Hypnobirthing in review (Marie Mongan Method)

It's been a month since D-Day and I thought I'd do a post birth post about my birth experience using Hypnobirthing. I came across Hypnobirthing when I started researching methods by which I could achieve a natural birth that was drug free and hopefully pain free as well. I talked about doing it 'natural and drug free' with Matthew's birth but in hindsight I didn't do much aside from pre-natal yoga and acupuncture to prepare me for a drug free (albeit persistent posterior) birth. So this time round I was much more motivated to achieving this goal and knew exactly the type of birth experience I'd wanted for Maya. My research into natural child birth and water births also brought me in contact with one of the most (if not the most) recognized pro-natural/pro-choice obstetricians in Singapore - Dr Lai FM, Ginny Phang of Four Trimesters and the lovely staff at Mt Alvernia. Both Ginny and Dr Lai were present for the first water births in Mt. A and NUH (National University Hospital). To understand why I went to these lengths to locate Dr Lai and Ginny, you'll have to keep in mind that caesarean rates are presently more than a third of all births and episiotomies are practiced in nearly all natural births in Singapore. Finding pro-natural/pro-choice obstetric care in Singapore is a rarity and finding the right support and being able to trust that they will respect your decision and wishes is an important part of the process.

I decided to take Hypnobirthing (or Calmbirth as it is also known in Australia) classes after meeting Ginny who teaches classes and having a chat to her about the type of birth experience I'd wanted. Ginny had been recommended to me by Dr Lai who I'd been seeing for since I was 6 weeks pregnant. I'd seen her Tedx and birth videos on YouTube and was suitably convinced that a 'Hypno water birth' was exactly what I was after. Hypnobirthing seemed to take the most calm and gentle approach to child birth. Quite a lot of the literature and foundation of Hypnobirthing is intended to purge your mind of any fear associated with child birth. It is widely accepted that FEAR creates tension which then creates PAIN when thus creates more FEAR and the cycle continues... It works on premise that the birthing mum prepare for comfortable easy birth through self hypnosis, relaxation and visualization. It does however also state quite clearly that it does not promise a pain free birth rather, when a mother is deeply relaxed child birth need not necessarily be painful and have shorter labours.

How does this differ from the information dished out at antenatal classes run my midwives everywhere? well it does go beyond just telling the Mother to remember to breath through the contractions.  To get to this state of relaxation and to work on removing any lingering fear I may have had subconsciously I dutifully read my Hypnobirthing book, attended classes and spent weeks listening to two hypnobirthing recordings - birth 'affirmations' and 'rainbow relaxation' (from the Marie Mongan Institute). The affirmations track spoke of releasing/removing fear associated with child birth, looking forward to the birth of my baby, about birthing easily etc. The second track guided the listener through approximately 20 mins of breathing and self-relaxation for which I can only remember the first few minutes, the rest is blur. For some reason, without fail I'd fall asleep while listening and wake as soon as the track ended, apparently it's very common and is also a sign that at a conscious level I might have nodded off, my subconscious was still at work. I listened to the same two tracks most nights before bedtime as this is when the mind is supposed to be most receptive. 

Was my labour short and not necessarily painful? Yes, my labour was very very short. I don't think my labour could be considered truly precipitous (less than 3 hours from start of labour to birth) as I did have contractions which began the day before Maya was born but could not feel them so I'm not sure whether they count? As to child birth being pain free, some women speak of the surges (that's the other thing, contractions are called 'surges' in hypnobirthing) as being very intense but not painful, I'd like to call a spade a spade, yes, during birth I experienced pain especially during transition but it was manageable pain.

Was my birth fear free? Yes. Maya birth was approached with much excitement and anticipation and joy. I certainly felt confident and relaxed as D-Day approached. It was often commented by friends and family how relaxed and laid back both Duncan and I were about Maya's birth and how 'prepared' we were. But the reality was that the only preparation needed was to simply accept that birth is a natural and a beautiful miracle rather than a medical event. We often talked (and I visualised) about how easy the birth was going to be, little did I know at the time that Maya would literally pop out. The only time fear or worry crept into my mind was when we had to decide when and whether to head to the hospital. I did not want Maya born somewhere between the apartment and the hospital. 

Did it work for me? Well I think my birth experience with Maya speaks for itself. For the most part, for the parts which I was able to labour on my own and put into practice the weeks and weeks of breathing and relaxation conditioning I was perfectly comfortable. It was hard to maintain relaxation and focus while moving around from the apartment to the car to the hospital, in hindsight we should have probably head to the hospital a tad earlier or had Maya at home.

Is birthing easy? Yes, the way nature intended it to be, intervention free and drug free. I do acknowledge that in some cases medical intervention is required, but this does not mean that birthing is not easy and the birthing experience need be a negative one because of it. Matthew's birth is a perfect example of this, quite different from Maya's (synthetic oxytocin/pitocin, epidural and episiotomy) but a wonderful cherished experience nonetheless. The best part about an easy natural birth is a quick recovery and being able to bond immediately with Maya and the benefits of skin to skin is well documented. I was up and about within hours and discharged from the hospital the next day. By the 3rd day I was out grocery shopping with Maya.

Would I use hypnobirthing again? Yes. Although I must give credit to the support of Dr Lai and Ginny in helping me carry out my birth plan. Besides feeling confident and relaxed about birthing, the added side effect I've found from using the relaxation tracks is that falling asleep after Maya's nocturnal feeds is much quicker and the end result is a much more relaxed and less sleep deprived mother during the day!

Maya's Birth Story

This is the birth story of our daughter Maya Elizabeth Bradey, our beautiful bundle of loveliness and little sister to Matthew. She's a standout especially compared to all the Singaporean black bushy haired babies. Maya is pink skinned with blonde fuzzy peach hair all over and barely there fluffy brown hair on top.

Her birth was super fast,  Duncan and I still can't believe it went so quickly. The day before (Mon 5/9) I had an OB appointment with Dr Lai FM and an exam showed that my cervix was nice and soft and 2.5cm dilated. Essentially ripe for birth very soon, both Duncan and I had discussed over the previous days that we would agree to a sweep of the membranes as a natural form of induction if the conditions were favorable, which they were (Bishop Score 7) After Dr Lai did a quick sweep I was sent to have CTG monitoring at his clinic. Over breakfast and a paper, the CTG result showed that I was experiencing contractions or surges 9-10 mins apart 90 sec duration, Dr Lai's last words as we leave is 'I'll probably see you soon'. As I  couldn't feel any surges, Dunc headed to work and I went on my day doing grocery shopping, picked Matty up from school, did laundry, dishes and what not. Dunc took the afternoon off work to make sure that if anything did happen he would be near.

At 6am the day Maya was born (6/9) I woke up feeling mild surges 3-4 mins apart 50 sec duration. Even though they were close they were not intense so I didnt think much of it. I went and had a shower and got ready but didn't wake Dunc to tell him till 710am that I was in pre-labour. Dunc tells me I should ring Ginny my doula to let her know. I'd hesitated ringing as the surges were not uncomfortable, but in hindsight I'm glad I made the call. I rang Ginny to update her as to what was happening at 712am but told her they were not intense, she asked if I could keep her updated as to what we would like to do next. At this stage I could still chat on the phone and even got on Skype to wish my sister a happy birthday thinking that it was the 7/9 :). While leaving a message to my sister, the surges suddenly got more intense so I tell Dunc to get the car packed and Matty ready to head to the hospital. Thankfully I'd called Ginny as at 737am I receive a text message from her saying that she'd rung ahead and called the hospital to reserve birthing suite 1 for me, knowing my desire to birth in the water, suite 1 is the only room in the hospital with a birthing tub - but it was in use. We decide to leave for the hospital anyway and by the time we head out the door it is nearly 800am. On the way out while waiting for the lift, I have a really strong surge and the two people already inside the lift hold the doors open for me long enough for my surge to end before stepping in.  Needless to say it's an awkward lift ride to the basement carpark.

The car ride to the hospital is uncomfortable to begin with, but I  after a couple more intense surges i realise that if i made a conscious effort to put into practice the hours and hours of hypnobirthing conditioning I'd put in to prepare for this day the surges were far more bareable. Dunc later tells me that he could see that I appeared to be in less pain and discomfort as I slipped quietly into a state of relaxation. We arrive at the hospital at 815am but the valet parking service isn't available till 830am so Dunc drops me off while I wait with the security guy in a wheelchair so that he can park the car and get the bags and Matthew out. Neither of us at this stage had any idea how close we were to Maya's arrival and I continue to labor in my state of relaxation, oblivious to my surrounding and strangely incapable of speech. Security guy wheels me up to the Maternity ward while Dunc carries Matthew and the hospital bags. Because Ginny had rung in advance, they were able to anticipate our arrival and we skip past the ward reception and park the 3 of us and our numerous bags at the lounges outside suite 1, which fortunately by this time is vacant and being prepped. We'd packed for the labor suite, one for my hospital stay, one full of snacks, one full of diapers and wipes & change of clothes including swimmers for the birth tub for Duncan and Matthew - my intention had always been to birth Maya in the water.  I tell Dunc to pass my iPod to me so I can listen to my relaxation tracks when Ginny arrives. Dunc holds my hand while I experience 2 more strong surges, Ginny reminds me to breathe. I recall thinking to myself that the lounges look more comfy than the wheel chair i'm sat in and wonder if I any one would mind if i continue laboring on all fours on the lounge instead. The surges are now at it's peak intensity as I continue to labor quietly. At 830am, Dunc wheels me in and somehow manages to settle Matthew into a chair in the corner of the room and I think someone lends Dunc a hand with all our baggage. Ginny starts preparing the bath immediately (she later tells me that she had the taps on full and by the time Maya us born the tub is only a quarter filled) and comes back to massage my back. Ginny then asks if after the next surge whether I can get on the bed so that the midwives can conduct the routine admission monitoring, she gets my bottoms off and I crawl up on the bed on all fours. The first thing I remember doing is sinking down on the pillows to try to ease off the intensity on my cervix but instead I feel this enormous pressure to bare down and my waters break all over the freshly made bed. I hear someone say 'her waters just broke' and the next thing I feel is Maya's head descending. The next thing I hear is Duncan's voice saying ...'the baby is crowning'

Ginny later tells me that there was no warning, there was no bulging that typically tells her that the head is descending. The midwife and Ginny ask if I can turn on my side, and all 3 (with by now stunned little Matthew observing) help me to my side. With the next surge, the top of her head emerges then the rest of her head, the midwife tells me not to push and to breathe and I managed to reply 'not pushing' (in Hypnobirthing there is no need to push rather you rely on you own body's natural expulsive reflex) I had my eyes squeezed shut without realizing so, while holding on to Ginny's hand, for me Maya's birth seemed to be like one long very intense surge and her whole body was out. Maya is passed to me for immediate skin to skin contact so that bonding can continue. I hold her for the next couple of hours during which time Dunc excitedly makes calls to family back home in Australia, I attempt to breastfeed and Matthew who took a little while to get over the shock of the birth is introduced formally to his new Baby Sister.

Dr Lai arrived 25 mins after birth to cut the cord, complete the 3rd stage and stitch my tear which I'm told is smooth and will heal quickly. I have no idea how many stitches I needed only that the entire process took longer than the delivery.

I finally agree to let go of Maya long enough for her to be weighed and measured some 2 hours later. She weighed 3.4kg, 50cm in length with a head circumference of 34cm - just perfect.

Due to Maya's speedy and uncomplicated delivery I was up and about within a couple of hours after birth and with our doctor's clearance we were both discharge from hospital the very next day.

Follow-up post available here