Dear Melissa,

Positive Birth Experience after C-Section:

My first birth didn’t go the way I planned. I took the birth class from the hospital, read the books, listened to the podcasts. What could go wrong?? I went in for my 39 week appointment and was pretty miserable. I am a school teacher and it was getting harder and harder to work, so my Dr. mentioned an induction. I was 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced everything seemed to be just right for the induction to work perfectly. So on September 12, 2018 I went in for an induction. I labored all day with no pain meds. My Dr. broke my water about 6 hours in and the surges got so incredibly hard that I had to get an epidural and had almost immediate relief. After about an hour I was 9 cm dilated, and I started to feel the pain come in pretty strong. The epidural wasn’t working anymore and I was feeling all the contractions so strongly. The baby wasn’t positioned correctly and I pushed for what seemed like an eternity to no avail. I...

Hi all,

I'm a FTM, my beautiful baby girl is now 3.5 weeks old. I wanted to share my birth story because it turned out completely different to what I had planned or expected going in. Sorry it's a long one!)

I started feeling surges at 41 + 3 and was cautiously excited as I had an induction booked 3 days later which I was hoping to avoid. I laboured at home for 1.5 days and when I was assessed at the hospital I was only 3cm dilated. They gave me the option to go home or start an induction process with artificial rupture of membranes and then synthetic oxytocin because my surges had been irregular (baby was posterior which I was told could cause this, as well as the intense back pain I was feeling with each surge). By then I was so exhausted from surges and lack of sleep that I chose to start the induction.

Hi Melissa, thank you for your nice email. I wrote my birth story for you. It was an amazing experience and I thank you so much  

My daughter was already overdue so I was trying to help her out a little. I was walking a lot, bouncing on the ball, having hot baths and sex. I was really relaxed the whole pregnancy and I wasn’t scared at all, I was looking forward to meeting our baby girl. When I was around 35weeks I bought your course online and I loved it. I did all of it but especially visualisations and breathing techniques made a huge difference! Thank you. I was also relaxed with the birth of my first daughter but I didn’t breathe, I hold my breath and wrinkle my face and waiting for the end of the wave. Also, I was just laying in the bed and waiting for end. That’s why my first birth took 28hours. At that time I had no idea why breathing is so important. 

Anyway, I had a positive...

Sophie was due on Thursday 9/7/2020.
Monday 6th at around 4:30pm I started to get tightenings only at the front and 10mins apart for 20- 30seconds. I tried to relax had a bath and then went to bed to see if I could sleep. Around 10pm the tightenings had basically gone and nothing all day. I tried to keep moving and now was keen for baby to come out.

That night (Tuesday night/Wednesday morning 8th) at 1:30am started getting more tightenings 6-7mins apart and lasting 30 sec and monitored them until they fizzled out again at 5:30am.... Come on baby.

Finally after a walk with the dogs some lunch on Thursday 9th and a nap I felt tightenings a little more intensely and starting to pull from my back at about 2pm. I monitored for a bit and they were 2-3mins apart and lasting over 35sec.
I called my partner to let him know to come home and I think this might be it. Called my midwife that something's happening and then waited for the surges to be lasting closer to a minute.

By 5:30 I stuck on...

Hi everyone!

Ready to share my birth story now after 4 weeks of recovering.

So I had my last hospital appt at 39 weeks. Due to a low Papp-A result I wasn’t allowed to go past 40 weeks so if labour didn’t occur spontaneously I’d have to get induced. I asked for an internal exam at this appt just to check my cervix to see if I had dilated at all because I was feeling really nervous about having to possibly be induced. They examined me internally and I was dilated 2cm and my cervix was very ripe and soft apparently! I went home happy knowing that labour would hopefully be starting soon!

At 39.2 I was at home and my membranes released before any surges started. About an hour after my membranes released, the surges started. I called the hospital to let them know that my membranes had released prior to labour starting and had to go in to be monitored due to the risk of infection. After being monitored for 2 hours I was able to go home and continue labour at home!

I...

A huge thanks to Melissa for your wonderful online course which helped to empower my husband and I to meet our second little boy via a VBAC on 22 July!

My first birth was emergency c-section after induction at 41 weeks. As first time parents we did the generic hospital antenatal classes but not a lot of extra reading and research into birth. Our philosophy was 'we have no plan' because we thought that would help us navigate any situation. Well, that was a big mistake because it also meant that we weren't well aware of our options and our choices. Overall, I still reflect on the birth as positive - we were supported by the people around us and it brought us our wonderful little boy. But, from that moment I knew that I would do things differently for my next birth!

Hi Melissa,

Wow! I’m so glad you loved my story as much as I do!! Thank you so much
Fear crept in for a minute when the obstetrician was trying to push for a c-section, but I’m so grateful that I had the tools to switch my mindset quickly and have the AMAZING birth I had visualised

I would be honoured for you to share my story and I’m happy for you to use my name. 

Thank you for keeping me on a high with this beautiful message

Michelle xx

Dear Melissa, 

I wanted to write this email to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I heard about hypnobithing through a friend when I felt pregnant and I decide to do the course. But things got a bit complicated due to COVID-19 and my husband now works in Antarctica got stuck down there and I decide to leave Sydney where we live to come and give birth in my home country Argentina.

When I arrived I was 28 weeks pregnant and the country went into lock down. I felt very isolated and lonely. That is when I look into hypnobirthing online courses and found yours. I decide to do the course and in a way it was good to be in lock down because I dedicated all my time to do the meditations, afirmaciones and find my birth  partner( that end up being my best friend).

The 24 of June of a snowy night Amaro was born after a 10 hour calm, easy and completely natural birth. I did most all the labor at home and arrive at the hospital to give birth. The tools I learn in the course guided...