"I'm so happy I got to birth at home this time"

In this wonderful birth story, Charlie talks us through her home birth of her second baby. Charlie and her partner did my full Hypnobirthing course with their first baby, and refresher course with their second. I love how honest and raw Charlie is about how she roared her baby earthside with full intensity! Birthing bodies are AMAZING and strong! This is an inspiring read! Enjoy!

"After a straight forward, natural, drug free birth with my first baby 21 months ago at a Birth Centre, the plan for baby no.2s birth was the same just at home.

I had a 12 week blood result of low PAPP-A, a which is placenta protein. This can effect growth and placenta function but the growth scans were all fine for us. However, I had a feeling, from about 32 weeks that he was going to be born around the 37 week mark. Baby sat on the 50th centile the whole way through pregnancy with the extra growth scans and at my last scan at 36+6 weeks estimated weight was 7lbs.

3/4pm on a October 2nd [37+2 days] I started having period type pains. Woke up a few times in the night because of cramps then at 2am I could no longer sleep through the sensations. I started having mild-moderate contractions at about 3am which were inconsistent, 5-12 mins apart.

From 2am until My husband and son woke up I was bouncing on the ball, collecting colostrum, using the breast pump, walking etc to get things going but nothing really made things progress. Once the boys were up we just got on with our morning. Dog walk/breakfast etc however I could hardly eat.

10/11am my boy went to sleep for a nap so instead of trying to get things going I just lay down, cuddled him and relaxed which was clearly what I needed. By 2pm contractions were coming strong and 3-4 mins apart

3pm we got my son collected from our house and my husband started putting up the birthing pool.

3:15pm asked our midwife to come over

She arrived at 3:45/4pm. And I asked her to check my cervix dilation which was 5-6cm

As I was in active labour a second midwife was called who arrived at approx 4:30pm.

By 5pm I was having less than 1 minute between each contraction and they were INTENSE. My waters still hadn’t broken and I really wanted to get in the pool. I asked the midwife to break my waters (I was 10cm at this point) and jumped in the pool at approx 5:15pm. [I had my waters with my first broken at this point too as they just wouldn’t break themselves as the membrane was so thick]

By this point I hadn’t eaten really anything for 24hrs and my ketones in my urine were high so my husband was feeding me spoons of Maple Syrup in-between contractions to keep me going

After 20 mins of pushing/howling in the pool. Baby Mack was born into the water at 5:37pm. After maybe 10 mins in the pool I got out with Mack and got on the sofa. Once the cord went white, my husband cut it and my placenta was delivered maybe 20 mins after that.

The midwife said my placenta was maybe a teeny bit grainy so could be because of the low Papp-a? But I’m really not sure if it effected us. My boy came home at approx 7pm to meet Mack which was the cutest thing ever then my husband put him to bed.

After nearly 2 hours of skin-skin and feeding, the midwife’s took Mack off me for his weight and checks etc. He was 6lb6. I was also fine with no tears. My toddler took about 90 mins to fall asleep so at 9pm my husband finally got to come down and hold his boy After a quick pizza we were all in bed asleep at 10pm. Dreamy.

Totally blessed to have had two natural drug free births and so happy I got to birth at home this time! It was pretty hectic and crazy. The dogs barked the entire time as I roared my way through the contractions and we almost didn’t get the pool ready in time.

Grateful beyond words to be supported by the most incredible midwife, who was my main midwife for both my boys births who is honestly the best! And obviously Nate being the best husband and birthing partner I could ever dream of my boys are so lucky to call you their daddy.

We were lucky enough to do Terri’s full Hypnobirthing course with my first pregnancy and did a refresher this time around. Terri not only taught us the Hypnobirthing methodology and how to apply it throughout the stages of labour, she also taught us the science behind birthing, the hormones, contractions, birthing positions etc. I felt like learning everything I needed to know about birth, along with practical ways to work through it was extremely empowering and allowed me to make informed decisions with my birth plan. My thoughts on birth before doing Terri’s course were very much go with the flow, and my husband was absolutely petrified once we had completed the course we both had so much confidence in my natural abilities which ultimately allowed me to have the two amazing births I had!"

Investing in your antenatal preparation can be an absolute game changer! If you want to find out more about my course and about my Hypnobirthing style of teaching, then grab your free place on my Introduction to Hypnobirthing on February 27th at 7pm on Zoom. Take control, get prepared and feel ready for one of the most amazing days of your life - the day you birth your baby! Click here to book!

"We felt incredibly lucky to have the birth we had spent months planning"

Huge congratulations to Jo and Shaun on the wonderful arrival of their son Mack.

Born 12.11pm at Truro Birth Centre on the 6th January 2023, 10 days after his EDD, weighing 8lbs. Below Jo shares her journey from pre labour, birth experience through to third stage. Jo and Shaun used Hypnobirthing and also had me as their Doula. Jo talks about how this and the supportive midwives at Truro Birth Centre played an important role in her having the birth she hoped for and worked so hard to achieve.

Pre Labour

I finished work for Mat leave on the 15th December and Shaun and I became pretty convinced he was going to come any day from then, even though all info suggested first babies typically come beyond due date (Mack’s was 27/12/22).

Due date came and went and no pre-Labour signs, by January 3rd we were getting pretty impatient and there was lots of talk of sweeps and inductions.

Terri (our doula) came into her own at this point and it was with her reassurance that we trusted the natural process, focusing on relaxing / resting and allow things to kick off more naturally.

Latent phase​

I sensed a change in me on the 4th as suddenly had a lot more energy! 2am on the 5th, woke up to the first part of the mucus plug coming, went back to bed and the contractions started. Pretty intermittent but too strong to sleep through.

Morning came and as Terri predicted (reassuring us that this was normal) contractions paused. So we took the time to rest up, nap and met up with friends for a dog walk inc hitting the lusty steps!

Shaun and I sat down for some dinner about 7ish on Thursday evening and then started playing some monopoly deal which quickly ended when the contractions returned - much to our delight. I wired up to the Tens Machine at this point.

Popped the film ‘Sing’ onto Netflix to help keep the Oxytocin flowing and Shaun started timing the contracts which were increasing to 3 in about 10 mins. Shaun also set up the lounge with candles, clary sage on the essential oils diffuser and I found that standing, leaning on the window sill and focusing on the breathing was the best way to embrace them!

3am came and we were thinking it might be time to head in to the Truro birth centre - spoke to Terri and she said we could if we felt it the right time, but we could still be quite early in terms of stages of labour, and therefore have to come back and might be better to wait a little longer for labour to progress at home.

Active Labour

​We reassessed and opted to stay at home - anything but standing became a bit of a no go and I started to feel quite sick as the intensity really picked up. Shaun made some beans on toast which I managed some of and he was massaging my back through the contractions. I just kept focused on the hypnobirthing breathing and getting to meet our son soon!

By 7am I wasn’t chatting anymore to Shaun and he said things seemed to be getting stronger so we opted to head in. The 30 min van journey was…. wild as I hadn’t been able to tolerate sitting for the last 12 hours - popped my headphones on and just focused on the best hypnobirthing breathing possible, to fuel the uterus muscles with max oxygen and that meaning contractions could be as powerful as possible and we would get to meet Mack in the shortest time!

We arrived at the (nearly full) birth centre in Truro and to my relief I was 5cm dilated, so we could head to a birth centre ‘Marazion’ room (about 9am!) as Terri also arrived!

The midwives at the birth centre were amazing from start to finish - honouring the birth plan we had written and by 9.30am I was in the water and it was an incredible feeling of weightlessness. Contractions continued to increase in frequency and intensity - and that’s where Terri applying back pressure and Shaun’s supporting words, love and hydration made all the difference!

By 11.45am there was a definite change in the contractions to a very intense downward pressure on the pelvis region, particularly the back! It was more intense than I was expecting and timed into the ‘transition phase’ where I had a moment of thinking ‘this is an impossible task, how is he going to fit, can I have some gas and air!’ Terri reminded me that the feeling was normal, and it was great sign of us meeting him very soon and to keep the focus on the breathing.

The midwife prepared the gas and air and I then started becoming very vocal with each contraction bracing against the edge of the pool and Shaun! After about 30 mins, his head complete with intact membrane popped out and then swiftly went back in to Shaun’s surprise! As it went back in my membranes released and there was a notable pressure release. Mack’s head then came out with the next contraction and two contractions later he was born into the birthing pool. The midwives remained very hands off and I was able to scoop him up from the water and Shaun and I got the first glimpses of our son who much to our surprise had his eyes open!

Third stage

We ‘waited for white’ on the cord and asked Terri to cut it for us. Shaun enjoyed some skin on skin whilst I was helped out of the pool. We opted for a physiological third stage and the placenta came about an hour after Mack’s arrival with only a slight bit of encouragement needed from the midwife.

Mack also started breastfeeding pretty much instantly and we couldn’t believe how calm and wide eyed he was!

After an inspection from the midwife, we were all pretty surprised / elated to find there was no tearing - just a small graze on each side. The surprise was due to the amount of blood in the pool, but it was then decided this must have been from the membrane release.

Mack then had all of his checks and they were happy for us to head home 3 hours post delivery.

We felt incredibly lucky to have the birth we had spent months planning towards and that the antenatal learning and prep had paid off (we opted for the daily dates, raspberry leaf tea, lots of yoga & swimming and perineal massage) to bring Mack into the world in the calmest way. Hypnobirthing, Terri’s guidance and chatting to lots of other parents completely changed our outlook on pregnancy and birth.."

Hypnobirthing courses available throughout 2023. Doula availability in July, and then from September onwards. www.cornwallhypnobirthing.co.uk

"I felt the pressure of the baby moving down...so felt confident in just letting my body do its job"

Life flies by and before you know it, your baby is nearly one and you're yet to write your birth story! But it's never too late! This birth story made it's way to me recently after 10 months, which was a wonderful surprise! I worked with Cyd and her partner last year as they were part of one of my group Hypnobirthing courses. Her journey is not without a few hurdles, but she talks about how positive it was and how she enjoyed her labour and felt in control - from being told she couldn't get in the water as she wasn't far enough long, but sticking to what she wanted and getting it; to being told to push, but ignoring the coaching and following her body's lead. Enjoy the read of this honest and powerful birth story.

Iris Esme - Born 12/2/2022 in the water at Truro Birth Centre, 7lb15ozs

I loved being pregnant and although I was looking forward to meeting my baby I didn’t ever have the ‘get this baby out now’ feeling which I think towards the end really helped, I knew the baby would come at some point so I just made the most of every relaxing evening and early night before the baby came. My midwife new the kind of birth I wanted so said she wasn’t even going to mention a sweep or induction until we were approaching the 42wk mark. On Friday 11th February I had a sudden urge to get out of the house, I was 40+5wks pregnant. We decided to go for dinner with some of my family in St Agnes and had a really lovely evening in the pub. When we got home I was having contractions, although as I had braxton hicks every evening this wasn’t unusual although they felt more in my back so I thought it could possibly be the start. We went to bed and at 4am I woke up with a stronger contraction but I woke up smiling. I was really happy this could be the start. I decided to try and get some more sleep and managed to doze on and off until 7am, by this time they were getting stronger. I watched some comedy and sat on my birthing ball for a bit until I got in the bath, although sitting on my bum and having the pressure on my lower back really didn’t help. My partner rang the birthing unit - the Freya app said my contractions were regular and I knew I was in labour.

We made our way to Treliske, the 50min journey wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, I had my headphones in and had my eyes shut for most of it. I was examined in the birth unit at 11am and was told I was 1cm, I lost my mucus plug in the process. They said to go and come back at 3.30pm to be re-examined. Luckily my Auntie lives in St Agnes so just down the road from the hospital. My mum and stepdad met us there where I spent most of the time bent over her armchair asking for my back to be rubbed. I kept my headphones in and tried to focus on my breathing but by 1.30pm I really felt like I was progressing and needed something to manage the pain. By 2pm my mum looked at me and said we need to get you back into the birth centre so we rang them and they agreed for me to come back in to be examined. The journey back to the birth centre was a different story, I was in the back on my knees and it felt like it took forever to get back there but again the whole time I just tried to focus on my breathing.

I was examined again at 3pm and the midwife said I was 3cm which I was surprised at as it definitely felt like I was already getting the urge to push. As the birth centre was quiet and my contractions were so close together, it felt like I didn’t have any time in between them, they admitted me into one of the rooms. I asked if I could get into the birthing pool but they said as I was only 3cm it might slow down labour but I pushed for it so they said they’d fill the pool up slightly and I could get in. I was also using gas and air by this point. As soon as I got in the pool I felt a huge relief, not necessarily a pain relief but it felt nice being able to float and relieve the pressure. I kept saying I had the urge to push and asked the midwife to examine me again which she did at 4pm, to her surprise I was now 8cm and she said I could give in on the urge to push down which felt so much better. She also said I could now have the bath completely filled up. My contractions were so close together there was barely a break between them, I tried to use the gas and air still but I was concentrating on my breathing through the contractions and it didn’t feel like there was much time to use it. I felt the pressure of the baby moving down and the midwife said the baby was 'stuck' in my birth canal, but I could really feel the head moving up and down. The midwife kept monitoring the baby so I knew they were okay so felt confident in just letting my body do its job. The midwife kept telling me to push, to the point I actually asked her to stop, I couldn’t understand how I was mean to push if my body wasn’t doing it automatically.

Towards the end I felt my body turning with every contraction so I was completely floating in the water. Once the head was finally birthed it then took two more contractions and the baby was in the water. She was born at 4.56pm, I sat back, completely in shock about what had just happened, I’d asked that I got the baby out of the water but I honestly had no idea what was going on so the midwife picked the baby out and put her on my chest. It took a while for the first cry but her eyes were open and she was moving so it wasn’t a panic.

It turns out the reason she was 'stuck' was because she was born with her arm up over her head, my midwife said given how she came out I’d probably need to go over to the ward to be stitched but when she checked I had a tiny tear that only needed a couple of stitches and I strongly believe that this is because I allowed my body to do it slowly, bit by bit rather than forcefully pushing her out.

Although I found it painful I absolutely loved my birth process and couldn’t believe what my body had done! I look back on it really positively and am very grateful for the information on the birth process that Terri taught us as I genuinely believe it was the reason I had the birth I’d hoped for! I knew what was happening and had the confidence to trust my body to do the rest."

This is a great example of how having knowledge of physiological birth, and knowledge of the maternity system and how it works, can really help you to navigate your journey to get the birth that you want. Knowing you can say no to things, knowing you can request things regardless of guidelines. Knowledge is power! You can find out more about my Hypnobirthing course on my free Introduction to Hypnobirthing on 29th January at 7pm, or take the leap and sign up to my next group Hypnobirthing course starting on March 26th in Newquay. www.cornwallhypnobirthing.co.uk/book-online