Pain-Free Birth! My Hypnobirthing Experience

Throughout my first pregnancy I heard a common theme from most of the mothers I came in contact with. It wasn't that I would love being a mom or that having a child is one of the best experiences anyone could have. To my surprise, these mothers told me that I would experience the worst pain in my life while giving birth to my baby. That my dreams of having a natural birth with no epidural or pain medications would go flying out the window once I began to feel the intensity of the contractions. These women completely dismissed my hopes and dreams of having a natural unmedicated birth because of their own experiences.

As you can imagine, this was neither helpful nor uplifting to hear during my pregnancy. I was discouraged that these women were not supporting me. I wanted them to tell me that I could do anything I put my mind to and that I didn't have to experience birth or pain the way they did because everyone is different. So what was my response to all this? I just simply told them that I hadn't thought that far ahead yet (which was the truth) BUT I did know that I was determined to not take any pain medications.

By the time I was 7 months, I figured it was time to buckle down and figure out how I was going to achieve my goal of having a natural unmedicated birth. After hours of online research, I came upon hypnobirthing which is a program that considers the psychological as well as physical well-being of the mother. Hypnobirthing is a “childbirth education course that emphasizes natural childbirth and teaches self-hypnosis techniques to combat fear and pain during labor.” It uses deep breathing techniques as well as positive affirmations and visualization in order to assist you in having the birth experience you desire. This absolutely resonated with me!

Hypnobirthing is a method that helps you shift your perspective on birth from one of fear, pain, and agony to that of relaxation, control over oneself, and trusting the process as a natural part of life. Instead of the word “contraction” it use the word “surge” or “wave”. Brilliant! As each one comes you imagine riding the wave of the ocean, allowing it to flow through you. I felt like this was the perfect method for me to use in order to have the birth I envisioned. I downloaded and printed everything that I could find on hypnobirthing. I found a book online and the visualization scripts to go with it. These scripts were amazing! They were designed to help keep you calm and bring you into a meditative state (or self-hypnosis). I listened to these relaxation scripts every night before bed and visualized the birth that I wanted to experience. Birthing videos on YouTube were also very helpful during this time. I found a couple videos of home water births that inspired me and watched them several times thinking each time "I'm going to be just like her. I will remain calm and trust that my body will do exactly what it was designed to do”. I began writing my birth plan on paper and discussing it with my partner. I made sure to discuss it with my OBGYN and she was also on board. She even made comments such as "I know you're going to be great" which helped validate everything that I was doing. I was extremely excited and had very high hopes.

I worked at my job up until the day before I was due. Throughout my pregnancy I was working as a recreational assistant, so I stayed active the entire time. I even ran/walked the L.A. marathon with my mother when I was 5 months pregnant. (I do not advise anyone novice runner to try this. I had prior experience with this being my 4th marathon.) All this to say that when I went it in for my last appointment on my estimated due date I was already 3 centimeters dilated! My OBGYN was surprised that I hadn’t felt any pain or contractions. During this appointment we discovered that my amniotic fluid was low. Due to this, she suggested that I come to the hospital that day to be induced. Now induction was NOT in the plan. So I asked her “what if I don’t go in today?” She explained to me that if I didn’t go to the hospital that day I would have to come back every day thereafter to check my fluid levels and check that baby is okay. My partner and I (mostly him) were worried about the risk involved in waiting and decided to go to the hospital that day.

Since I had not felt any surges yet, I decided to take my time before going in. I went home and took a shower, I ate some food (this was important since I knew I was not going to be able to eat at the hospital), and made sure I had everything packed in my birth bag. When I finally arrived at the hospital, the nurses immediately had me lie down in the bed, inserted the IV, began giving me Pitocin to induce labor, and hooked up the fetal monitor to my stomach. None of this was in my birth plan. But I made the most of my situation. I was lying down in bed for hours while listening to my hypnobirthing scripts so I was in a very relaxed/sleepy state for the first part of my labor. A few hours passed and I was no longer comfortable laying down in bed. I found myself continually asking the nurse if I could get up and use my birthing ball to make sure my labor progressed. Finally after numerous times of asking they said yes! I used my birthing ball for a while my partner massaged my back. After that, I sat in the rocking chair where I continued to talk to my family pausing every few minutes to take deep long breaths during each surge.

After a while, the nurse came back in and asked what my pain level was from 1 to 10. I told her I was about a 5 (with the marathon being my worst pain at a 10). The doctor came in shortly after to check how far dilated I was and to everyone’s surprise I was eight centimeters. Everyone in the room was amazed at how well I was handling the pain or pressure as I perceived it, and began asking me questions about how I prepared for my labor. I was so excited to share my experience of hypnobirthing with them! I knew that this experience was unique to them and I wanted them to share my story with other mothers or other people in their profession. Within the next hour and only a few pushes, I gave birth to my beautiful daughter.

I can honestly say that I had an amazing birthing experience. It wasn't what you see on TV or in movies, and it wasn't what I had heard from many of the women during my pregnancy. It was calm, soothing, and PAIN FREE! Yes I said it PAIN FREE. Instead of pain I felt pressure just as hypnobirthing teaches you to perceive it. This experience has propelled me into my current profession as a birth and postpartum doula. I want to share my story with everyone, especially those who are pregnant or plan to be pregnant in the future. Women empowering and supporting other women is the goal! Labor doesn't have to be the worst pain that you ever experience in your life. It can be magical, it can be life-altering, empowering, and the most amazing and positive experience that you'll ever have! Believe in yourself, trust your body, and trust birth!