Greta + Ava’s Positive Hypnobirth
To begin my birth story of my first beautiful girl Ava, I need to share a little about my pregnancy and what had led me to decisions made and some deviations in my birth from my ideals.
I had a 7-week scan to find the estimated due date and another scan at 20 weeks which showed some complications. A Choroid Plexus Cyst in her brain and I also had a two-vessel placenta cord. These complications to me were unheard of and scary, google told me everything I didn't want to know. I was told the cyst had a high chance of dissolving into brain fluid, (which it did do and had resolved by my 30-week scan), and the two-vessel cord is a common variation to the normal but often means a higher chance of having a smaller child as they may not receive as many nutrients as a baby whose cord has three vessels. Because of these complications I was offered more scans throughout the pregnancy which I enjoyed, feeling more connected to our baby and I loved checking up to see she was doing OK. I had 4 extra scans up till my last at 36 weeks. Each appointment they measured her and advised she was in the 99th percentile for most of her measurements. This seemed unlikely for the two-vessel cord but my fundal height measurements also showed her measuring 2 weeks ahead.
After spending my second trimester completely wiped out, fatigued with no energy to do anything but sleep, the third trimester came and I felt a little bit more like myself. Brayden and I went to Anti-natal classes together and I spend a huge amount of time reading about birth and the fourth trimester as well as getting more into Yoga and Pilates. Brayden and I found the Anti-natal classes rather useless... I knew all of the information from my readings and Brayden felt that the boys were singled out in sexist manners to their 'traditional roles as the breadwinners of the family'. I was happy to meet some wonderful women due to have their babies at the same time but felt that I didn't leave with any more information to what I already knew or could find with a quick google search.
After reading about hypnobirthing and learning more through simple techniques in Andi's yoga classes, I signed us up for a private course around 34 weeks into my pregnancy. I needed this course... I left with so many amazing techniques I planned to use during my birth, Brayden left feeling confident in ways he would be able to help me manage the pain and I felt knowledge and power when it came to writing up my birth preferences.
The evening following my guess date was similar to the previous three weeks, consistent surges between 30-60 seconds and coming frequently. So frequently, I had stopped using my phone to time the surges as they suggested I was in labour and should head to the hospital. This long prodromal/false labour was one of the toughest parts of the pregnancy as the excitement of wanting to meet my baby girl grew each night the surges got stronger and my sleeping hours shortened. On the evening of the 27th April 2021, something was different. My back started to really ache and it was nothing that could be fixed by circles on my swiss ball or any gentle movement. I decided to get into our bathtub at 10pm and try to relax so I could attempt to sleep. Once the bathwater started cooling, I tried to get out and head to bed but by this stage, my back started to get worse with the frequent surges. After weeks of this long labour, I decided not to wake Brayden as he wakes for work before 5am and by this point after weeks of strong surges and strong period type pain, I doubted this was the real deal. I sat on the couch, called the midwife to ask to come into the hospital and be checked whether I was in fact in labour. I called my friend Dagmar, who I had asked for support during my birth to come and drive me to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital around 11:30pm, my cervix was checked and I was at 5cm dilated. I was excited, this was the real deal!
I asked for the birth pool to be filled and Dagmar set up the room with candles. She had offered me music, dimming the lights, putting up my affirmations list. At this point I said I just wanted to chat for a while and chill, thinking we had a fair few hours to kill before things ramped up. Dagmar and I decided to try some maths based on the generic 0.5cm dilating per hour and we thought I might be in labour for another 10 hours so at this stage I really wanted to be distracted. After around 10 mins in the bath, I loved floating around but the back pain was not subsiding and I started feeling nauseous and was overheating in the tub. I asked to try some gas to see if that would settle some of the back pain, after sucking on this for 3 contractions, I decided it only made me feel more nauseous and spaced out so I stopped and decided to jump out of the pool and onto the bed.
On my hands and knees at this point, Dagmar was applying counter-pressure on my pelvis while massaging my lower back between surges. There was little time between surges, I asked Dagmar to call Brayden in to the hospital as this wasn't just a false alarm anymore and I needed help to ease my back pain. At this point I was feeling a bit disappointed. I hoped that all of the hypnobirthing techniques I had practiced in my pregnancy would just 'take the pain away'. All I felt I was using was my breathing techniques. With my eyes closed I attempted to breathe through each surge but my brain kept waking up reminding me how many more hours I might have this pain for.
After Brayden was called, I ended up begging for the Epidural from the midwife. She was not my lead midwife but had kindly read and understood my birth preferences, offered me alternative options and positions but I knew this back pain was pure agony and I needed some relief from the frequent surges. She mentioned it would be an hour by the time the anaesthetist could come in, administer the epidural and I would feel some relief.
Brayden and the anaesthetist arrived, at this point things started to become blurry. The pain was intense, I had come out of my hypnobirthing mindset, my breathing techniques stopped, the lights were turned up, people were trying to speak to me to get my consent for the epidural and answer any questions I had. By this point until the epidural kicked in, I was in a period of uncontrollable shaking and couldn't seem to get into a calm mindset.
Some relief from the epidural came what felt like a few short surges later, my shaking slowed and I was hooked up to monitor myself and the baby. Initially, once I lay on the bed comfortable for the first time in 3 weeks, I felt like I had failed on my hypnobirthing journey. I was kind to myself, I was reminded that I had done a great job in the three weeks prior to this point and that the back pain I was experiencing is real and as it was unbearable, I made the right choice for me. After a small rest period, my blood pressure slowed and I was administered something via IV to help stabilise this. My contractions had also slowed down and it was suggested that my waters should be broken to help get these back to being more consistent. I had progressed to 7cm at this point which was a relief that I was still progressing but my waters were brown with meconium so I still had some more decisions to make.
I was allowed some time to rest while being consistently monitored through the early hours of the morning. By 4-5am, Ava wasn't wriggling around much in my belly and the midwife called in the Obstetrician in to assess. I was given advice on the meconium and her slowed movement that if she didn't start moving around and showing more activity, a C-section might be the best option. After feeling Ava being crazy in my belly for the last few months, I knew she was taking a rest like I was but I was determined to wake her up and avoid a C-section at all costs. I sat up on the bed, Brayden played some music through my belly, Dagmar held my hands and we began to shake and dance to try get her to move. It worked! In the process I felt the epidural start to lose its effect as I gained more strength through my legs and felt the contractions and the urge to poop. The obstetrician checked my dilation just after 6am and by this point I was 10cm and was given the go ahead to start pushing.
The bed was sat up into a chair and stool type position and the midwife coached me on a breathing technique to help me push. I knew this wasn't working as I didn't feel any pressure to poop anymore so I asked to be on my hands and knees on the bed. The midwife was surprised I had the ability in my legs but I had let the epidural slowly wear off over the previous few hours so I had regained some strength. The moment I held onto the back of the bed for my first push, I knew I was doing it correctly as the need to poop increased. I felt my surges as they came but could also see the monitor to see when each surge was at its peak and I could start consistently pushing. After 30 or so minutes, I was encouraged to hear she was coming down the birth canal but they couldn't monitor her heart rate so I needed to switch positions. I started pushing in a side lying position and asked for an epidural top up as the pain relief was wearing off and the crowning feeling was intense.
My eyes were closed, I was focused on consistent pushing each surge. I was demanding of Brayden and Dagmar - "Water", "Hold me", "Hot flannel on butt". No please and Thank You's but there was no time and I felt like I was in the zone. It wasn't till her head was out, I screamed that I couldn't do it anymore. The midwife noticed something wrong, the emergency button was pressed and I was told that I needed to push harder than I was before. After just an hour of pushing, Ava came out and was put across my stomach. My first words as I opened my eyes were "What the Fuck"... a combination of what the fuck did I just do, what the fuck she is so massive and what the fuck why are there so many people in this room. Brayden quickly cut the cord but by this point it had already stopped pulsing and she was whisked away after she had obviously swallowed some meconium and was not well.
What felt like 20 people in the room, Brayden and I were in tears. My placenta came out very easily and I was assessed and to the amazement of my midwives, not a single tear for the biggest baby she thinks she had ever helped birthed. After a while we heard Ava cry out but she was taken away to the paediatric ward to help clear out her lungs. This is where my hypnobirthing came into play. I was calm and relaxed following my birth and I knew what was happening to Ava. Because I needed no stitches and had good leg mobility, I asked to be put into a wheelchair to go and see Ava while they worked on her. Wheeled into the room, I was finally able to hold her in my arms while she was hooked up to monitors, and sip on some Milo as I was famished.
That Milo might have saved my life... Brayden was holding it for me and I was sipping it through a straw but ended up choking. I started coughing and felt gushes and gushed of blood clots come shooting out. Ava was ripped from my arms, I was wheeled back into delivery, emergency button pressed, another 20 people in the room yelling orders and drugs required. My uterus was being pressed on the clots kept pouring out. Brayden held my head as I started puking, new IV lines were put in and my midwife started to explain what was going on. Once again, this is where hypnobirthing saved me and my mindset more than it did during birth. I was aware and informed what was happening, I had trust in the medical team and I allowed my body and mind to be relaxed as all sorts of specialists worked on me. I felt in control even though to the outside viewer, things were not in control. For Brayden, it was rather traumatic being torn between seeing Ava hooked up to ventilators and me being worked on. I lost 1.6L of blood through the event which saw me rather low on iron and needing to supplement post birth.
While my birth preferences of immediate skin to skin and breastfeeding were not able to occur, in my opinion, by keeping a positive mindset, when Ava and I were both stabilised, our reunion was magical and she latched on perfectly, something I could only dream of. Ava weighed in at a very healthy 4.9kg (10.8 pounds), exactly the 99th percentile she was predicted. I was reminded of the affirmation blue tacked onto my bathroom mirror - "My baby is the right size for my body". Something I now fully believe, understand and appreciate. Ava at birth is the same size as a one-month-old baby, yet my body was able to birth her without induction and without needing intervention to induce or help her be birthed.
To Brayden, my absolute best friend and support - Ava is so privileged to have someone so caring to call her dad and I am so lucky to have had such incredible support and strength during my birth and through this fourth trimester. To Dagmar, I will be forever grateful for your support during my birth, words cannot describe how incredibly you cared for and assisted Ava and I through such a precious time.
I will forever be grateful to Andi and her Hypnobirthing course. Not in the way I initially anticipated as my birth did not "go to plan" so to speak BUT for me it was a hugely positive experience. Brayden learned skills in how best to support me during labour and I learnt the power of being informed and educated and how advocating for yourself in the birthing room and keeping a positive mindset can help you mentally if your birth needs to deviate from your expectations. For anyone considering this hypnobirthing course, it is so much more than "birth breathing techniques you can learn on the internet" as someone so innocently asked me. Its knowledge for both you and your partner to learn techniques and to be fully informed to help you create a magical empowering birth, regardless of what direction it takes.
