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I fired my private Obstetrician while in active labour during my VBAC and it was the most liberating and empowering thing I could have done

Introduction by Vicki….
I have waited a year to get this birth story from a woman I admire so much, and when I read this it brought tears to my eyes yet warmed my heart.  Yes, it’s a long birth story but it is one that needed to be written that helped a woman heal from the negative emotions she still had surrounding her first birth and to give her the opportunity to share the challenges she faced with her next birth after a caesarean. I adored working with this couple and sharing their journey and seeing the incredible transformation from fear to courage. This is why it is so important to participate in independent childbirth classes, have a doula and be prepared for anything, especially if you are having a vaginal birth after caesarean. You need that education, continuity of care, support and encouragement to get you through obstacles, blocks and doubts. Thank you Belinda for sharing your VBAC story – you are an incredible woman who showed how much power you had inside you all along.

My First Birth

For me to write my successful hypnobirthing, drug free VBAC birth story I have to start at the beginning and that is with my first birth. The birth that left me feeling like less of a woman, a statistic and a complete failure as a mother and wife.

Hubby and I decided that choosing a private care provider and hospital was the best option for our first birth. We were both uneducated and had complete trust in our private Obstetrician.

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Having hubby be able to stay with me in the hospital at all times was a big deal and the thought of him having to leave in a public hospital left me feeling extremely anxious. I was a first-time mother and I needed my husband there to help me adapt after giving birth and to help support me while I learnt how to breastfeed our baby. He was also becoming a father and I felt that he should be there at all times to share in the experience of bonding with his baby too. These were all the thoughts that were going through my mind at the time.

I suffered hyperemesis gravidarum the whole way through my pregnancy and I remember vividly throwing up for 9 months every single day. I was losing weight and feeling extremely exhausted all the time. I had severe migraines that were so debilitating that I was admitted to hospital several times to help manage the pain, hydration and vomiting. I was medicated with Ondansetron every second I could, and this sometimes helped just enough for me to get to work with vomit stops along the way.

Unfortunately I did not feel like that “glowing pregnant woman” that is so often mentioned when you are pregnant.

I also suffered from irritable uterus from about 12 weeks gestation and this was painful especially the bigger baby grew and the bigger my stomach got. I had to stop working at about 22 weeks to rest. The more I did the worse my irritable uterus became. For those who don’t know about irritable uterus, it feels like constant contractions but with no breaks. It only settled and stopped once I slowed down and then my uterus would settle down, but not always straight away. I started showing very early and had a large baby bump all the way through.

At an early stage my Obstetrician would say to me “your baby is measuring ahead one to two weeks and by the look of your growing tummy it’s going to be a big baby” at every appointment.

I left feeling like “wow this baby is going to be massive by the sounds of it.” That frightened me, mainly because of the faces I got when I mentioned this to family and friends. I guess it’s the stigma that society has portrayed of having a big baby could be a painful, bad and / or horrible experience.

I had no idea what to expect and I was feeling more and more anxious at every appointment. Half way through my pregnancy my Obstetrician asked me what type of birth I would like, and this conversation will stick with me for the rest of my life. I said while holding hubby’s hand “Well, I would like a natural birth, but I want every single pain relief drug you can give me as I have a zero-pain threshold. But Dr X whatever you think is safest I will be happy to do, we completely trust you and your judgment.”

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These words go through my mind regularly and I often think to myself how naive and so very uneducated both hubby and I were. My obstetrician sent me for a growth scan and it was determined that baby would be well over 10 pounds at full gestation. Little did I know how inaccurate these scans can be either way and not one medical professional told me this at the time.

From then on, our Obstetrician started mentioning that a caesarean would be the safest option because my baby was measuring “so big” and he was concerned that my baby could get stuck because I had a “small frame.” He explained to us that if baby got stuck not only could our baby die but there was also a risk I may need a hysterectomy – the risk was low but still a possibility.

He also shared an experience he had when he was studying to become an Obstetrician and he was attending a birth where the baby got stuck and sadly the baby lost too much oxygen and passed away. I was absolutely terrified by this.

In between our next appointment a family friend had given birth and there were complications and the baby got stuck and sadly passed away and although we didn’t know all of the circumstances of what had happened during this labour and birth I was beyond terrified. We went into our next appointment agreeing to an elective caesarean based on the advice and recommendations our Obstetrician had given us.

Both hubby and I thought “well the highly trained Obstetrician would know best right?”

We were booked in for our caesarean birth for the 6th May 2013 – the day our Obstetrician returned from annual leave.

But our baby had other plans.

At 3am on the 3rd May 2013 I woke with my waters leaking (hind waters). We called the hospital and off we went with our bags packed. When we got to the hospital it was confirmed that my waters had released, which was no surprise to us since when I got out of the car Niagara Falls happened.

I was monitored for about 20 minutes or so and it was determined I was contracting 10 minutes apart but to me I didn’t know if I was in “labour” since I was so used to having an irritable uterus and contracting all the time.

The covering Obstetrician arrived and off we went into theatre. I went into shock and at the time I couldn’t fault how the covering Obstetrician and his staff made me feel more at ease and relaxed. The anaesthetist gave me a high dose of the spinal block medication as I thought I could feel pain of the knife cutting my stomach open.

Our son was born at 6.32am and weighed in at 3.81kg (8lbs 4 oz). The Obstetrician pulled down the sheet and we watched him pull baby slowly out of my stomach. My first initial thought was “ahhhhh wasn’t he meant to be well over 10 pounds” but I pushed that thought out of my mind for the time being.

My caesarean recovery was absolutely horrendous. I couldn’t walk let alone hold my baby without crying in pain. Breast feeding wasn’t “going to plan” and it was about 12 weeks after birth before I could bend over to pick up something from the floor without feeling in agony.

At the time of choosing to have an elective caesarean hubby and I felt completely ok with it. We didn’t know any different and especially after what our Obstetrician had mentioned to us we felt we had done the right thing. It wasn’t until someone asked me only after a few days after birth why I had a caesarean when he was “only 3.8kg.” That person was able to birth their child naturally at the same size and I realised that perhaps I could’ve had a natural birth.

I felt completely inadequate.

In many ways I felt like a failure and crushed from those words.

  1. What type of person asks a mother a few days post birth a question like that?
  2. Were they right? Could I have had my son naturally?
  3. Why didn’t the obstetrician know my baby was going to be “only 3.8kg” in size when my scans said he was going to be over 10 pounds?

 

After taking some time to heal not only physically but emotionally, I started hearing and reading more and more stories similar to my own. So many women having caesareans that were recommended by mainly private Obstetricians for no other reason than an expected “big baby.”

I started to ask myself if I had been lied to or was it more convenient for my Obstetrician to perform a caesarean on me? I felt angry, deceived and grieved a loss of a birth that I might have been able to have and wasn’t even given the opportunity to try.

I quickly realised I was a victim of the “bait and switch” approach where your Obstetrician agrees with everything and then in your final weeks of pregnancy they switch to their own preferences. So I started digging and reading some more about this and this is where I came across a great VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean) online support group. I immediately knew that I wanted a VBAC for my next birth. I knew I had to educate myself because I felt completely robbed of my first birth and I trusted no one. There was absolutely no way anyone was going to cut me open and give me major surgery for my next birth unless there was a true medical need.

My Next Birth

For me having a VBAC was not about having a natural birth at all cost, but it was about being educated so my hubby Matt and I felt confident in making informed decisions.

I came across an amazing woman in the online VBAC group, her name is Vicki Hobbs and she is a doula, VBAC Educator and Hypnobirthing practitioner. Due to my lack of trust for any medical professional we knew that we needed someone to support us during my pregnancy and VBAC birth. Not someone who is answerable to hospital management or who makes recommendations based on their personal desires, fears or “hospital guidelines.”

We met with Vicki and hired her on the spot. I did suffer from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) again and irritable uterus but thankfully the HG wasn’t as bad this time around. I started medicating the day I found out I was pregnant and that made a big difference. I was able to function a little better.

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I am generally an anxious person and I don’t usually cope very well with any kind of pain at all. It made sense that I was anxious and fearful about the level of pain I might experience during labour and birth, so we decided to do the Hypnobirthing course with Vicki.

We felt Hypnobirthing would help educate and prepare us for any birth. We learnt strategies and techniques to have a positive, healing, calm and drug free birth. I felt that knowledge was power, therefore by taking the classes my fear and anxiety may not feel as bad. I felt so empowered writing my birth plan for our desired birth and having alternative options and preferences written down if our “plans” didn’t go to plan.

Matt and I read everything we could about labour, birth and VBAC. We practised our hypnobirthing, we read more then practised more and asked a million and one questions during and after completing our Hypnobirthing course and then we practised some more. I printed positive birth affirmations and hung them around our home. I made up a positive vision board and also had it hung up in the living room to look at and read every day. I listened to my Hypnobirthing tracks every single day and every night as I drifted off to sleep.

I was preparing for any birth to be able to handle any situation that may be thrown at me. Vicki was there to support both Matt and I and their roles were both very different but yet so important.

I was determined to be confident, prepared and educated this time around.

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We first decided to go back to a private hospital and the covering Obstetrician that actually delivered our son by caesarean as he wasn’t the Obstetrician who recommended I have a caesarean and he was fantastic during my actual birth.

After researching, reading and interviewing this private Obstetrician to determine if he was VBAC tolerant or VBAC supportive, we quickly realised he wasn’t the Obstetrician for me, so we chose another private Obstetrician who birthed at a public hospital.

This Obstetrician seemed to be much more VBAC supportive and she knew exactly what type of birth I wanted. We spoke about it at every appointment and we went over my birth preferences and both agreed what we felt comfortable with. A deal breaker for her was foetal monitoring so it was agreed that I would have monitoring using the telemetry system so I could still move around and get into the shower.

I had requested an intervention, drug free birth as much as possible amongst other preferences. I had requested no talk of induction or stretch and sweeps until after 41 weeks. I wasn’t all that keen on any vaginal examinations but if I did consent to any then these were to only be done by my Obstetrician. This way there would be no confusion on the “progress of dilation” to which my Obstetrician was very agreeable to.

I also have a huge fear of needles and my Obstetrician had agreed that I wouldn’t have a cannula straight away when I arrived at the hospital and would wait until I was settled and ready for it. She knew I had a doula for extra support and was aware that I was hypnobirthing.

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From about 33 weeks things started to change with my Obstetrician. She started to mention that when I was ready I might like to have a stretch and sweep to move things along, to which I declined on a number of occasions and was a little annoyed she kept mentioning this as we had agreed to no discussion on stretch and sweeps until after 41 weeks in my birth plan. I knew that when my baby was ready I would go into labour.

I was already experiencing prodromal labour. I was labouring every night from about 9pm until 6.30am so I hardly got any sleep in those hours. I was starting to feel exhausted. Listening to my Hypnobirthing Australia tracks helped relax me a lot. I also felt reassurance that my body and baby was preparing itself for the “real deal.”

I knew that my Obstetrician was going on annual leave when I would be around 38 weeks, but she assured me that her covering Obstetrician was aware of my VBAC birth and had also agreed to my birthing and labouring preferences.

At my 38-week appointment I felt extremely pressured by my Obstetrician to have a stretch and sweep and I left the appointment feeling so distressed and I burst into tears. “How could this be happening to me again?” I thought. Is the whole “bait and switch” approach being used on me again? So hubby and I went for a coffee so that I could calm down and we rang Vicki and discussed what had happened and after providing us with some information she suggested we make a list of our options using our BRAIN technique we learnt in our hypnobirthing classes to get more clarity around making decisions.

We wrote out our BRAIN technique and then decided to go ahead and have a stretch and sweep so we went back to the Obstetrician and I consented. As soon as she started I immediately asked her to stop. It didn’t feel right. She couldn’t get anywhere near my cervix and when we left her office I cried again. Matt and Vicki gave me so much nurturing support during that time when I was so undecided on what to do. I then knew my baby and body would go into labour when ready, so I didn’t need any medical interference.

For the next two weeks I tried to relax as much as possible going for massages with Vicki who is a qualified pregnancy massage therapist. We had lunch together, giggled and built a very special bond. I walked on the beach regularly with my husband and son Noah. I lit candles and enjoyed relaxing warm baths. I was still experiencing prodromal labour every night and I was more than ready to meet our baby.

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The big day

The day we had been waiting patiently for was finally here, we just didn’t know it just yet.

I was 40 + 1 on the 19th of January 2017 and had booked in with Vicki for a labour focus massage. I listened to the Hypnobirthing Australia “Baby Come Out” track at the time and I felt super relaxed. I told my baby I was ready when they were. After my massage Vicki suggested that I have a mini babymoon with hubby. She said: “Go home and book yourself into a hotel for the night to relax and enjoy some time together.” Vicki joked and said, “I bet when you do you’ll go into labour tonight.”

Mum had just got home from holidays, so she could look after our son for the next two nights. Hubby was totally on board with our babymoon so I booked a luxurious hotel room in the City for the following night as well as a hair appointment with my hairdresser for the next morning and had our bags packed ready for a hotel stay or a hospital stay.

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Boy oh boy was I excited. That night Matt and I went over our techniques we learnt from our Hypnobirthing Australia course again and watched some comedy TV and giggled like school kids. I laughed so much that my face hurt from smiling. We were super excited. We cuddled and snuggled. We also joked and betted with each other that baby would arrive before we got our hotel stay. It was getting late, so we went to bed at 10pm. Prodromal labour started like it had for the last 5-6 weeks.

I put my hypnobirthing tracks on and sprayed some of my relaxation spray that Vicki made up for me and practised my breathing techniques. I drifted in and out of sleep with irregular waves and got up for the toilet at about 11.30pm. As I sat on the toilet I felt a slightly stronger wave than usual and to my excitement my mucus plug had come away. I literally clapped my hands and squealed. I knew it was on baby!!

Yes, we can do this. Yahoo!! I crawled into bed and let hubby sleep for about another hour while I started timing my “waves” as I liked to call them. I sent Vicki a text message and she was also excited and was ready to come to me when I was ready for her. My waves were still sporadic, but I knew, I just knew spontaneous labour had begun. I woke hubby with a big smile and said, “well babe looks like we aren’t getting our hotel stay today.”

I was now 40+2 and it was the 20th January 2017 at 1am and we had a giggle together and hugged with excitement. Hubby thought I was joking for a while.

I laid back down on my left side and breathed calmly then drifted in and out of sleep for another one to two hours. My still irregular but constant waves were building in intensity, and I felt more and more excitement with each wave. Matt called Vicki at about 3am and she was at our house within the hour. I sat on the fit ball, swayed my hips and hubby put my positive birth affirmations all over the bed so we read them together and hugged. Close contact with my husband helped me feel safe and got that beautiful oxytocin flowing right through my body. I felt loved, I felt confident and supported. At 7am I was ready to head to the hospital, which was about an hours drive in peak traffic. Vicki stayed with me while Matt got the car ready.

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The car ride and hospital

I kneeled on the floor in the back seat of the car. While it was slightly uncomfortable my waves felt more intense sitting upright. Leaning over felt most comfortable. I had one of the most intense waves that I was about to endure in the car and I closed my eyes, did some slow deep breathing while visualising my happy place at the beach and my precious family.

We arrived at the hospital and a security officer got me a wheelchair and we moved quickly to the assessment room. By this time it was 9am and my knickers were kicked off and I was leaning over the bed swaying my hips, eyes closed doing what my body was telling me to. I could feel my waters bulging and felt that they would release at any second. This is where all our Hypnobirthing training amped up. We had a “plan” for when our plans didn’t go to “plan” and both hubby and Vicki knew exactly what their roles were.

The lovely midwife came in and said “the Obstetrician would like you to have a vaginal exam” to which I declined. I knew quite well I was about to give birth I could feel my baby moving lower down. The midwife returned a few minutes later and said, “the Obstetrician has said he will not step out of his front door until you have a vaginal exam as he doesn’t even know if you’re in labour.”

My initial thought was what an absolute wanker, but as I was calm I pushed those thoughts out immediately and hubby stepped in and said, “it states in my wife’s’ birth preferences that if any VE’s are consented to then this needs to be done by the Obstetrician only.”

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The Obstetrician still refused to come to the hospital so knowing very well it was purely my decision I decided that I didn’t want that Obstetrician to touch me. So I consented to the midwife performing a vaginal exam as she was so calming, and I felt safe with her. I didn’t want to know where I was at and after she had finished the VE she whispered to my husband and Vicki and I got off the bed, closed my eyes and kept on swaying. Hubby and Vicki cheered me on with excitement and I’ll never forget Vicki whispering to me “Belinda I’m so so so so so proud of you. You’ve got this babe” while hubby was holding my hands on the other side of the bed.

It was determined that I was 6cm dilated and in active labour. The midwife came back and said, “the Obstetrician would also like you to have a cannula inserted before he comes.” Again, I declined, and hubby mentioned my birth preferences again. Hubby also said to the midwife that we were under the impression he was in agreeance to our birth preferences but by the sound of it he wasn’t. I had pushed these conversations out of my mind while I was in my zone swaying and breathing slowly. I’ll never forget what this awesome midwife said to me “Belinda you don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing.” I could already tell that this Obstetrician was not supporting me in any way and I felt I’ll be damned if he was going to interfere with my calm and healing birth, so I fired him!!

Yes that’s right, I fired my private Obstetrician while in active labour during my VBAC and it was the most liberating and empowering thing I could have done.

 

The midwife suggested that I could transfer my care to become a public patient and that is what I did as I no longer wanted this private Obstetrician (who wouldn’t even step out of his front door) anywhere near me or in my positive birth space and so I took back my power.

At 9.30am I was moved to the birth suite and hubby placed my vision board up, so I could see it and get back into my zone. He spread my positive birth affirmations over the bed again and read them out loud to me while I closed my eyes. Vicki put the tens machine on for me, this helped me focus on the vibration rather than it being a form of “pain relief” which was really comforting while she massaged my hips and legs. I wasn’t feeling pain just pressure.

A female Obstetrician came in and while I was having a surge told me she wanted me to have a cannula inserted. Vicki asked her to wait until I had finished having my surge to talk to me, and when my surge stopped she asked me again and I firmly, calmly but politely asked her to read my birth preferences and to leave me alone. People kept asking me questions and there seemed to be some confusion and I heard Vicki say, “you all know Belinda is having a VBAC don’t you – have any of you read her birth plan in her file?”

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All of a sudden, I felt like I needed to do a poo so I said I wanted to sit on the toilet, so Matt helped me into the bathroom and as soon as I sat down I could feel my body transitioning and the distinctive smell that Vicki talked about, which confirmed this to me.

After a while I got off the toilet and Matt and I faced each other with Matt’s arms around me and my arms around his neck and we swayed together. My eyes were closed, and I could hear Matt’s gentle voice “I love you, you’re amazing” and I could feel his hands rubbing my stomach and back. I relaxed my jaw and felt a warmth of love fill my body.

I said to Vicki that I felt baby wasn’t too far away. I moved back over to the bed and leant over it again. Swaying and bending my knees helping baby move down and visualising baby coming out of my vagina. Vicki kneeled down and was massaging my legs as they felt very tight. The Obstetrician again asked me to have a cannula. I blocked her out and didn’t respond because I knew what was about to happen. Suddenly my waters released everywhere – all over her and Vicki and I immediately felt a great sense of relief and the urge to bear down and started to slowly push / breathe my baby out. There was meconium in my waters, but that didn’t seem to worry anyone as baby’s heart rate was fine.

At 12pm I said that I could feel baby moving down and the same Obstetrician asked if she could do a VE to which I consented, and I was 10cm dilated. There you go I am proof that even after what was quite a stressful time, I was able to keep my mind and body calm and not let “stress” creep in. My baby and body were still able to do what they needed to, and I purely believe it was because I was able to stay positive no matter what was happening around me and to block out everyone else around me.

The waves were intense at this point. Matt held my hands and looked deeply into my eyes with reassurance while I took slow and controlled breaths. He read out my positive affirmations and said, “babe you can do this. You are doing this, I believe in you. Just one more, only one more.

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I kept telling myself you are strong, brave and you are safe. You can do this, and you are doing this. I looked at Vicki and smiled and she gave me eyes full of pride and I pushed. I had her there by my side, whispering in my ear and keeping me safe and I could still hear Melissa’s calm voice playing in the background and I really connected to what she was saying “let go, release, surrender.”

Pushing was taking some time and I was slowly losing energy. I kept my eyes closed because it was bright in the room and I knew the dark would trigger melatonin and this would help boost oxytocin. The midwives were absolutely fantastic. They helped Vicki get me into different positions and supported any suggestions that were made. One of the midwives said that baby was in a lateral position, so I visualised baby moving into a better position. It had been almost 2 hours of pushing and although I was calmly trying to breathe/push baby out I felt my body losing energy and wanting to sleep. The midwife also said that baby’s arm was sitting up around its head like Superman and the body was still in a lateral position.

Around 2pm a completely different Obstetrician stood behind the curtain and asked if she could enter the room, to which I consented. She walked in and she looked so young. When our eyes met I smiled at her but in my mind I starting laughing and thinking “how old is this chick she looks a whole 20 years old is she even old enough to be an Obstetrician?”

She quietly observed me while I was trying to birth my baby and said gently “Belinda do you consent to an episiotomy. I can tell you are going to tear severely with the way your baby is positioned.”

At first, I declined because I knew my body would heal if I tore. I continued to push for another 30 minutes and the obstetrician stood watching and always gave me looks of reassurance. She didn’t have to say anything to me. I could see her support in her friendly looking eyes. Her body language was calm and gentle. She waited for me.

She was the only Obstetrician who showed me any respect and support that day.

After discussing my options with hubby I consented to an episiotomy. Matt and Vicki were on each side of me. Matt was stroking my hair and holding my hand. The Obstetrician said to me “Belinda let me know if you would like me to stop at any time” and from that point I felt a sense of relief and completely relaxed my entire body. I felt the strongest wave yet come and with my consent the Obstetrician attached a vacuum and with assistance I pushed my baby out.

The Obstetrician was so gentle, and I couldn’t feel her doing a thing. When baby’s head was crowning I had the most amazing inner outer body experience and said to myself “OMG this is what it feels like – that ring of fire people joke about. This feels amazing, this is so so so cool.”

How amazing my body was opening up and baby’s head was out. Another strong wave and at 2:13pm baby’s body slid out and this was the best feeling in the entire world – the release was instant.


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I grabbed my baby up onto my chest and it was calm but wasn’t crying only baby grunts. I cried tears of joy. Everyone in the room cheered and cried. Matt kissed me and told me how very proud he was of me and I felt a love for him like no other. I cried and cried happy and proud tears. Vicki cried and hugged me.

At one point during all that excitement and while I was holding my baby on my chest I shouted out at the top of my lungs “Fuck You (Ob Name)” to the Obstetrician that wouldn’t step out of his front door until I abided by his rules.

I did it!

I gave birth out of my vagina.

But wait what did we have?

 

We hadn’t even checked. A GIRL! We had a baby GIRL. Our precious daughter snuggled on my bare chest and I soaked up that oxytocin. Our family is now complete. Our daughter did a breast crawl and I was in complete awe watching her find her way to my breast. An unforgettable experience.

I had a second-degree tear and a postpartum haemorrhage. Due to my blood loss I consented to the syntocinon injection to help birth my placenta faster. I also required a blood transfusion due to losing over a litre of blood. The paediatrician quickly checked our daughter was okay since she wasn’t making much noise, but I knew this was purely because I had been so calm during my whole labour and birth.

We had uninterrupted skin to skin for 2 hours before she was weighed and measured. I was up and walking after my skin to skin with our daughter and hubby got his turn while I had the best shower of my entire life. Vicki and I talked about all the positives of my birth and how amazing I was.

That moment was exhilarating.

 

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While I laboured I didn’t need any medical pain relief or drugs as I didn’t feel pain. It was more like strong pressure and at times it was quite intense, but I breathed and relaxed my body. I put this down to having done the Hypnobirthing Australia course with Vicki and doing lots of practise all through my pregnancy while also having my husband and Vicki believe in me and their unconditional support and love.

Although my birth didn’t go quite to “plan” I was able to keep my mind positive and my body relaxed. I felt loved and supported by my main support people. This played a huge role in my successful drug free VBAC. For someone who usually can’t handle any kind of pain and is anxious, I’m complete proof you are absolutely capable of achieving what you put your mind to along with determination, perseverance and courage!!

From arriving at the hospital at just after 9am I dilated 4cm in just 3hrs – how amazing am I?

Our daughter Leilani was born on the 20th of January 2017 at 40+2 and she weighed 3.91kg! Yes that’s right. She was exactly 100g BIGGER than my first born!!!

My body IS capable of birthing the babies I grow!!!

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I still feel like a warrior. I still feel on top of the world. Not only did I achieve the birth my heart so deeply desired, I have a closer bond and love for my husband like no other and I have gained a very special friend, our doula Vicki for life. I will be forever grateful to her for being the backbone to my success. I will be forever grateful for coming across Hypnobirthing Australia and the tools and techniques we learnt together for birth we can use for the rest of our lives. Not only did I get an amazing birth, but I feel like it has changed my life. My outlook on a whole lot of things has changed.

I can’t recommend enough how important it is to educate yourself and to have a great support network around you.

If I can do it – so can you!

Belinda & Matt
December 2018

 

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My name is Vicki Hobbs, and I am a Childbirth Educator (Back to Basics Birthing), Hypnobirthing Practitioner, Certified VBAC Educator, Remedial Massage Therapist specialising in Pregnancy & Massage, Birth & Postpartum Doula, Certified Placenta Encapsulator, Hypnotherapist, Aromatherapist, Reiki Practitioner and Life Coach. I am a serial workshopper and learner, so that I keep up to date with new research and information so that I can provide you with up-to-date resources. My focus has always been on the mind, the body and the emotions and how they all need to be in balance for harmony. You can subscribe to my newsletter by adding your details in the box on the right-hand side and when you do, I will send you a free relaxation meditation to help you feel calm and relaxed. I am based in the northern suburbs of Perth and can be contacted by email at [email protected] or go back to my Blog Page for more great articles and information.

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    About Vicki Hobbs

    My name is Vicki Hobbs and I am a Childbirth Educator (Back to Basics Birthing), Hypnobirthing Practitioner, Certified VBAC Educator, Remedial Massage Therapist specialising in Pregnancy & Postpartum Massage, Birth & Postpartum Doula, Certified Placenta Encapsulator, Hypnotherapist, Aromatherapist, Reiki Practitioner and Life Coach.

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