NORTH WALES HYPNOBIRTHING WITH ALISON BIRD - BIRTH STORIES AND TESTIMONIALS
NATASHA, JAMES AND JESSICA
Dear Alison,
"......Oh my god I cannot sing the hypnobirthing breathing techniques highly enough. I was sat here at home getting strong surges and yet relaxing, laughing and breathing through them with no trouble at all. My next door neighbours who have all had children came round to see me and they could not believe how much I was in control!
"My waters broke naturally on the Sunday evening 7:30pm. I was just sat here on the sofa and I felt them pop. We made our way to the hospital and I was 7cm dilated and hadn't had any pain relief at all. The midwives could not believe how relaxed I was and that I was refusing the gas & air at this stage of dilation. They said I was a star patient and that they wished every woman was like me. To be honest I just went into myself. I remembered all that we learnt in the class and throughout the whole labour which was 12 hours in total I was listening to track 2 on the CD you gave us. I kept whispering to James "Track 2 play" every time it ended. Breathing through every surge was easy, it was in the back of my mind from the classes......."
".....I really cannot thank you enough for the Hypnobirthing course Alison. At all times during Jessica's birth I felt relaxed and in control and feeling like this made it a very special birthing experience and not the stressful painful birth that I had anticipated.
"I would highly recommend Hypnobirthing to every pregnant woman. Be in tune with your body and let it do what nature intended if at all possible. I have come away thinking "Yeah I could do that again" rather than thinking "OOoo blimey giving birth to one child is enough"!
Many thanks again,
What an experience!
Lots of love Natasha (and James & Jessica) x x x x
MY HYPNOBIRTHING PARENTS IN THE PRESS
Click on the links to read press articles on my Hypnobirthing families:
I have a lovely baby boy, born on the 30th of May (10 days overdue).
I had a great and a normal delivery. I went into labour at 2 am and gave birth at 8.30am with just 2 paracetamol and some gas and air ....... the midwife was very happy the way I handled it all. The hypnobirthing classes did help me a lot towards the end and during birth.
My boy is very content, very happy, eats and sleeps very well and all through the night...." EN 2010
Hi Alison
Look what we got for christmas!
[WBW] Born Sunday 23rd December weighing 7 lb 2. He is perfect.
Thank you so much for your classes - we've consequently been a great advert for hypnobirthing and the midwives are very impressed (made the women on the videos look complete wimps).
So..I woke up at 6 o clock on Saturday morning feeling great, I had decided that this would be the day so when I noticed mild tummy ache waves I was far too excited to go back to sleep and willed them to be contractions. I went downstairs to make some tea and toast and watched the sun rise. I sat for an hour feeling so peaceful and thrilled with the day beginning and had 'I woke up this morning feeling fine' playing constantly in my head.
I got back into bed and R and I cuddled and eagerly timed the waves from ten to five minute intervals. We had lunch and practiced the relaxation techniques. At half four we drove to Harwich and the midwife was surprised to see that I was one and a half cm dilated and so relaxed. She swept my cervix and said to go back home and told the staff to expect us back in at about 2 in the morning, in more established labour.
We went back and had a big pasta and I laid in the bath with a glass of wine and the hypno birthing CD. I took 2 paracetamol and very excitedly went through all the visualisation techniques. By 7 o'clock they were stronger and I had to concentrate on slow breathing. The surges were every 3 minutes and R was anxious to get back to the birth centre. We packed the car up and went back. I was putting body moisturiser and mascara on in between surges.
We sat around and chatted for a bit but when the midwife checked me I was nearly 8 cm dilated! We dimmed the lights, turned the clocks away and ran the birth pool. R sorted the music and we continued to chat and joke in between surges.
The pool was wonderfully relaxing and as soon as I stepped in - at about 11 o' clock, I started wanting to push. I felt an amazing connection with R and very much in love - he supported me in his arms and went through the affirmations, talking me through it. It was all very gentle and calm. My mum and dad arrived at midnight and came in - I was breathing him down and birthed him at quarter past. It was magical.
R announced the sex, and I stayed in the pool for a while with our little contented baby, so peaceful, on my chest. Then R cut the cord, and I moved to the bed, to deliver the placenta. R and W cuddled skin to skin and we all had champagne. It was such a lovely celebration and gentle welcome for him.
R stayed with us until half 4 but I didn't sleep I was on such a high, I just watched him all night. He took to breast feeding straight away and so R picked us up in the morning and we went home - and just watched him! Everything has gone so well and W is a real pleasure. It’s a lot easier than we imagined, he's a dream. He sleeps for 3-4 hours before waking for a feed and the midwives are really pleased with his progress. We've already discussed plans for the next one - birth pool at home with Mary on the CD 'Hello' again.
We'd love to show him off to you maybe we could drop by and see you soon - or you're always welcome to pop in for a coffee. The birth truly was everything that we wanted and more, and there’s a lot of love in this house! Thank you and we all wish you a very happy new year, lots love R, R and W x
Hello Alison
I had a baby girl on Sunday at 10.00pm she weighed 9lb 7.5oz. The midwife came out at about 8.00 but went home at 8.40 as she said I was only 1cm dilated and my cervix was still hard. Jon and I got a bit of a shock an hour later when we realised the baby was coming. Jon delivered her. I had her on my bed and it was very quick and good. The midwife arrived back about 10 minutes after she was born. We are calling baby Lily and are all well. Alexander loves her.
I was doing very well using hypnobirthing techniques before the midwife examined me!! After the midwife told me I was only 1cm dilated etc and to try and get some sleep, I had some pain but this was obviously brought on because I was afraid it was going to take hours and hours. The hypnobirthing definitely helped. Jon and I both realised the baby was coming about an hour after the midwife left us and we were both very calm.
Hypnobirthing also gave me the confidence to go with my own due date which was 15th and to ignore scan date which was supposed to be 2nd of April. The consultant at the hospital was supportive of me when I said I was going to use my own dates most mums are induced 9 days after the scan due date. Baby Lily was definitely not overdue she was covered in thick white vernix when she was born.
Thanks for all your help. I will send you some photos once we have put them on the computer.
Tracey XXX
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Hi Alison (photos attached)
Sorry its taken me so long to get back to you. 6 months has flown by :>)
You are more than welcome to speak to other people about our birth experience. I would and do recommend hypnobirthing to everybody that is either expecting on planning to have a baby.
I have attatched a few photos the first 2 were taken just 10 hours after Lily was born. The others were taken in September.
Lily is a very laid back and happy baby and I am sure that hypnobirthing has a lot to do with how she is.
Tracey
Dear Alison, Wendy & Dave, Claire & Andy,
I hope you are all well and that your bumps are growing nicely Wendy and Claire! I miss my bump already. Pippa is now just over 3 weeks old and I am just about getting the hang of juggling a new-born baby and a toddler so thought I would send you all an email to tell you how the birth went.
2-days before my estimated due date at 5pm I started to feel tightenings "surges" and they pretty quickly developed a pattern of 5 minutes apart. I had an appointment with my reflexologist at 7.30pm that evening so I still went along. Each time I felt a surge I really concentrated on the surge breathing and I felt filled with confidence that it really worked. They intensified as time went on but I felt really in control and not at all in pain. It was quite an exciting feeling as I felt completely out of control with my first baby Isla. I think what also really helped was understanding what the muscles were actually doing and trusting my body. I had a very relaxing reflexology treatment and continued my surge breathing throughout and by the time I got home at 8.45pm I knew we had to get going to the hospital. Although we had planned for a home birth, at 37 weeks one of the midwives voiced concerns over the blood loss I had in my first labour and felt it too risky so we had to go to hospital.
We arrived at the hospital at 9.45pm and I requested a water birth. I started on the birth ball whilst the midwives chatted to us and Luke sat behind me and did the light touch massage. I think I was only in the pool for about 45 minutes before Pippa arrived at 11.50pm. It was a lovely experience to have a water birth. We had the rainbow relaxation CD playing, the midwives were lovely and really respected everything that was on my birth plan and left me to get on with it. I didn't even need gas & air. I have to say that I still found the 'transition' phase really intense and have no idea if I was doing the breathing right at the end but I didn't have any tears or stitches and Pippa came out in the water looking perfect. It is very rare but my waters didn't break. Pippa arrived in her bag! This was a completely different experience to my first labour where all the blood vessels in my face and eyes burst and Isla had black eyes!
We were left to bond with Pippa for an hour as I had requested, I showered and was out of the hospital by 3am. Isla didn't even know we had gone to hospital. When she woke and came into our bedroom she was amazed to see baby Pippa there.
It is very interesting actually that Pippa has been the most content and chilled out little baby so far and Isla was quite a fretful little thing. I am sure the way in which Pippa arrived into the world must contribute to her being such an easy new-born.
I really had my doubts that I would be able to cope with labour leading up to my due date as I kept having negative thoughts, but amazingly when my contractions started I felt so excited and determined to stay in control and go with the flow. So I guess all the home work, listening to the CD's and positive affirmations certainly worked in the end. For me what helped the most was the surge breathing, concentrating on keeping my whole body relaxed, particularly my jaw and face and visualising what the muscles were doing. I didn't find that I could visualise taking myself off to a beach or elsewhere as I was so focused on what was actually happening, but that may have been because the labour was so quick I didn't have a chance!! I will be recommending hypnobirthing to everyone! Thank you very much Alison.
Wishing you all the best Wendy & Dave and Claire & Andy. I am really excited for you and look forward to hearing from you once your little ones arrive.
With love
Jo & Luke x
Dear Alison
Thank you so much for your help in the safe arrival of our baby, Lucy Rose on Tuesday 5 July 2005. She was nearly two weeks beyond her due date and I was booked to go in the next day to be induced. However, my waters broke in bed (!), labour began on its own a couple of hours later and Lucy arrived three hours later.
The relaxation and visualisation techniques worked really well. I did not need any pain relief and we were surprised at how quickly things progressed. The medical staff were totally supportive of us and our birth plan (based on the one you gave us). There was a minimum of interference and we were left together in the delivery room for a good hour or so before Lucy was weighed and dressed, so we could get to know each other.
Although Lucy was 2lb heavier than my daughter Zoe, I had no tearing. Both Lucy and I (and Laurie, actually) recovered much more quickly from the birth than we did after Zoe’s birth. Many people have commented at how relaxed and happy both I and Lucy seem and, I have to say, I felt fantastic straight after the birth and onwards, with no “baby blues”, etc.
During labour we played your Cascade CD and now we find it calms us all down, including Lucy, on those nights when she finds it difficult to get to sleep.
I considered I had a good delivery with my daughter Zoe – 4 hours labour, only gas and air, a small tear needing just one stitch. However, the techniques we learned from your classes made a huge difference to our experience second time round. The confidence we gained from your classes – to discuss options with medical staff and take an active role in the proceedings – were both welcomed by the medical staff and key in our feelings about this totally successful and happy delivery.
We have told many midwives etc about your classes and will definitely recommend HypnoBirthing to our friends. Everyone who has heard about it has been very interested and supportive. Therefore, please feel free to quote us as a “success story”!
Once again, many, many thanks for all your help and encouragement.
With our very best wishes,
Julie, Laurie, Zoe and Lucy Pearson
Hi Alison Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but I have now just about got my head together to let you know that baby H finally arrived on 25th September at 5.20am after an amazingly quick delivery - about 4 and a half hours in total. He was a whopper as well - 10lb 2oz!!! All went well and after 2 hours at home (using my relaxation and breathing techniques) we drove to the hospital very calmly. After 40 mins on the trace machine (probably the worst bit of the whole experience) they announced I was 9cm dilated and could push when I was ready. I was totally gob smacked that it had progressed so far so fast and H arrived not long afterwards. I am so grateful that I did the sessions with you as I do believe that it helped the whole process along both physically and emotionally. While it is still not something I would want to do everyday I felt so much better afterwards and was really chuffed with myself for doing it without an epidural - definitely an experience not to be missed. I've attached a couple of photos of him for your wall and will be back to see you in six months when I need to shift some of the excess baby weight! Thank you again for all your help. PS I did feel a lot better - my mum actually told me the other day that I looked much better this time round - she said I had looked really pale and ill after the previous two (she didn't tell me that at the time!) H is actually pretty chilled out - he has his moments but he seems to have a fairly mellow view of the world - long may it last! Thanks again for your help and I will certainly recommend you to anybody else with a bump. All the best P
I have many, many more happy Hypnobirthing stories and photographs on file - all available to see.
If you would like to find out more about Hypnobirth classes that I will be running at Glan Clwyd Hospital, please contact me directly:
I would be delighted to meet with you to show you DVD footage, interviews, testimonials, NHS opinions and statistics, and press coverage of Hypnobirthing. This places you under no obligation - just ask.
Hypnotherapy in Rhyl, Hypnotherapy in Prestatyn, Hypnotherapy in Abergele and Hypnotherapy in Kinmel Bay for help with: weight loss, quit smoking, IBS, HypnoBirthing ante-natal classes, stress, phobias, unwanted habits, Hypno-Band gastric band hypnosis, eating disorders, and most mind-related matters - just ask for more information.
Copyright: By Alison Bird Clinical Hypnotherapy Rhyl 2008. Alison Bird Clinical Hypnotherapy, 7 Ffordd Craiglun, Kinmel Bay, Conwy, LL18 5JL. Tel: 07947 817464 Email: abird073@aol.com
Alison Bird DHP MAPHP(Reg) HBCE is a member of the Association for Professional Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, the Association of Weight Loss Hypnotherapists, and affiliated to the National Centre for Eating Disorders, Hypno-Band Weight Loss System, and the HypnoBirthing Institute.