I was excited and happy about what was about to come

Hi Vicki,

I just wanted to share with you our amazing VBAC experience we had at SJOG Subiaco.

We were open about having a VBAC birth at a private hospital and knew some things we may not achieve, but others we could be confident in asking for. I had prepared our birth plan based on what I had learnt from my first pregnancy and items addressed during the Hypnobirthing Classes that I felt were important to me.

Where possible I wanted to delay induction and my goal was to labour spontaneously.

I had felt really good the entire pregnancy and I knew our baby was safe so we made a decision with our Obstetrician I would wait until I got to 41+3 before they would induce. Up until this point I was doing everything possible to promote labour, which included clary sage baths, pressure points, massage and acupuncture.

I had started to notice increased mucous at 39+6 and mild cramping, which I knew could last for days, but took comfort knowing that my body was preparing itself.

After returning home from my 41-week appointment, I went to the toilet where my membranes released.

I was excited and happy about what was about to come.

Upon arriving at the hospital, I was appointed with my midwife who was an advocate for hypnobirthing. It was imperative we had that support to make us feel comfortable and respected.

As with anything there were some items in our plan that we couldn’t have including shower / baths and avoiding being continuously monitored. However, we were able to compromise and have telemetry and used heat packs and massage where possible.

As the surges continued, I wanted to be made aware how far I was progressing. I was using clary sage through the entire labour and knew more pain relief may need to be considered. When I found out I was 10cm (9 hours after membranes releasing) I was ecstatic, and this gave me strength to continue.

At 10.43pm Vada arrived in my arms.

 

The Hypnobirthing Classes made me feel more informed about the birth process and what my body is able to achieve. I was able to have a voice on what I wanted and what was important to me as well as challenge aspects I didn’t feel comfortable with. What an amazing experience I was able to have.

Thank you for providing this course for my husband and me and for empowering me along this journey and guiding me to be confident in my ability to birth my baby.

Renae & Mitch