 2010
“Hi Sarah Just to let you know I had a little boy on Sunday morning. He's actually not that little, 9lb 6. He's completely healthy so I am very grateful. The birth was fantastic and Paul and I are soo pleased we did hypno birthing with you as we believe it was the basis for everything going so well. Thank you again and hopefully see you soon. Emma, Saffron Walden, Essex. May 2010
“Our beautiful daughter Leila arrived on Tuesday and she's absolutely adorable.
I was lucky enough to have the home water birth I planned and everything went fantastically. I must admit my body wasn't always as relaxed as my mind and breathing were trying to communicate to it, but I managed to concentrate just long enough with the help of my sister. I didn't feel 'pain' - it was more pressure and heaviness, is the only way I can describe it. I am so happy I used the hypnobirthing techniques as they really helped me to have the birth I hoped for. I would definitely do it the same way again - the experience was just amazing! Leila had her eyes open and was so relaxed following the birth, and she's been an absolute joy these last few days. “
Claire, Ilford, Essex. February 2010
I suppose I didn't even realise I was in labour, (about 11am.) felt some surges, but no different to practice ones I've been getting for weeks, so just listened to CD a couple of times, wached rubbish films and had a bath. Nothing else seemed to be happening. Waters broke at about 1830 and Martin barely had time to put pool up and fill by 21.12! Very Quick.
I'd for some reason completely convinced myself that it wouldn't hurt at all, so when I did feel head moving, I kinda paniced a bit, but only for a couple of surges. composed myself, remembered all my training and Martin managed to help me focus breathing. Midwife arrived 20 mins before Gabriel was born, she didn't get chance to really 'do' anything - she managed to hide her suprise that things were so far along!
What an amazing experience really..He is a lovely little fella... can't believe it.
Thank you so much to Sarah for enabling Martin and I to feel so very empowered about our baby's birth. Providing us with invaluable information, and the confidence to have faith in ourselves and our birthing plan. I will certainly be advocating hypnobirthing to anyone and everyone I meet...”
Charlotte, Cambs, February 2010
“Ava Rose McKirdy was born on the 10th March at 11.45am weighing in at 7lbs11 and 51cm long. We were very lucky and managed to have the special home birth that we wished for. Everything went according to plan and she is thriving beautifully.”
Olivia, Wheathampstead, Herts. March 2010
“Hi Sarah,
I just wanted email and let you know that our baby is finally here!! We had a beautiful little girl - born on Monday weighing 8lbs exactly, and she's absolutely perfect! We're so in love!! The rest of my pregnancy was great, and I enjoyed the experience right through to the end. Erinne was born at home in the water, and I didn't need any pain relief (other than the water, which felt amazing as soon as I got in!!) even though she was in a posterior position, and strangely came out with her head facing my leg. Hypnobirthing definitely helped me to understand how my body was working, and to relax through the surges. I had a really amazing birth - it was an absolutely wonderful experience, and I will never forget it
! I wanted to thank you again for a great class, it really helped me to achieve the birth I hoped for! Hope all is well with you!”
Becky, Letchworth, Herts. July 2010
Just wanted to let you know that our baby was born yesterday at 7.28am and he weighed in at 8lbs 3oz.
Phase 1 of Labour began at about 2am and Lynda listened to her cd and slept through some of the surges. When they were almost on top of each other we phoned the midwives and 30 mins later Wendy was with us, (6.30am). Lynda then got in the pool at about 6.40am which was when phase 2 kicked in. 50 mins later with no pain relief or tearing our baby boy swooshed into the world!
Neither of us or the midwives could believe how easily it all came together and how grounded Lynda was able to stay during the whole process, especially for a first baby. We both want to thank Sarah for all the explanations and information over the previous 4 Sundays as there is no doubt that being in the right frame of mind for labour is what you really need.”
Fraser, Herts. July 2010
“My Beautiful baby boy was born on the 25th Feb 2010 at 1:25 am weighing a good 8 pounds 9. I sat down to eat my final jammie dodger and suddenly felt something,"mmm what's that". I put my Hypno birthing affirmations on, got out the clary sage and told myself to relax which i managed to do, I also managed to eat some dinner which was a VERY good idea.
I went off to the toilet and sat in the dark for a little while - I must have been in there a while as DH managed to finish mine and his dinner and then came into the bathroom "should i ring the midwife?" he asked - "I dont know i might just be being a wimp, I think i will have that bath " DH ran me a bath, and rang the midwife I spoke to her and just said "it might be nothing i dont want to waste your time" 45minutes later the MW rang again at which point i said "errrm yes i think you need to come now!
I decided to get out of the bath before she arrived. DH had put candles all over the living room and put my relaxation CD on, which i found really calming. I sat on the sofa and did my birth breathing whilst the pool was being filled and I began to really feel relaxed and found myself in a really good place. Just as i had requested the MW let me just get on with it and her and DH just sat in the kitchen occasionally popping in to remind me to breath or just making sure i was okay. I laid in the water just listening to the music and breathing through my surges, after a while the surges were getting more and more intense and even though there was still a large amount of pressure I felt calm and really in control. I got out of the pool and the MW went to examine me at which point she said "Oh my god there is their head" at which point I calmed down instantly and said right lets get this baby out, I felt my body relax and sat with the midwife after getting out of the pool and waited for the next surge I was on the journey to bring my baby down, it was the best feeling after 15 mins of hard work when my little fella was placed onto my chest. I owe so much to Hypno-birthing I never though that i would get through it all without any pain relief i am not going to say it didn't hurt as at times it did but as soon as i relaxed and breathed everything was 100 times better !”
Lisa, Potton, Bedfordshire. February 2010
“ Hope you are well. I just wanted to let you know that our baby boy Dylan was born on Sunday at 5:30 in the morning. We are both extremely happy, and spending all our waking hours looking after him, so sorry for the delay in letting you know! The start of the surges were around midday on Saturday, and the relaxation techniques and music worked well. We managed to stay at home until around 3am on Sunday and got to the Rosie at 3:15, and luckily the birth pool in the main delivery unit was free. They let me in the water within 20 mins or so (they insisted on an examination and I was 7cms dilated), and he was born at 5:31 in the water. I don't think I coped so well with the bearing down stage though...was not as calm as those women in the videos we watched- think I was pretty much screaming at the maximum level, He wasn't small though- weighing in at 8lbs4oz.”
Mari, Saffron Walden, Essex. March 2010
“Dear Sarah,
You have changed my life. I never thought that the birth could be this good. We learnt so much from your classes and tell everyone we know to come to you. My birth with Maisie was unbelievable after so much pain last time, it was a piece of cake. It was so nice learning from somebody who spoke from experience too. Thank you so much again”
Sharon from Saffron Walden, May 2006.
2nd baby, 4hr homebirth, no pain relief, no tears.
“Hi Sarah,
Thank you so much for all your help. The birth really was fantastic, and I don't think it would have gone so well without all the preparation”. During the changeover of shift in hospital I could hear them saying "and she's done all this on just gas and air?" They kept telling me how well I'd done but I really wouldn't say *I* did anything except learn about hypnosis-my body just took over.”
Kate, First baby born June 2006.
14 hr labour, using only entonox (gas and air), natural vaginal delivery, no tears or stitches
“I am so glad of all the preparation as I had no excessive bleeding, no after pains or tears”
Sam from Cambridge. July 2006.
First baby: 12hr labour using only entonox at the very end, natural vaginal delivery, no tears.
“I am so grateful to you for all your help. The main thing that kept me calm was my HypnoBirthing recording - it really came into its own. My hospital notes record whole labour (from start of 1st stage to end of 3rd stage) as 50 minutes, I'm still amazed by it all and can't quite believe she's arrived. I couldn't have had a better labour experience after all that. I really firmly believe that all the work I've put in, planning the birth paid off.”
Jenny, 3rd baby born July 2006,
breech baby turned naturally with hypnosis. Natural vaginal delivery after a 50minute labour with no pain relief at all (after epidurals with both previous children)
“Hi Sarah,
I had a beautiful baby boy 4 days early on 18th September. We called Him Oliver and he weighed 7lb 2oz. The HypnoBirthing was excellent. We decided in the end I would have him at home so Keith ordered a birth pool and managed to blow it up just in time. When the midwife arrived I was 5 cm dilated and Oliver was born within 3 hours of her arriving. When we did the script on the course and you said to decide how long labour would be I said 3 hours so it all seems a bit spooky he arrived so quickly.
The midwives couldn't believe how well I did and how quickly he arrived. Keith said he shot out like a torpedo!! He could see a bulge and I turned round in the pool and next thing he was born within about 2 minutes. I didn't feel any pain when he was born it actually felt quite nice, and I remember picturing the rose opening up. I did have gas and air but for about the last hour but that was more because it felt more awkward wanting to push than painful. I really can't rave enough about the HypnoBirthing we are both convinced it worked and all the midwives are taking an interest in it!! Lucky I decided to have Oliver at home as there were 25 births at Southend Hospital on the day he was born so they were a bit manic there!!
Also I didn't have any cuts or tears, nothing, and was up and about straight a way and on the phone to people within hours, they couldn't believe it. I now can't believe that Oliver is 5 weeks old tomorrow. He is so good, we were out and about with him when he was 3 days old. Also being a waterbirth baby he loves having a bath and seems a very happy contented baby.
Thanks for the excellent course, I will definitely be using HypnoBirthing for the next baby!!”
Sarah from Southend. September 2006.
First baby, born at home after a 3hr labour, gas and air for the last hour, no tears.
"Hi Sarah,
I just wanted to let you know that we had our baby boy. The birth
was at home and took around 7 hours, no pain relief.
We wanted to say thanks - the course really helped, mainly the breathing, the relaxing and “going with it” attitude and also having seen all those videos of births, we knew everything that was
happening was totally normal”.
Lisa from Cambridge. October 2006.
2nd baby, 7hr homebirth with no pain relief.
"Hi Sarah,
Our baby boy arrived! It was amazing and exactly how I wanted it. I was very quiet and kind of in a trance for most of it, I didn't tear or need any stitches at all and he came out very calm and peaceful as I lifted him out of the water, he was a great colour and fed straight away, the midwives again left us to be together in the pool for ages after he was born. They were all really great.
All in all - it was my absolute perfect birth! I was so amazed and pleased that it all went so well, especially when we came so close to not having it! My husband was wonderful and is proclaiming the wonders of HypnoBirthing to everyone he meets - I don't think he can really believe I was that calm and quiet throughout the whole thing.. even the midwife said she couldn't tell when I was having a contraction so could I please signal to her to time the monitoring - so it was all perfect."
Helen from Stansted.
First baby born January 2007. Waterbirth with no pain relief. 9 hour labour.
"Hi Sarah,
Hope you're well. I just wanted to let you know that our baby boy was born at home on 19th January. The birth went so well and thanks to the HypnoBirthing and Homeopathy I didn't need any other relief methods. The labour was 9.5 hours long. Anyway, it was a wonderful experience and thank you for all of your advice and help during the preparations, it really was invaluable”.
Deborah from Haverhill.
First baby, born at home in January 2007. No pain relief, 9.5hr labour.
"Dear Sarah,
Before I commence the lengthy summary of the events I will just say that the HypnoBirthing was simply amazing and more effective than I could have ever imagined. The midwives were stunned and the consultant totally disbelieving! Probably not the first time you have heard this. By the time I reached recovery I was famous, ‘oh you’re the HypnoBirthing lady’.
He is such a calm baby and I am putting this down to the calm and thoroughly enjoyable labour. I am so delighted that I got to experience that stage at least.
Oh, I have to confess my coccyx was rather sore, probably from standing up for 5 days so at 7.5cm before the Oxyctocin drip I did ask for a couple of paracetamol. Apparently this was highly amusing to my husband, my mother and the midwife!
I am exceptionally grateful to you Sarah for teaching us this wonderfully successful technique and look forward to having the opportunity to use it again in the future. In the mean time I will simply practice with it at the dentist!"
Jen from Stansted, January 2007.
1st baby – planned homebirth resulting in a hospital transfer for an emergency Caesarean section due to baby’s positioning.
"Hi Sarah,
The birth went very well. Clara's membrane's released early on the 24th October without any other labour signs. We went into hospital and were told to stay there until the birth, whenever that might be. The doctors were keen to induce on the 25th so we set about trying to get things moving more naturally: in the end the sideways walk up/ down stairs did the trick.
We had a fairly nice delivery room and Clara's surges started in the
evening of the 24th. At that point we were using the HypnoBirthing CD so Clara could relax. Because of twins we had little choice over an
epidural so that was taken around midnight. Clara then used the HypnoBirthing techniques from then until 7.30 am, when the midwife 'woke' Clara up so our first twin could be delivered. Our little boy arrived at 7.44 and our little girl at 08:31. Our son was head down but our daughter was breech, however both were delivered naturally without any issues (no tearing even).
The birth was a very positive experience and the HypnoBirthing techniques I believe made all the difference because Clara had all her energy for the final delivery. We had quite an audience for our daughter’s birth because she was breech!
Thanks for all your help: the course really helped us."
Richard from Cambridge, October 2006.
First time dad to twins! One born vaginally in a breech position.
“Dear Sarah,
Hope all is well with you. Just to let you know that Billy and I had our baby girl. She is an extremely chilled out baby. We bonded with her instantly and I think that this is due to us being in control of the birth, remaining calm and bonding with her when she was in the womb.
We had a home labour as planned but I was transferred to hospital at the last minute due to a mistake! Basically I went very quickly from transition to wanting to birth the baby and the midwife seemed to panic. She mistook my heartbeat for the baby's, when in fact the baby was fine. It was ok though as I gave birth as soon as I arrived and they dealt with the mess!
I was able to keep calm and remained in control throughout the whole thing, thanks to HypnoBirthing. The midwife was in awe of how relaxed and in control I was throughout. Billy also did a brilliant job. So basically thank you for everything and teaching me to experience birth and labour in this way. I was able to face it without fear and although it was a huge challenge, I ended up being in awe of what my body was doing. It was so powerful!
I will continue to use HypnoBirthing for each pregnancy!
By the way, I was introduced to HypnoBirthing by my sister who used it successfully with the birth of her first baby. She recently gave birth to her second child and hadn't practiced HypnoBirthing. She swears that the difference in each birth was astounding. With the first baby she didn't need any pain relief. With the second she was screaming for a caesarian. So there you go!
Thanks again from two happy parents and a new mum who has recovered
extremely quickly and has no tears!!”
Jo from Royston, July 2007.
1st baby – planned homebirth with hospital transfer, no pain relief.
“Hi Sarah,
Just a brief message from me at the Rosie hospital, Cambridge to say that our baby turned up a month early weighing 6lb 12, in true HypnoBirthing style.
I had her here and not home as planned as I came in for some monitoring when I thought I had an upset stomach to find I was actually in labour and 8cm dilated! Our baby was here 3 hrs later!
A huge thank you for your fab course, see you soon. Guess I should cancel
that pool!”
Callie from Sawston.
1st baby – accidental hospital birth due to mum not realizing she was in labour!
“Hi Sarah
Just to let you know I had a baby girl, the early hours of Monday morning.
Labour started at about 1am, I got in the pool and delivered at 03.40 - perfect delivery of a beautiful 9lb 13oz little girl. Such an amazing experience and such a contrast to last time!
Many thanks for all your help; I do truly believe that the Hypnosis made a very big difference.”
Trisha from Bishops Stortford, July 2007.
2nd baby – home waterbirth after a 2.5hr labour, no pain relief.
“My little girl arrived at 4:45am on Thursday weighing 7lb13 after a 6hr 23min labour
(2nd stage was a mere 13mins, 28mins physiological 3rd stage), in a birthing pool in my dining room.
As usual my baby and I were awkward, she turned in the last couple of hours and decided to go the difficult route of face up, (back labour). The first faces she saw (through the water, before mine) were my mum and sister (who had arrived just 30mins before), my birth partner and my amazing midwife.
A big thank you to all those involved in making the birth so wonderful. I
can honestly say that the combination of HypnoBirthing, Reflexology,
Homeopathy, the pool and my FANTASTIC midwife made it a pleasant experience
and pretty painless.”
Caroline from Brentwood, May 2007.
1st baby – home waterbirth, 6.5hr labour, no pain relief.
“I started with a few twinges on the Tuesday which progressed and became more insistent late Wednesday afternoon. I managed to take the dogs for a very short walk at 5pm before calling my husband to see how far away he was from home. When he arrived home I was very calm and we talked and had tea as normal despite the contractions being quite regular. Around 8pm we decided to call the midwife and spoke to Harlow. Paul called and spoke to them and I also spoke to them briefly about what was going on. In all this time I felt very calm and even managed to ring my cleaner to leave a message with her Mother to tell her not to come in on the Thursday.
The midwife arrived about 9pm and examined me at which time I was 4cm dilated. The whole atmosphere in the house was very relaxed and I managed to continue breathing and also moving about. A student midwife also came to the house. I had a bath and also rested. I didn't know what the time was as I was focused on what I was doing. I listened to the CD of relaxing music continuously. Later on the midwife asked me if she could do another examination at which point my waters broke. I was still only 4cm dilated and the baby's head was still high. I was then asked if I could walk up and down the stairs, which I did along with sitting on my birthing ball and having another bath. Through out this I remained calm and breathing.
At about 4am I was examined again and still no further dilation or the baby's head any lower. At this point with mine and Paul's agreement an ambulance was called. I arrived at Rosie 5am where I was hooked up to various monitors to see what was happening with baby. At 8am the baby's heartbeat had dropped and it became apparent that a caesarean may have to be an option. The staff examined me again - there were a large number of people in and out at this point but I was very internalised so not really fully aware, at this point we made the decision to go for a caesarean. Apparently the baby's head was not tucked in so even if I had stayed at home she wouldn't have been born there.
I really think the HypnoBirthing helped me to keep calm throughout the experience and even when I lost a bit of control allowed me to remain calm and decisive. I was able to make the decisions that I wanted even under pressure. I have also found it a useful technique to concentrate on the breathing and focus in other situations for example when I had a wisdom tooth under local anaesthetic. It also gave me the confidence to make the decision to opt for a home birth, even though that didn't work out. I am not disappointed about this either as I know that to do twelve hours at home with no pain relief is a feat in itself and whatever I had done at home she wouldn't have arrived there.
Thank you for your course which I would thoroughly recommend, even for sceptical husbands.”
Emma from Saffron Walden. Summer 2007.
1st baby – planned homebirth with hospital transfer resulting in an emergency Caesarean section due to baby’s positioning.
"Thank you so much for what you taught us on the course - we're still really pleased we did it, as it helped in the weeks leading up to the birth and I'll definitely be practising again for the next one. Actually, for someone who's always been very squeamish, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be!"
Nicky, from Cambridge, December 2007. 1st baby.
Birth with special circumstances (induction of labour) due to meconium presence.
"Hi Sarah,
Hope you are well.
The birth was great. I started having regular surges at 5pm - about every 7 minutes. My sister in law came and picked up our daughter at 7pm and I was still just walking about making cups of tea and seeing to her. They left at about 8pm. The midwife arrived at 8.30. I was by then doing rainbow relaxation. After about another 5 surges I asked when I was able to get in the pool and she said whenever I wanted. I knew if I did not get in then I may not be able to at a later stage as things were becoming really intense. I got in the pool about 9pm - things really picked up and surges were almost on top of each other. Had to really focus on CD and breathing. Started making really strange high pitched noises when breathing and thought to myself if I get a few more surges like these I am going to have to have some kind of pain relief. With that I called out she’s here!! 5 or 10 minutes later her head arrived into the water still in her sac. I breathed her out quite slowly, but what relief once I felt she was out completely!!! My husband actually helped her come into the world and the midwives were just fabulous. Our baby girl is so chilled out, sleeps lots and is so alert when she is awake. Happy baby and her sister just loves her. Looking forward to seeing you in the new year."
Judy from Stansted. December 2007.
2nd baby. Home waterbirth, 5hr labour, with no pain relief.
"Sarah,
Just a quick message (finally got on to my lap top after a hectic few days).
On my due date our baby boy was born weighing in at 8lb 11oz.
Surges started at around midday, following all of our hypnobirthing practice, we had a pain free, natural birth at home. It was a fantastic, wonderful experience thanks to you and the hypnobirthing training. We will be writing up our full birth story soon enough. Thanks again."
Natalie from Linton, November 2007.
1st baby. Homebirth with no pain relief needed.
"Dear Sarah,
We are happy to let you know that our daughter was born 4 days before her EDD. She weighed in at 8lb5 and everything went according to plan. She was born at home, in the pool, and I didn\'t use any pain relief. The HypnoBirthing course really paid off - I relaxed and pretty much slept through all the contractions during the first stage of labour, and although I felt the urge to push all throughout the second stage, I still tried to use my breathing to help out and relaxed in between surges.
I will write a more detailed account in a few days\' time and will send a couple if piccies as well. Thanks so much for your help in getting us there!"
Amy from Saffron Walden, December 2007.
1st baby. Homebirth with no pain relief needed.
"Dear Sarah
How are you and your family? I have been meaning to write to you for some time but time is always flying by etc..Anyway, I think my husband spoke to you soon after the birth and told you in a nutshell how we got on with our birthing.
Our son arrived to my great surprise three days earlier even by the scan dates and much earlier than I thought. It was an ordinary Friday in itself as I went to work for 2-3 hrs to tidy up. In the afternoon my husband and I went shopping and after a big meal and a nap in the early evening I woke up to feel a slight period like sensation. I had these before and thought nothing of it as I presumed the baby was descending. As we settled to watch the Lord of the rings I soon realised that my sensation was intensifying. At about 20:00 hrs my husband and I decided to get the house ready. This is pretty much the last recollection I have of the events over the next 6-7 hrs. My husband says that I " did it beautifully" and "coped so well" Well I must have as I remember little UNTIL midwife arrived about 03:00. The other most memorable sensation is when my waters broke at 05:30 ( reading the midwifery notes).Wow, that was an unforgettable experience!
I remained active and never sat down. My recall of the second stage is more vivid as my surges intensified to the point of no breaks between. Our son was born at 09:55 am. 12hrs from the beginning to the end, not bad for a first time mother.
I am happy to say that we both had such a positive experience of the birth, which I am still learning as I meet other mothers, is not the case for most of the other mothers.
My son is wonderful and what I gather from other mothers a very good baby. I am lucky to have such a wonderful husband who was my best midwife I could ever have and without him I do not think I could have done it.
YOUR INPUT WAS MUCH APPRECIATED SARAH AS I CAN SEE THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE EASIEST OF CUSTOMERS!
My most amazing realisation since the birth is that most mothers have such traumatic and horrific experiences, that as one of my friends says "I would never go through it again unless I felt that my son /daughter needed a sibling to grow up with". I feel great sadness when I hear a woman say that, but trying to give them the other perspective is so hard, almost impossible, so I admire your work and think that people like you are doing a great job as I know in this world there are very few jobs/ occupations were one can turn around and says with pride "I made a difference".
The other most fascinating discovery is how protective women are of their own experience, no matter how negative it may have been, to the point of believing that is how it is supposed to be, that they are meant to suffer and I fear there are very few out there who are willing to face it and admit that it was not a good experience and next time round they aught to change it. I suppose that as someone with a degree in psychology you would know more about this aspect of the human nature.
Anyway we plan to come to one of your coffee mornings and say hello”.
First time mother from Cambridge, January 2008.
Mum initially was planning a medicalised hospital birth, but after taking HypnoBirthing classes ended up planning - and achieving - a natural, drug free homebirth!
"Hi Sarah, fantastic news! At 1.03am this morning our beautiful baby girl was born. (7lb 11oz). Homebirth all went to plan in the end & Dawn did a fantastic job with no pain relief at all !!! We`ve not slept yet, so wil give you further details when more awake.
Thanks again for all your help Sarah, really really appreciated.
Speak soon, Thanks again”
Jon from Peterborough, April 2008.
2nd baby born at home with no pain relief after traumatic birth with first baby.
Hi Sarah,
Our baby boy was born last Sunday, 8lb 6oz. We had a really positive birth, 8 hours active, drug-free labour, arriving at hospital fully dilated or close to it (I wouldn't let them examine me for a while until I'd settled in!). Fetal heart rate decelerations were detected so I was asked to actively push him out. I started breathing him down while kneeling on the bed, which was fabulous to be able to do, but was again told the signs were that he needed to be out more urgently, so pushed for the last bit. I think it would have been lovely to experience breathing him all the way out but still feel very positive about the birth.It would have been great to have had the opportunity to use a pool, as a favourite part of my labour was being in the bath at home, despite not having much space in there!
He feeds brilliantly and is very content - it is a joy to get to know him (and leaving hospital 36 hours after his birth, it was hard to believe how well I felt I knew him already!). For the past 2 nights he has slept through the night (waking for feeds as he requires). I seem to still be on 'a high' and haven't slept since his 4am feed!
Sarah - Thank you [happy tears] Too hard to express all the wonderful emotions adequately with words.”
Caroline from Harpenden, April 2008.
First baby. Lovely planned hospital birth with a doula present, no pain relief needed.
" Hi Sarah
Our baby son was born just before midnight on Monday by Caesarian section. Mother and baby are both well and breastfeeding nicely and bonding well despite the lack of immediate skin-skin contact; Our son is very calm & alert. However, I got to hold him from very soon after delivery until Charlotte was able to feed him half an hour later. I you might be interested in how Hypnobirthing worked for us in 'Special Circumstances'.
At first glance the birth would appear to be a hypnobirthing failure but that's absolutely not the case; more than one midwife said words to the effect that they felt privileged to have been part of it.
....We decided that the time had come for medical intervention - the decision was very much our own. ....The relaxation techniques were absolutely invaluable.....We had a superb midwife at this point until near the end; she was amazed by how calm we were and said that she was the calmest she'd ever been herself at a delivery. A Caesarian was quickly and efficiently performed with me at Charlotte's side and I was there to hold the baby the instant the paediatrician had examined him”.
A proud new dad from Saffron Walden, May 2008.
A mammoth labour ending in a C-Section, due to the way the baby was presenting. clearly showing the benefit of HypnoBirthing even when things don't go to plan!
“Sarah,
Thank you so much for the hypnobirthing tuition, it really went so well. I just watched some of Richard's video footage and cant believe that it was actually really like the ones we watched in class. I never thought we'd achieve that. Here is a run down of how it went
After two early morning contractions at 6am and 7am I thought that maybe it was just a practice run, but I called into work and asked for a days annual leave anyway as I really didn't fancy sitting in front of my PC. But by 9:30 I thought my membranes had released but again I was not too sure, so I called the midwife anyway. I told her not to rush and that I was fine to wait until she had done her rounds and she would come visit at 2pm. Then I had a bath and started listening to rainbow relaxation. It was then I realised that this was really it.
Richard started to get the pool ready. I found it quite hard to find a place in the house where I felt comfortable, the gym ball was fine to start with but it soon got on my nerves as I didn't feel like I could flop and relax as much as I wanted to. I tried the toilet pan but ended up sitting wedged in a corner at the top of the stairs. Rich joined me and his stroking my back felt wonderful. He soon fell asleep though as the rainbow relaxation was still playing.. we both lay at the top of the stairs for what seemed like ages . In between the surges I felt like I was on another planet or asleep, it was very surreal. I really had to focus when it came to the balloon breaths during the surges. On the few I did get distracted they felt a whole lot worse so I was really glad for the practicing I had done. For some reason I was sick too, not sure why this was. When the midwife arrived I went to the bedroom and got examined. I was still relaxed so it didn't bother me much. I could tell the midwife thought she was going to have a long wait after looking at me at first as I looked so relaxed but I asked not to know the results of the examination. However I could tell, as she got up pretty quickly and said that Rich needs to fill the pool right away and that she'd get the 2nd midwife. This was pretty reassuring.
The pool seemed to take ages to fill but it was such a relief when I finally got in. I had been feeling the urge to push for a while before I got into the pool but I now know I was mistaking this for feeling like I was loosing control a bit and just tried to go deeper into relaxation. After an hour in the pool the baby was delivered and it was lovely that me and Rich managed to pull her out the water ourselves. The whole thing went so well and the midwives were amazed. There was a student midwife there and one of the others said to her that she was very lucky to experience a birth like that as it was one in a million. When I heard this I felt really pleased.
I cant say it was pain free but at no point did I feel the need for pain relief and didn't even think about it. I do remember thinking how glad I was that we were doing this at home and that I didn't need to go to hospital. The baby was so alert and wide eyed when she came out which was lovely to see, and so far has been sleeping most of the night and is pretty calm and relaxed. After the birth I felt wonderful, but poor Richard was exhausted. He was brilliant throughout the whole day and a really great support.
The time for active labour was 8 hours which is exactly what I chose when we did our hypnosis in class which I thought was amazing. The 3rd stage was 45 minutes and all natural. I did have one tiny tear but no stitches.
If we have another baby one day I will be sure to use hypnobirthing again.
So Thank you Sarah for helping us have such a wonderful birth. Bye for now
Sophie & Rich
Sophie from Halsted, Essex – June 2008.
Drug free home waterbirth of first baby with physiological third stage.
We have a new baby girl, born at home - 8lb 4oz.
Gail went in to very early labour at 3am, 3 days after due date following a trip to the pub. By 9 in the morning I was filling the pool and setting up the room with a mattress on the floor etc. We called the midwives and started to relax and enjoy ourselves. By about eleven Gail had started with rainbow relaxation. The midwives were familiar with hypnobirthing and were happy to let us do our own thing while my mum fed them my homemade soup.
Things were moving on and by one o'clock we were doing deepening and depthometer scripts with lots of light touch and a bit of light humour (laughter is very good medicine).
As surges got a bit more frequent Gail wanted to get in to the water. She was much more comfortable. We needed to prompt the midwife (and my mum) to leave the room after listening to heartbeat etc. After a while we just told them we needed 20 mins or so to do a relaxation. This got them out of the room with no fuss. Sometimes we would then just chat or do nothing. It was very nice. The pool was next to the open patio doors and all we could hear was wind in the trees and birds singing (and alpha music of course). Two hours in the pool and she was getting a bit cold and wanted to move. I got her out and on to the bed and under a duvet.
After a couple more scripts she was very comfortable and surges came much closer but the intensity remained constant.
Back in to the pool at about six thirty and now having much stronger and closer surges. With our last baby this stage was quite rapid (perhaps 40 mins). After more than an hour of very strong, frequent surges I will admit to becoming a bit concerned. The midwives were with us most of the time now which was fine. There was no coaching and not one of them mentioned the word push. I could sense that there was something not quite right but the never said anything negative and most of their communication was with little hand signs. At about eight the baby started to come and she was born at 8.18.
She was born face up and eyes open under the water - posterior lie. I put her on to Gail and everyone had a bit of a cry. She gave a couple of squawks and just lay on Gail, making small sounds and wiggling her fingers. It took us 5 minutes to find out she was a she.
The midwives said that this birth was what they would have expected from a baby with normal presentation. From what we know about the experience of others with posterior lie babies we feel we had a very good birth. Gail certainly thinks so.
No medication and no tears. All good. 3rd stage was about 50 mins. Thank you so much Sarah for your guidance and tuition. It is very much appreciated
A proud new dad from Cambs, July 2008.
Hi Sarah,
We had a baby boy!
Birth went really well and pretty much to plan. My waters broke at 8am on the Monday morning. We sat in the garden and had some lunch- both of us very chilled out. After lunch I decided to laydown and put on the hypnobirthing cd. By about 3pm I was experiencing more tightening and decided to sit on the birthing ball and practice my breathing. At this point I said that the tightening sensation (I still wasn't sure if I was experiencing surges at this point) was getting more regular and that maybe we should time them to give us some indication. At first they were about 3/4 minutes apart and lasting about a minute but for a while they went to 6 minutes apart. After about 30 minutes they started to become more regular- 4 minutes apart and thats when we called the midwife.
From what I can remember they arrived about 5/5.30 by which point I was on the birthing ball. I was having to concentrate on my breathing at this point. When the first midwife arrived I was quite into my relaxation and the intensity of the surges was increasing. They examined me at about 6pm and I was 5cm dilated!! I am pleased to say that was the only time they needed to check. I then got in the pool. By 7pm (I think!) I was using the gas and air as I was finding it hard to breath through the surges and this seemed to help a bit. I am not 100% sure how long it actually took to breath him down but it was very intense and I was very shocked at the noises that came from me- not as shocked as my husband though (and the neighbours!). The baby was born at 8.17pm. One of the Midwives named me 'Rocket Woman' as she couldn't believe how quickly I had him. He was handed straight to me and we sat in the pool while the cord pulsated- an unbelievable feeling- like nothing on this earth. I have never been so overwhelmed.
I left the pool for the final stage which took quite a while- about an hour i think (I didn't really pay attention to the clock). The midwives were pretty good- they left us to it throughout labour and waited in the other room and just came in to check his heart beat every now and then.
I can't thank you enough for what you taught us. Hypnobirthing made my pregnancy a very enjoyable and relaxed experience- especially in the last few months and I know it would have been a different story without it. Also the day of the birth was so nice a relaxed for both of us. I have to be honest I struggled to use the breathing techniques during the last part of the birth and I did find it very painful, that said I did remember my affirmations of breathing the baby down and a few others did enter my head during this time so again I have no doubt it helped.
One of the other midwives came round after he was born and she said to me that she couldn't believe how quickly I had him and that she believed it was totally down to my attitude! I have to agree and i wouldn't have had that attitude had it not been for you and hypnobirthing so Thank You very much!! It was also a huge help for my husband too, as he was also very relaxed about everything which meant that he was so supportive and able to be there for me 100% throughout the pregnancy and the birth.
I would happily recommend this to anyone- for me its the only way to do it. I have already suggested it to a few friends that are pregnant.
Julie from Essex, July 2008.
Home waterbirth of first baby.
“We had a great experience from start to finish and despite needing some medical intervention with the induction we used the hypnobirthing techniques and they were really helpful throughout, definitely making the whole experience better for us and giving us a great outcome.
The whole experience of having her has been truly magical and so special.
Maggie from Bishops Stortford – September 2008
Induction because of pre-eclampsia, but again – the mum comments on how much the HypnoBirthing helped her in special circumstances.
Hi Sarah,
Well - after a few false starts she finally decided to arrive yesterday. My waters had broken on Monday night and yet again with the threat of induction hanging over us she waited till the last minute and then rushed out!
Started surges about 11am and she was born at 2pm! In the water in the midwife led unit, I got here about 12 and think I was probably fully dilated by 1 and she came very quickly after I got in the water. She weighed 9 lbs 12 (!) But no tearing and no real pain, pushing was much better this time - I almost enjoyed it!
The midwife was amazing, I didn't have a single internal check and only the most minimal of monitoring, she just let me get on with it. She kept saying she'd never seen a birth like it and how amazing it was, and quite a few other midwives came to ask me more about hypnobirthing and how they could find out more - I told them you were already in contact with Rosie but thought I'd let you know about their interest!
Thanks again for the refresher sessions and for helping us to have two perfect births! We'll come to a coffee morning soon.
Helen– Nr. Stansted, Essex – October 2008.
Helen attended our HypnoBirthing classes for free the second time around after learning the techniques originally in 2006 for her first baby (you can read her first story further up the page).
Hi Sarah,
Our little guy stayed firmly bum first! The moxibustion and stuff really did get him moving and I'm convinced if I'd had a bit more time he would have turned around. From a more personal point of view it also really helped me get my head round everything and accept what lay ahead and I can't thank you enough for that.
Our little guy was born by caesarian section on Monday weighin 5lb 15oz. The Rosie were accomodating of our wishes expressed in our birth plan: we played our plinky plonky music which was surprisingly effective - without even trying I just filtered out what was going on around me and felt pretty relaxed the whole time. My husband watched him being delivered and held him on me while I was being sewn back together again, and we also followed your suggestions for skin to skin contact to initially only be with myself and to bring our own blanket from home. I'm pleased to say that the baby breastfed straight away and has been a happily attached baby since
Thank you so much for all your help and advice, and I look forward to hearing how everybody else's births went.
Speak to you soon,
Suzie from Ware, Herts. October 2008
Dear Sarah
Thank you for all your support leading up to the birth. I am pleased to say I had a fab birth at the Midwife unit . No drugs, no intervention and a natural delivery of the placenta and our baby has arrived safe and sound - 8.1ib.
Best wishes to you and your family
Rebecca from Royston, Herts – November 2008
Sarah
Our baby was born - mother and baby well!
Best described as almost-a-homebirth; everything was going swimmingly but the midwives couldn't get to us in time so we went to the MLBU. Baby born in water and in his own waters!
Thanks for everything. We found being able to relax - or at least stay focused - in the midst of chaos very reassuring and, ultimately, rewarding.
All the best
Nigel – proud new dad from Saffron Walden, Essex – November 2008
Incidentally the baby in this story weighed over 10lbs!
Hi Sarah
We did it! And it was amazing - such a different experience from last time and so lovely to be at home!
I went into labour at 3.15am on Thurs having had first sweep evening before at 5 and found the surges very manageable in the beginning (listened to relaxation and affirmations then just plinky plonk music). Went from 9mins to 3mins in 1 hour. S was great and remembered to light the candles and aromatherapy oils! Midwives arrived at 4. Parents picked A up at 6 when she woke up. she came into see me and was smiling sweetly and giving me a rub. I found the second stage a bit harder (last hour and half) but apart from a few wobbly moments when I felt I couldn't do it and said so! - I was in control. I think the problem was I was aware that I had been going for more than an hour and I started to worry that they would call the ambulance - as with Amelie they only let me go for an hour before saying I needed ventouse. Anyway - found out afterwards that the midwives hadn't been at all concerned as they could tell I was progressing well. Midwives very good although towards the end a mobile went a couple of times and there was a bit too much chat! I was also offered gas and air at the end but I really didn't want it as didn't want to lose control of my breathing.
Managed to ignore all of this as best I could and was quite happy to have some encouragement at the end.. Didn't use the pool in the end as I found it made my surges more intense and was quite happy in my rhythem. Got in afterwards with baby which was great and left to bond
She was born in 5hrs - and is beautiful.
Thank you so much for all the encouragement and enlightening us about homebirth. I highly recommend it! I was very well looked after and it gave me the confidence to do it all naturally.
Please feel free to pass this on to everyone and I hope everyone has a similarly good experience to us.
Abigail from Royston, Herts – November 2008
Hi Sarah
I managed to hypno my way through 16 hours in the pool and a tiny amount of gas and air, 2 hours of pushing too but then they discovered my back waters hadn’t broken so had to leave the pool and have them broken by which time there was meconium in them and wasn’t allowed back in pool, had to be monitored, checked his position a little later and he was back to back by which time I asked for further pain relief so we opted for spinal block and forceps, 2 contractions later and a little under 15 mins and he was out, just needed a little help.
All midwives were in awe of how well I had done and were confident if he hadn’t have been back to back I would have delivered in the pool or if he had been a second or third baby but hey ho he is here and I look back on my labour with much enjoyment which is exactly what I wanted, hopefully next time no pain relief will be needed. HypnoBirthing definitely worked for me. “
Vanessa. Haverhill Suffolk January 2009
Hi Sarah
I’m just logging on now for the first time since having little James who is totally gorgeous! He was born on Dec 3rd at 12 noon weighing 7.6. The birth was amazing, and quick. I started getting ‘period-type pains’ at about 2;30 on Tues morning, and then by 6 Ian called the hospital and I spoke to a midwife, just going silent through each contraction. She said to go in as the contractions were about 2-3 mins apart (I thought we were timing them incorrectly as they were already so frequent). We got to the Rosie around 7:30 and I was 4 cms dilated. My waters broke then and there was muconium (sp), so that sadly ruled out a water birth. About 2 hrs later they examined me again because things seemed to be on the move and I was fully dilated. I tried a few different birthing positions to help him move down as the midwife thought his heart rate was dropping a bit, and out he popped at 12.01.it was an amazing feeling and I’m so glad I didn’t need any pain relief at all – the breathing did the trick.
Thank you so much for all your advice and guidance!!
Victoria from Newmarket – December 2008
Dear Sarah,
Baby Benjamin arrived safely at 2330 on 04-12-08 (EDD was 27-11-08). He weighed 7lb 15oz. We had the home birth that we wanted and made good use of the birthing pool.
Benjamin was born in his amniotic sack with one hand against his cheek. He also had a very short umbilical cord which made it tricky getting out of the pool. Sarah stayed calm & relaxed until close to the end. This was all managed with hypnobirthing music & no 'pain' relief! Benjamin is very calm and has lovely dark hair.
We feel that we had a great result considering the outcome of our first birth and the late 'complications' in this one - Almost every day for the last 4 weeks of pregnancy we were threatened with hospital birth, antibiotics during labour, induction etc. Midwives even thought baby was breech because of his small boney bottom when the scan showed he was in the same optimum birthing position he had been in for weeks! It made practicing hypnobirthing difficult at times and we nearly gave up.
We are all very happy & it has been wonderful to be at home throughout.
Hope all the other births have gone / are going / will go fantastically.
Thank you Sarah for all your coaching and help.”
Dave from Ely – December 2008
“I managed to hypno my way through 16 hours in the pool and tiny amount of gas and air, 2 hours of pushing too. Checked his position a little later and he was back to back by which time I asked for further pain relief, 2 contractions later and a little under 15 mins and he was out, just needed a little help.
All midwives were in awe of how well I had done and were confident if he hadn’t have been back to back I would have delivered in the pool or if he had been a second or third baby.
I look back on my labour with much enjoyment which is exactly what I wanted, hopefully next time no pain relief will be needed. Hypno definitely worked for me. Still no name but will let you know as soon as we name him. “
Vanessa – Suffolk January 2009
(first time mum who was so terrified of birth the previous to the HypnoBirthing course she had scheduled an elective C-Section)
A baby girl, weighed in at 8 lb 10 oz arriving rather quickly at 5.52 am a few days early.
The birth was completely different to last time.
In summary, we went out for the evening on the Friday night returning home around 11 pm went to bed & did Hyno CD as usual. At around 2.30 I woke with what I thought were a couple of Braxton Hicks & didn't think much more than that. A bit later I mentioned I thought something might be happening but wasn't sure, with that everything ramped up a few gears. After organising childcare etc. we went straight to hospital. On arrival at hospital I was fully dilated & told push - 50 mins later we were parents. Had a couple of puffs of gas & air but that was all . I had no sickness at all this time which was a relief.
Paula from Royston – January 2009
Hi Sarah,
Just a quick one to let you know that Harmony arrived safe and well on Monday 1st at 4pm weighing 7 pounds and 3 ozs. I had an 18 hour labour, 16 of which were spent peacefully at home. I managed to get to 10 cms with no pain relief and used the rainbow relaxation and music you gave us which really helped me to focus. Unfortunatey, after three hours of being at 10cms her head got stuck and so I had to be transferred to hospital where they used a ventouse to get her out. All of the midwives were wonderful and couldn't believe I got so far with no help - Stuart was fantastic and his masage got me through the worst surges. She is also the most 'chilled out' baby I have ever seen and likes to sleep alot!
Thanks for all of your help with the hypnobirth - all of the midwives said if it wasn't for the head getting stuck, i would have had a perfect birth."
Tamsin, Cambridge - June 2009
"Started having contractions saturday lunchtime walking around sainsburys, I wasnt sure if this was it but just ignored them and carried on shopping. Around 4pm noticed they were more regular but I was cooking lots of freezer meals at the time so just ignored them again. Around 8ish they were coming a lot faster and for longer so I went upstairs had a lovely candlelit bath, glass of wine and did my rainbow relaxation and birthing affirmations. I was coping really well and was glad that it had finally started! Got Colin to start timing them and they were coming every three mins ranging from a min to a min and a half in length so we rang MLBU and made our way in. Listened to the CD in the car and managed to cope ok with them except for the odd pothole!!
When I got to the MLBU the pool was in use but the one upstairs was free so they left me and col to it for a while as I dont think they thought I was in proper labour. I was still coping fine using breathing techniques but really really wanted to get in the water. Called the midwife and she helped me get upstairs and ran the bath, before I got in the bath she checked me and I was 7cm Woo hoo!! I was doing really well at this point and thought wow this is easy! Got in the pool which was bliss, managed in there for a while before this almighty pain started in my pelvis, it was separate from the contractions and I found it hard to cope, I tried different positions and breathing through it but it didnt work, opted for the gas and air which helped a tiny bit but every time I moved the pain intensified, to cut a long story short they got me out of the bath and found that she had descended in an awkward way and was looking side on and was effectively 'stuck', they also told me I was fully dilated at this point. I asked for an epidural at this point and managed to get them to give me a 'mobile' one as I really didnt want to be completly numb, the anasthetist was fab and I could move around still but the pain in my pelvis was gone I could just feel the surges, I still had no desire to push and no 'urge' and they decided that they needed to get baby out as I was fully dilated for over 2hours, intervention was used i.e. forceps and episotomy but a v.small one and Seren Mai was born at 1:05pm on Sunday 17th May weighing a tiny 5lb 14ozs.
It wasn't the birth I had envisioned but I am so glad I got to use my hypnobirthing techniques and they worked when I was dilating. It really worked for me and it made me feel so positive about the birth. Even though I had an epidural it was a decision that I was able to make positively as I knew it was best for me. I am glad that I can look back on my birth positively without thinking it was 'traumatic'!
Thank you Sarah for everything you have done for me and colin, without hypnobirthing I am sure I wouldn't have had such a positive experience."
Danni, Wethersfield, Essex - May 2009
"Just to let you know our baby was finally born! Birth went really well and baby is a lovely fellow. I had on and off contractions from Monday evening until Wednesday evening. Went to hospital Tuesday night as contractions kept coming for several hours but it was clear nothing was progressing after a couple of hours at hospital so we went home. I fell asleep to the rainbow visualization and had a great night's sleep!
Wednesday afternoon the contractions started again and kept going again, getting more intense late evening. We went to hospital about 1 am, felt a bit soon to me but we were worried about it all happening fast. The birth pool in the MLBU was being used but they said one upstairs would soon be free so we said we would like to use that. We went in a normal room first though, and waters broke there after about 1 hour and then things moved really quite fast. By time pool room upstairs was free I didn't want to move - baby was born maybe half hour later! Had an excellent midwife who spoke quite a lot but very softly and calmly, Darren was brilliant (was holding my leg up for me!) and ended up with beautiful baby and virtually no tearing.
I feel so different this time round. Felt happy not scared when baby was handed to me, not so exhausted and am loving spending time with him and feeding him. I think the hypnobirthing helped a lot, especially the affirmations - I visualised him moving down the birth canal, welcomed each surge and did gradual relaxation between surges. So thanks for running such a wonderful couse Sarah! "
Eleanor - Bishops Stortford, Herts - May 2009
"Hi sarah its Ben and Anne Marie here just to say thank you for all your help through the past three weeks and what we have learnt it all came in good use.
We managed to get the MLBU with the water pool. The birth went very well. She was calm through out and the miwifes were impressed. Feeding is going very well. The birth only took 9hours from 00:00 to 09:00 hours which was good for Anne Marie as she was aiming for 8 hours. Little Kai waighed 8pound 13oz not so little hey?
Hope to stay in touch"
Ben from Bishops Stortford, Herts - May 2009
"Dear Sarah
I'm so sorry not to have emailed you earlier, things have been a bit hectic! Our baby was born on sat 28th at 7.26 in the birthing pool at Harlow. Things started on the Friday and I was at home unitl 5.30 in the morning when I went in. I can't say I actually found it a pleasurable experience, but the breathing and relaxation did help, and she was born naturally and without fuss. My body definitely took over and 'expelled' her! She is a laid back baby, and apart from a few feeding issues we're doing well.
Thanks again for all your support and knowledge. I know for definite without the course and change in mindset I would have had a very different experience. The whole family is very grateful."
Amanda, Bishops Stortford - Herts, March 2009
"Dear Sarah, Our baby is out!
She came on her due date. My waters broke on 28th at 11pm. Went and got checked out, came home and slept. At 11am contractions started. By 1pm surges were 2.5 minutes apart. Decided to go in. Car journey difficult but had sunglasses on and birth affirmations on iPod. Got to delivery suite. Had the pool room. Don’t think they thought I was in labour.
Decided to have vaginal examination at 4 and was 6cm. Into pool, because I needed it then, birth affirmations continued. Got to transition, that was the scariest bit, but homeopathic remedy helped. Changed to music once transition was over, pushed (involuntarily) and breathed for 40 minutes, baby Bethan Anna Vater born 18:07 into Mummy’s arms. NO PAIN RELIEF.
My friend was amazed and has decided that she’s going to do hypnobirthing and it has restored her faith in normal midwifery. We also had a newly qualified midwife, who too was amazed, and couldn’t tell when I was having a contraction, and a senior birthing unit midwife said we should have videoed it as it was amazing and that was the way to birth. From start to finish was 7 hours, which is what I’d asked for. Home within 6 hours. .
So a big thankyou!"
Annabel, Braintree - Essex - February 2009.