• Positive second birth
• Planned and actual birth centre birth at Burnley Birth Centre

Hannah attended my Group Hypnobirthing course with her partner, George, and was a regular at my Pregnancy Yoga & Relaxation classes. She talked about how she wanted a different experience to last time and has definitely learned through personal experience the need to question and make informed decisions about her care. I am so pleased that she had what she told me was her “dream birth” and am so grateful to her for allowing me to share it with you! Here’s Hannah & Sophia’s positive birth story, in Hannah’s words…

I was still working (and of course was in the office rather than working from home) when around 3pm my waters spontaneously broke at 38 weeks. I was definitely shocked, along with all my colleagues in my open plan office 😅 but felt a strange sense of calm. I didn’t have any contractions at this point so went home to shower and change my soaking dress!

I called the birth centre and agreed to go in later that evening for some observations. My birth plan included regular BP/doppler heart rate monitoring but no other monitoring or medical intervention (for plan A). Baby and I were both OK and I went back home. 

My contractions started that evening on the way home, and were stop start for 3 days, quite strong but not consistent enough. Every 24 hours I had agreed to go to the hospital for repeat obs and really had to advocate for myself at this point. Due to the time passing since my waters broke, I was being strongly advised to go to labour ward and have an induction. However despite being told the infection risk had doubled, I remembered all of my Hypnobirthing learning and was able to question further, and quantify that the infection risk had gone from 0.5% to 1%, and with the observations all being positive, declined induction and maintained my choice to birth under Midwife led care only.

On the third afternoon after my waters broke, I left the hospital after the BP/heart checks and went to get a coffee on the way home but barely made it 10 minutes away. Mid-coffee I had to swap my cup to go 😆

I headed straight back to the hospital, into the birth centre, totally relaxed and excited to soon meet my baby girl. The room was warm, low lighting, Hypnobirthing tracks playing, LED candles, aromatherapy diffuser scents, affirmation cards laid out, just how I pictured it. The Midwives really respected my birth plan and all of my decisions over the few days prior, and just left me to it without intervention as I had wanted.

I laboured in the pool with gas and air for several hours and then opted to have a diamorphine injection and got out of the pool for this, and my baby started to make her entrance very quickly thereafter. I gave birth to her kneeling on the floor (position was really a priority for me to minimise the chance of intervention and stitches), feeling so empowered and just trusting my body.

I came out with one stitch and physically felt like I’d barely given birth (a stark contrast from my first labour). My birth was very much my dream/plan A scenario, which I feel very fortunate to have had, but I think a large part of this was the knowledge, techniques and mindset I had practiced from Hypnobirthing with you and I believe that this foundation would really help anyone whatever their birth plan or actual delivery was. Mentally and physically, the post natal and recovery period this time around has been really positive!

Thanks again for sharing your story, Hannah! And well done!

If you’d like to get fully informed and prepared for birth, check out my Hypnobirthing courses!

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