Our hypnobirthing stories...

Welcome to one of the largest online collections of positive birth stories!

Dip into this page often to help inspire you and foster a positive expectation... See also our positive induction and caesarean stories.

Plus check out our reviews on google and facebook

This is a really long page as we now have so many stories! Use the links below to save your scrolling finger

stories 0 - 12
stories 13 - 25
stories 26 - 38
stories 39 - 50
stories 51 - 67 - NEW!

1. Nina, Berlin...

"I tried your program before the birth of my son. I listened to the affirmations throughout the birth and had no pain whatsoever... Only panicked once whenever my headphones stopped working properly! I delivered my son in 4 hours, the hospital staff here in Berlin were amazed about my calmness and I said no to all medications - not because I wanted to be brave but because it really did not hurt at all. I am recommending you to all pregnant ladies I know! Thank you so so much :)"


2. Stephanie, Launceston

"Just thought I'd let you know our baby boy arrived yesterday. I was so confident and looking forward to birth thanks to hypnobirthing. Although we didn't manage to make it to Penrice and ended up having an unexpected home birth, it was a lovely experience. Breathing techniques helped and it felt like my body took over and pushed him out for me! Just wanted to say thankyou for being part of making this a different experience for me. Here is baby Noah, born yesterday at 14:18 weighing 7lbs 14.5oz"



3. Sarah, Penryn

"I had a very positive labour and home birth of my second child after taking Alice's hypnobirthing course. I practised the pregnancy relaxation and other tracks during my pregnancy until 34 weeks most days, usually at bedtime and then the birth preparation track everyday. I really enjoyed my time doing this-20 minutes of me time when I really relaxed, became mindful and felt positive about the birth.

I had some anxieties based on my first labour but these were always calmed by practising hypnobirthing and I actually looked forward to giving birth and had confidence in my body's ability to do it.

When I went into active labour I put the birth affirmations on my ipod, felt immediately relaxed and kept them on throughout as I moved around and stayed active. When the contractions became stronger and longer I really focused on what Alice was saying, on relaxing my whole body and breathing through each contraction. With each in breath I said to myself "I am strong" and with each outbreath "I let go and relax". It helped to focus my mind on the current contraction and nothing else, and see each contraction as a positive thing bringing me closer to the birth of my baby.

I got into the birth pool just before transition and we put the affirmations on out loud on the laptop. I found transition and second stage hard work but I think because I had been so relaxed during labour my body knew what to do and Agnes Trevenen was born very quickly after a couple of pushes into the water.

The whole experience of being at home, practising active labour moving around the house/the garden/having a bath, and the focus on the breath and positive birth affirmations made it an incredible, moving experience. I would recommend Alice's hypnobirthing course to any pregnant person."

4. Jo, Newquay

"My waters broke on Sunday afternoon (on the beach!) but I had no contractions. I called the emergency number who advised to come in and check all is ok with baby.

I went to Treliske that evening and all was well. The monitor showed some contractions but as I was so calm and happy the midwife said she wouldn't need to examine me. I was booked in for an induction the next day just in case labour didn't happen naturally and sent home. That night I slept perfectly.

5. Charlotte, London

"I had a wonderful birth all natural, no medication or intervention and quick. I wouldn't say it was painless but it was totally manageable and an amazing euphoric experience in all. Once we got into the hospital I listened to Alice's tape on my ipod and it really helped me to keep calm and block out the outside world and distractions and just relax and let my body do what it needed to do. The midwife said it was the best birth she had ever seen and none of them could believe how quick it was or how calm and quiet I was.

Before becoming pregnant I was terrified of the thought of giving birth and was going to opt for an elective caesarean. I am so glad I didn't as I would have missed out on an amazing experience of natural birth.

Alice's online course was amazing. It was very clear and simple. With bits to read about great births, explaining the birth process and little videos. The mp3s were all set out well and she tells you what ones to listen to when. I really put in the work and listened to them lots and read about natural births to understand it all."


6. Martina, Germany...

"The audio files with Alice's very soothing voice helped me to relax, and internalize the process I and my baby would be going through as well as the core messages and affirmations, which I could remember during the first phase of labour.

The videos gave me and my partner a practical idea how it could look like and 'we can do that' - feeling which actually gave us the confidence to try out a home birth and it really worked.

I must say that for a first time mother, I still found it hard to imagine how surges feel... When they finally came, I was able to breathe very controlled and to keep focus and patience throughout the 15 hours and never thinking of painkillers or other supports, but only about how I could help my baby to gently but finally make her way out- I even was so trusting and relaxed that I snoozed off several times in the active labor phase (incl in the birth pool).

Our baby kept her heart rate super stable throughout the whole time which we all, including the midwives, would attribute to my constant regular breathing. In any case, hypnobirthing has definitely prepared and encouraged me to have a self-determined natural birth and to know / confirm my instincts about what is good for my baby and me during birth, and allowed her a good start in this life. Thank you very much for that!"


7. Harriet, Helston... 

"Just wanted to email and let you know that yesterday (30:11:2016) I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy, baby girl at Helston Birth Unit; I was lucky enough to deliver in the pool as planned.

It was the most incredible experience of my life and this is mainly due to the Hypnobirthing course I did with you. I cannot recommend you and your work enough!

Labour was 12 hours from my waters breaking naturally, to baby being born and I did it all with absolutely no pain relief! I am beyond proud of what we achieved! And I can safely say before meeting you it's something I never thought possible.

Baby and I are both doing so well. Thanks again Alice. I couldn't have done it without you!"




8. Rose, Brighton...

"Thanks so much for your great resources, my birth went as well as I could have hoped, and really was an amazing experience: a six hour, calm home birth 

I had lots going on during my pregnancy including the serious illness of a family member, and had been worried that I hadn't been able to focus enough on my birth preparation for it to make a difference, but I'm convinced that the amount that I did manage practice really helped. 

I had your birth affirmations playing throughout my labour, and found it invaluable in keeping me focused and relaxed ('accepting the sensations', 'handing control over to my body', keeping my body as 'floppy as a ragdoll'!) The midwives even commented on how relaxed I had been: they didn't examine me until I was already 10cms dilated, and the baby arrived about 20 minutes later - I gave one push and then just kept breathing and out he came in a few minutes! 

I feel completely empowered by the whole experience, and I think about it often in my day to day life with a smile. I really think I will draw on the mental and physical resources I now know I have to get me through other challenges in my life in the future. My little boy, Rio, is also a very tranquil little soul and he's already sleeping through the night (at 11 weeks!) which might have something to do with his gentle arrival, who knows?!"




9. Hannah, Camborne...

"Elsie was a week early and it all happened incredibly quickly. My waters broke around Sunday lunchtime and I was 9cm dilated by the time the midwife arrived at around 6pm.

No pain relief at all and pushed for 4 hours but she wasn't budging. It turned out she was face up so unfortunately I had to get transferred to hospital for a spinal and forceps delivery.

10. Sara, Southampton...

"I just wanted to share my birth story of my second son, as I found hypnobirthing to be such a positive experience. 

After the birth of my first son (now 3 years old) I felt out of control and quite traumatised. I had a lot of fear about giving birth again. 

My best friend, Zoë, had tried your hypnobirthing course very successfully, so I thought I would give it a go, and I’m so pleased I did.

At 37 weeks + 5 days I started having quite regular contractions around 3pm, which became more frequent and intense over the next few hours. 

I hadn’t had as much time as I had hoped to practice the hypnobirthing tracks or visualisations, although Zoë advised that any practice was more than I had previously had and would be useful during labour and birth! 

In particular, during the early stage of labour, Zoë had reminded me about a balloon visualisation, which I hadn’t previously practised, but I can honestly say was the key thing that really helped me work through the contractions... I imagined with each contraction that I was blowing up different coloured balloons for my 3 year old’s next birthday party! This took me to a completely different “world” in my head and I really felt my body take over as I was able to release myself from my “thinking brain” (something I struggled to do with the last birth). My husband was surprised that I was pretty silent for the majority of my labour!

I decided it was time to head to the birth centre about 9:30pm, and felt very close to needing to push by the time we arrived. We walked in and I clocked the time at just after 10pm. 

I’m sure the midwife thought I wasn’t as close as I was to giving birth, as she took a very relaxed approach, most likely because I was very calm. 

I started the hypnobirthing tracks once I got into the triage room and felt very confident and not at all self-conscious, with playing the tracks and also the position I wanted to be in. 

Within a few minutes, the midwife checked and I was 9cm dilated – I couldn’t believe I had managed all those contractions with just visualisations and the birthing tracks! What a relief! 

A couple more minutes later and I felt the urge to push/bear down. The midwife telephoned for an additional midwife to help with the delivery. 

Four pushes later and Michael Jenson Jörg flew into the world at 10:47pm, weighing 7lbs 3oz, with no tearing and very limited gas and air! Needless to say, I didn’t get out of the triage room and the additional midwife missed the birth!

Overall, I felt that hypnobirthing gave me an unforgettable (positive) birth experience. I was so much more aware of my body, and trusted what it could do in order to deliver my baby. I went into labour with much less fear about giving birth, and I felt prepared and ready, as well as in control. 

I can vividly remember having skin-to- skin time with Michael and feeling incredibly proud of myself!

Thank you for offering this amazing course – I will be sharing my experience and recommending yourself and hypnobirthing to friends and family in the future!"




11. Natalie, St Agnes...

"I had the most amazing labour and birth. Trixie was born at home in the pool on 22nd March. Your hypnobirthing class created a mindset that allowed me to believe that birth was natural and my body would know what to do... and it did!  The MP3s really reaffirmed this. I was not afraid during any part and used the breathing techniques and active birth/yoga positioning to support a calm delivery.

My waters started to trickle at 2am and I went back to sleep eventually, for a couple of hours in between contractions that were every 5 minutes. We then got up and called the midwife at 8am. She came to check me at 11.30am and I was 3cm and fully effaced. She came back at 2.30pm and I was 7cm so got in the pool. What a relief it was to get in as it felt wonderful. With a bit of gas and air, she was born at 4.49pm in the water. A truly amazing experience.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you for your inspiring hypnobirthing class and your wise pearls of wisdom within.  Your teachings really resonated with me and I know you have made such a difference to the labour and birth of our gorgeous little girl (a surprise as everyone tried to convince me I was carrying a boy!)"

12. Lian, Zambia...

"Having been supported by Alice through the birth of our first son we knew we would contact her again when we were expecting our next!

We are currently based in Zambia but I returned home (to my parents house) to Cornwall at 36 weeks and it was a delight to once again 'check in' with Alice.

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13. Tania, Retanna... 

14. Kerry, Bath...

"I found your website about midway through my pregnancy (after trying a few different hypnobirthing practitioners, yours was the only voice I liked listening to!)

I started to practice as much as I could, although time was a factor, so it was mostly me falling asleep to your voice each night.

In my last two months of pregnancy, my husband got involved and we started working through what I would need from him during the birth, and also what he would be able to do. He wasn't too comfortable practising saying the mantras / affirmations, he said it felt too staged! - But we went through them anyway, and even set up the room I wanted to give birth in (we planned a home birth) getting out the yoga mats and bean bags and made sure the music would play on our sound system!

So when the day arrived we were ready! My waters broke at 7am, and light contractions started soon after. We spent the day relaxing, walking around and setting up our living room. By late afternoon the contractions were pretty regular and we had our hypnobirthing music playing - 40 minutes on repeat, and my husband seeing to my every need. By 7pm I was 3cm dilated.

It took all of my concentration to remember my breathing, imagine my womb relaxing and contracting, and trying not to get too excited and tense up at the thought my baby girl was almost here!

By this point we had moved to our bedroom and left our planned living room as I preferred the small dark space upstairs to the large open one of downstairs.

My husband barely left my side after this as the contractions were becoming quite intense, and having him near me, holding my hand and talking to me just made everything so much easier.

By 10pm I was 7cm dilated but I felt ready to push, so to get those last few cms open I had to walk around my bedroom, this took me out of my 'zone' that I was in, but my husband was with me every step of the way, and our little girl was born with just 3 pushes, at home on our bed, at 10.50 pm.

I know at some point during the labour I was offered some medication, but I was so far in the zone the only person I could respond to was my husband, and he knew I was doing just great without it.

And I know I couldn't have done so well without him, or the music! The music and affirmations on repeat is something my husband would be quite happy never listening to again after hearing it on repeat for about 7 or 8 hours(!) but it played a huge part of my birthing experience and I'm ever so grateful to you Alice and your course - that enabled us to have that wonderful experience.

Thank you so much xxx

15. Lauren, Yorkshire...

"At the beginning of my pregnancy I became a bit panicked when people spoke about the birth. I researched hypnobirthing and decided to give it a try. Within a few weeks of starting the programme I already felt more relaxed about the birth.

16. Judith, Truro...

"The labour was 24 hours long, beginning at 4am on my due date. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep so woke up then to start managing the contractions with breathing techniques. The contractions were very irregular, with some as close as 3 mins apart and others 10 or 15. This lasted all day and I was able to use hypnobirthing to cope easily with this. As evening drew on I was more anxious about the length of the labour and about going into hospital. I noticed that whenever I was anxious the contractions slowed right down and then when i relaxed again they would speed up. I felt that my mind and mood were very much affecting this. At 9pm we decided to go to hospital, because I was just a bit bored and anxious at home and was hoping things would move on.
 
When we got there, the delivery suite was completely full so we were on the downstairs ward. This was not ideal at all because it was a shared room with lots of noise and too much light. I continued to use my breathing techniques successfully but the contractions still weren't regular. Eventually we moved into the bathroom and with the door shut and nice and peaceful, I really relaxed into it and things started moving along very quickly then.

The hypnobirthing breathing was absolutely essential as I moved towards transition and the contractions got really fast. Just when I doubted my ability to cope, the midwife brought gas and air at just the right time. The delivery suite was still full and I couldn't go upstairs! I think the midwives doubted how well I was progressing, until I got on the toilet and felt the urge to push! Then I was rushed upstairs very quickly and into the delivery suite. It was quite exhilarating then,as the pushing sensation wasn't nearly as painful as the contractions, I quite enjoyed it with the gas and air!

Lucy was born quite quickly with maybe 10-20 mins of pushing, and I really let go and had no fear thanks to my knowledge of the expulsive reflex. She came out 'in the caul' and it was all very straightforward. She is now feeding well and very settled after only 11 days.

I am so grateful for the techniques you helped us with. Ian was able to support me through the difficult contractions, and help me to breathe into them. Next time I will definitely have a home birth because being relaxed is so important! But I have to say the staff at Treliske were very supportive of our need to be left alone, and they didn't once try to offer me anything I didn't want."

 
17. Stacy, Penzance...

"I'm just writing to thank you for all your help during our hypnotherapy sessions and to tell you how fantastic it was! Baby Ohran is now 6 weeks old and the birth went so well. After being strongly advised to have that cesaerean, I delivered him naturally in three hours. He weighed 9lb 6oz which is a lot smaller than we expected although he was very long!

The hypnobirthing was absolutely incredible. As soon as we arrived at the hospital, we set the room out the way we had planned - battery operated candles, deep purple throws, birthing ball, our chosen smells (spiced vanilla), the Calmtime CD and the blinds closed. We made sure the midwife was aware that we were hypnobirthing and she was very supportive. I hardly made a sound throughout the labour, which I spent on all fours on the floor with my birth partner, and my throws and blankets from home, and when Ohran arrived, he was very calm and content. Even when I was about to start pushing I remember thinking how easy the labour was! We had a completely natural third stage too as we discussed and it was perfect.

Ohran is still a very contented and happy baby and I really believe the birth we had is a contributing factor. The midwife attending said it was one of the best births she has ever witnessed. It really was one of the most beautiful and amazing things I have ever experienced, a complete contrast to my last two births!

Thank you again for all your help and support, without it our birth would have been a completely different story!!!"

[Addendum]

"I had another baby 12 months and 1 day after Ohran was born... A little girl named Winnie-Rae who was born in an hour on Christmas day.... We chose a home birth after the success of Ohran's birth and we once again hypnobirthed. It was absolutely beautiful! So thank you again for totally transforming my birthing experience twice!" 

19. Kately, Falmouth...

"I just wanted to tell you that little Adora-Day arrived on August 25th weighing 7lb 7.5 oz.

I began having period pain like feelings after having a show at 4:30 in the morning, and by 7:00 am I began thinking they were contractions!

At ten thirty I was having three in ten minutes so we called the midwife for her to tell me I was 5-6 cm dilated. I couldn't believe it!

I had your affirmations MP3 on continually throughout, and concentrated on the breathing.

Matt got the birth pool filled up pretty swiftly and I got in when the sensations were getting harder to breathe through. It felt so incredible in the water.

After a few more hours our little girl arrived safely in the pool at 15:05 and Matt caught her on her way out!

The hypnobirthing mindset and techniques really really worked so well, I was concentrating on breathing so much and relaxing as much as possible I didn't even have a paracetamol" Thank you so much for your lessons and online course, I'll be recommending hypnobirthing to everyone!"

20. Vicky, Mawgan...

I wanted to share my birth story, as I am sure it would have very different without your hypnobirthing support.

As a first time mum I was really keen to clue up on anything I could do to make the labour manageable. I began hypnobirthing practice at about 28 weeks after signing up to your online course.

First thing Tuesday morning my waters broke, so I thought I'd have some time to get things tidy and prepped and for Simon to set up my birth space, or at least the space at home before we headed to the birth centre.

No such luck! I just about managed a shower before pains started at 2 min intervals and lasting a minute (from nothing). Headed to the birth centre straight away (option 1 of 2 because they have a pool), and only five minutes away.

Annoyingly, the birth pool room was being decorated, so that was off the plan. After they examined me to see what kind of time we had to work with (see if I could get to Winchester to a pool) we found that I was 8cm...and not going anywhere!

So I ended up hypnobirthing without water... At the birth centre. I seemed to whizz through the first phase in about an hour. Then pushed for a long time- initially only 'bearing down' but then having to actively push because of baby's position. James was back to back, which was challenging. I had gas and air, and a great team of midwives who worked with me to prevent an emergency transfer to Winchester.

Thanks to my hypnobirthing practice I was able to be calm even when my birth plan went to pieces, and felt much more in control of the situation. The whole thing was so quick, the only thing that made it to the birth was my phone (playing the birth affirmations tracks) and a hanky with lavender oil on it (oh and some jelly babies!) so my birth space was portable :-)

I really feel that all of the preparation and time spent practising breathing and working on my own affirmations allowed me to face a very different labour to what I had envisaged. Thank you for introducing me to hypnobirthing! Xx"

22. Jo, Falmouth...

"As soon as she was born it was amazing"

"I was 41 weeks + 4 days when my waters broke at 4.30am. I woke my husband up (who was overjoyed to not have to go in to work that day), got back in to bed with a packet of chocolate digestives and waited. Nothing was really happening by about 6.30am, so, perched on a big pile of towels (I was still losing quite a lot of fluid), we went to Mcdonalds to pick up some breakfast and fill up on calories.

I visited the midwife at about 11.30am, who just confirmed my waters had broken and that my blood pressure was slightly elevated. She contacted the midwife on call who said she would come to us once things were progressing.

It wasn't until about 1.30pm that the contractions started, but there was no slow build up or 'niggles' that you hear of. They started really strong and regular - only about 3 minutes apart.

By the time the midwife turned up at about 6.30pm, I was struggling to cope and nothing really helped. The speed and ferocity of the contractions convinced me that I must be pretty well dilated, and was disappointed to find out I was only 3cm when she examined me and "not even in labour!"

On top of that my blood pressure was way too high, so she had to call an ambulance to transfer me to Treliske. She was really apologetic and felt terrible I couldn't stay at home as planned, but I was relieved in a way as I knew I was going to need some pain relief.

They gave me some gas and air in the ambulance which helped for a couple of contractions but then the sensations changed. The intensity went up to a whole new level in the ambulance. This is apparently when I "went into labour", and the gas and air did nothing at all.

I'm guessing because I was only 3cm at home, they thought there wouldn't be much happening for a while. They didn't examine me when I got to hospital, but the midwife when I arrived on delivery suite commented on the strength of the contractions.

One contraction was massive and pushed down really strongly. The midwife asked if I wanted to push and I said yes, but it wasn't a matter of having the urge to push, my body was just doing it.

She said she was just going to have a quick check, and was surprised to find the baby's head pretty much ready to come out. So I pushed and there she was... Astraya Willow Speed. I was in labour for about 1 hour 45 mins. No tearing!!!!

As soon as she was born it was amazing. I felt like nothing had happened - no pain, no exhaustion, just got right up and had some tea and toast and a bath. The midwives were amazed. It was less traumatic then ASDA on a Saturday afternoon, haha. And even the next day, after what my body had done, I would of expected some muscle pain but nothing. Amazing!

I'm pretty sure that my relaxed attitude leading up to the birth and my mindset must of been to thank for the quick birth. I honestly didn't have anything to do with it. My body just got right on with things and I let it. I do believe I'd conditioned my mind to let my body take over and I'm sure that's why it was so quick.

I thought they were great at Treliske and I wasn't disappointed that I'd had her in hospital. It was still in the end what I thought to be a totally natural, non-traumatic birth, and she was completely alert but calm when she was born.

I would definitely recommend yourself and hypnobirthing to people in the future.

Astraya was diagnosed with a duodenal atresia several days later (malformation of a tube between the stomach and bowel), and was rushed to Bristol for major surgery. She spent the next month in hospital. However she made an amazing recovery and after 3 weeks of nil by mouth, took to breastfeeding straight away. I'm still feeding her now at 6 months."

Jo's next birth...

"Cora-Mai was born at 9pm on Monday eve after only being induced at 3.15pm the same afternoon! It was a really positive experience. 

The midwife did a sweep and put in the pessary at 3.15pm and by 3.30pm I was having really strong contractions lasting almost a minute and only 1-2 mins apart. They took the pessary out after about 2/3 hours to slow things down a bit, but I was just in natural labour by then and there was no stopping it.

When they checked after 3 hours of this there was no dilation and the cervix still needed to thin, so I opted for some pethidine, which was the only pain relief available at that stage as I was still on the ward. I guess it did take the edge off but not much, but what it did do was completely relax me so that I could even use some of my Hypnobirthing techniques and really breathe and try to relax my body during contractions. I found the process so much easier to cope with second time round and knowing what the different stages feel like.

It was really quick at the end again. The midwife came to say they were going start filling a pool and take me up but I knew I was in transition and I probably wouldn’t make it. They went off to make beds and I had to get Ant to go and tell them that the contractions were starting to bear down. 

So they rushed me up as quick as they could, crashing my bed into every lift and door frame on the way, haha. And as I got off the bed and crossed the corridor, her head came out as I walked through the door, so they just chucked a load of towels on the floor and caught her as she came out. It was quite funny at the end, they were all very shocked  I did tell them Asta was quick. 

Anyway, thank you again so much for your help and advice. Both my babies would of been born far differently if it wasn’t for you and for hypnobirthing, and I really appreciate that - neither do I frown on pain relief because every one is different. For me a bit of help actually helped me achieve how I wanted things to turn out, so I feel in no way disappointed that it played a part. 

All that said, I still don’t feel I had much to do with it. Our bodies are amazing and we really just sit back and let it do it’s stuff and try to be brave! 

So, the moral of the story is ... I was induced, had pain relief and pretty much gave birth standing up in a corridor, but for me it couldn’t of gone any better  it was quick, uncomplicated and Cora-Mai and I are both totally undamaged, what more can you hope for?"

 

23. Ruby, London...

"Little Baby Ryan was finally born on the 12th July with no induction. I actually went into early labour early Friday morning around 5am and this lasted up until Saturday morning. I kept calling the hospital and was advised to wait a while as contractions weren't consistent.

I was breathing through the contractions every time and imagined them as waves bringing my baby to me. A warm bath really helped calm me, and I had the hypno-birthing tracks playing in the background to help me stay relaxed, as well as dimmed lights. My fiancé was amazing throughout, helping me in and out of the bath and bringing the sick bucket back and forth as I did vomit quite a bit. He also remained calm, making the calls to the hospital as I progressed and this encouraged me to stay calm.

 

The contractions did indeed get more powerful as time went on, but the pressure of the contractions were not painful at all, rather more mentally challenging and physically draining, but staying relaxed helped me reserve my energy and also allowed me to sleep a little in between them. I used heat patches and a TENS machine for the back cramps which was a useful distraction, but didn't really do much. I found the relaxation breathing was actually more helpful and the visualisations encouraged me to focus on how close I was getting to finally meet my baby.

 

Whilst still at home at around 5am I felt the urge to push and continued to breathe through the contractions even though my body was taking over. I remained calm and imagined my baby floating towards me in a moses basket down a small stream, and every time the contractions got stronger I imagined the waves bringing him closer to me, which made me smile.

By the time the hospital finally told me to come in I was already 10cm dilated and was getting feelings to push/bear down. I think because I was so calm, they didn't believe that I was almost ready to birth my baby. I am surprised that I made it that far at home and didn't even realise I was that close myself. The drive to the hospital at around 6ish in  the morning was also very calming as there was no traffic on the road. I had my MP3 on me but left the batteries in the hospital bag which was in the boot so was unable to listen to my hypno-birthing during the journey, but I still remained calm and looked at the trees out the window, concentrating on my breathing and reciting the positive affirmations in my mind.

The crowning of baby's head was the strongest pressure I felt throughout the whole thing. There was a slight burning sensation but this did not last long and was more of a discomfort than really painful. I think not fighting against my body really enabled me to breathe him out without being tense and fearful.

Unfortunately I  wasn't able to use the pool as there was meconium in my baby's waters, but I still used gravity and birthed him in the birth centre room, which had mood lighting and a really calm atmosphere. He was born 7 pounds 15 ounces, a healthy little boy and now we are just getting to grips with parenthood! :)

 

I just wanted to thank you so much for your support during my pregnancy, it really meant so much to me and helped me more than you know. I plan to spread the word of hypnobirthing, Its such a magical way to bring baby into the world and I can actually say I enjoyed my labour!

 

I have also had a few people asking me about how labour went and I cant help but saying how much I enjoyed it. They are always taken aback and confused as it seems very rare for someone to have enjoyed it! I am just so glad I birthed my baby this way.

I can definitely  say that hypno-birthing worked for me, it remove my previous fears and myths about childbirth and allowed me to trust my body to do what is natural"

 

24. Henry, London...

"Mirna breathed through the contractions and we listened to the backing music that you gave us. It was very intense at the end, which is to be expected I guess, but we were rewarded with our little guy [Logan, 8lbs 3oz], so it was worth it.

It sounded very painful, but afterwards Mirna said that during contractions she kind of wasn't in the room - I don't know if it was a result of the hypnobirthing training, but I think that our active labour was relatively short at 4.5 hours which is probably in part due to a calmer, more prepared and positive state of mind to most.

Thanks for everything"

25. Alexandra...

"I ended up having an unplanned home birth after being sent away from the hospital. The midwife on duty said I was too relaxed to be in labour. I gave birth within 3 hours of leaving the hospital and think the hypnobirthing training got me through labour safely. Since then, I have had an apology from the maternity ward who are going to review their processes for hypnobirthing patients." 


26. Emma, Falmouth... 

"I wanted to share the news with you that my little baby girl, Ailla, arrived at 8.55am on 9th August after quite a quick (7hrs) labour. I stayed at home as I wanted and used my birthing pool which was great and I needed no pain relief. I actually ended up giving birth standing up!

Thanks for your hypnobirthing teaching, I certainly used the relaxation and the breathing techniques during labour. Jolyon used some of the phrases to keep me focused and relaxed during contractions and I responded well. One of the things that I really found valuable was the hypnobirthing recordings that I listened to on the run up to Ailla's birth, keeping me positive and trusting in my body which really did work for me on the day!"



Emma's second birth with baby Alcea...

"At 4am I started to get some strong period-like sensations, I stayed relaxed and tried to mentally tell my baby "you are welcome to arrive this morning", as I'd already had some cramping sensations on previous days that hadn't led to labour. 

Within the hour the cramps had moved onto full contractions which I breathed through easily, moving onto my hands and knees, and using visualisations that I had practised with your MP3s. I stayed calm enough that I dozed off between a few of the contractions! 

Things progressed well, the midwives were called and once they arrived I was assessed and I was dilating well. I moved downstairs to the pool and once I got in things progressed quickly with a strong urge to push. My husband used key trigger phrases that I had selected from the MP3s that I had found useful, such as 'breathe down to the baby' and calmly laid his hands on my shoulders. I encouraged him to read about the transition phase which he therefore recognised and was able to support me through. I definitely found this the most challenging part of labour. 

Within about half an hour of getting in the water, at at 9:11am, I delivered my little girl and brought her up to my chest in the pool. I didn't require any pain relief and labour progressed smoothly and calmly. 

I am delighted by how both of my births have gone and I give great credit to the hypnobirthing techniques that I learnt with you, so thank you! I tell anyone who will listen about your hypnobirthing classes :) "

27. Ruth, Camborne...

"I'm really grateful to you as hypnobirthing helped remove the fear I had about my previous birth and enabled me to look forward to Daniel's. I gave birth on Monday and found that hypnobirthing was what got me through the contractions and back pain.

Last time I found the backache crippling. This time Chris put his hands on my shoulders each time I tensed, which reminded me to drop my shoulders and relax again. That helped enormously.

I was determined not to lose the plot and focussed on imagining the cervix stretching and thinning with every contraction. During pushing I imagined the baby moving down gladly to be born and willing me on. I was so tired for some of the final contractions, but I really relaxed and found truly that if I avoided tensing and allowed them to pass over and through me, I could see the pain without it affecting me. 

 

One thing I'd like to share with you (although I'm embarrassed now) was that when I was in most pain with contractions, I found myself chanting "! am strong and powerful and connected to the female energy of the universe".  I felt so in touch with all life somehow. It was quite a spiritual experience. 

 

He wouldn't turn and they were really concerned about the way he was pushing onto my spine. They were amazed I wasn't screaming for pain relief. At the last second he turned and was born smoothly and without tearing me, because I seemed to be breathing him down rather than forcing him out.  Lots of fluid, 9lbs 7 1/2oz and a head well over the 100th centile!

The other benefit I was told was that the baby was unlikely to be stressed due to being born so gently. They were impressed with his 'handling' and wellbeing.

Anyway, thank you again for turning what could have been a horrible, painful, long, back to back labour into something special I can remember happily. I would recommend you to anyone. It changed my perception and fears and enabled me to feel strong and in control throughout. With more practice I could have had a totally still and relaxed birth. Very powerful technique."

 

28. Liz, St Austell...

"We just wanted to let you know that Emma Eloise Kane was born at 2:17 Thursday morning, and I had the natural labour I so wanted :) Thank you so, so much for your part in that!

 

We had practised contractions and I listened to the birth MP3 with grapefruit essential oil on a muslin. I'd written out 3 affirmations drawn with pictures, framed them and kept them out for me to see every day. I think the key ones for me were that my baby was in the right position, and that my body knew what to do. And the affirmations you posted on Facebook in the couple of weeks leading up to the birth were scarily pertinent to me too :)

 

The long version:

On Wednesday, I woke up with period type cramps. These were coming and going all day - but slowly getting more intense but I never felt them over the bump, only very low down. Everything I read told me it was just pre-labour which was a bit depressing, but in the end I phoned Penrice to describe them - they said it sounded like contractions and to come in when they were 5 mins apart.

I used your tips to set the lighting down low, had a really comfy seat of cushions on the floor, leaning over a pile of cushions on the sofa and listening to the Calmtime music, and I had a muslin with the essential oil on (which I took to hospital with me and was breathing it in like a drug LOL!!) Counting through breathing REALLY helped keep me calm, and made me concentrate on the breathing rather than the pain. Although I kept trying to 'summon' my calm place by a stream, I couldn't quite get there but was feeling I was doing well - not tensing up and feeling I could relax even during contractions.

The contractions didn't get regular for long enough, but by 11pm I wasn't coping too well anymore. Penrice said I could go in for a check. I was 3cm and disheartened, but they let us stay in as after the check the contractions stepped up their frequency.

The contractions were getting really painful now, and it was too early for pain relief. Out of nowhere I started imagining drawing around a door with each breath that we'd used in pregnancy yoga. I hadn't practiced it as much as the hypnobirthing scenes, so no idea where it came from! But just counting was all I could do.

I then had gas & air which helped loads, and again the pain was ramping up. Most contractions were lasting 10 breaths, then I got a couple that lasted 20 and I was starting to lean towards going to Treliske to get an epidural. I'd only been at Penrice 2 hours so I thought that I would only be another couple of centimetres along and it was too hard.

But out of nowhere, a contraction ramped up and never left. My husband ran to get a MW to check me, and I was 8cm!! Yeay! This was at 1.30am and I had the strongest urge to get on all fours, which the MW helped me to do. Then that was it - waters broke, it felt like I needed a big poo, they talked me through not pushing (as i wasn't quite 10 cm), then that i could push, when to pant, and in 3 pushes out came baby Emma at 2.17am - before the pool had filled up :)

The MW was fantastic when Emma was born - I was passed her through my legs right away, and think I was back lying down and feeding before they cut the cord. It felt like ages, and I didn't even need to ask :) I got to hold Emma for about 1/2 hour or more before they weighed her - brilliant skin-to-skin time. I feel so lucky to have got the birth I wanted without having to explain it!

Although I still felt a wimp and drama queen about those early contractions, the ending was absolutely amazing - to feel everything and it happen exactly as you and the books described it was a surreal but rewarding experience - and so different from my first birth where I headed down the intervention route at 3cm and ended up with a forceps delivery.

Martin seemed more confident with his 'role' too - leaping up to rub my lower back at each contraction, and translating my gas & air ramblings into what I wanted from the midwife, e.g. supporting me when I said something had suddenly changed and asking the MW to examine me. He was a superstar.

So i just wanted to say that I couldn't have done it without having dealt with a lot of the fear from my first labour, nor without having affirmations to help me with the final stages - thank you so much"

 

29. Gill, St Columb Major...

"The hypnobirthing really helped with the first part of labour and I didn't even wake Dave up for 3 hours! I felt so calm, unbelievable really after all the worry I had!

When I got to Penrice I was 6-7cm! I couldn't believe it!! I had to be transferred to Treliske though and ended up opting for an epidural (which was amazing!)

All in all it went well and I stayed calm throughout. I can't say I enjoyed it but I did it!!!! ????

Thank you so much for your part in making that happen. I really loved listening to the hypnobirthing tracks and actually, when I was pushing, I kept hearing a phrase you had said over in my head. It escapes me now unfortunately but it certainly helped at the critical time!"

 

30. Penny, Porthtowan..

"I wanted to email to say thank you for all your support and advice in the run up to the birth of Molly on Thursday morning. I had practiced using the MP3s a lot and found it so useful to be able to deeply relax and get excited about meeting our new baby.

Once labour started I was able to put myself into relaxation and could hear the words of the MP3s in my head and my affirmations about each contraction taking me closer to meeting my baby. I had a relatively short labour - real contractions started at 8:30pm, we went to Treliske at about 10.30pm and Molly was born at 2:49am.  I am not sure how long the second stage was but felt quite long- she was a little bit stuck and it took a while to push her down but the impact of the hypnobirthing in the first stage was incredible - I felt in control and relaxed and was even able to laugh at times between contractions- there certainly was no fear or tension.

The whole time I was listening to the Calmtime music and was able to take myself down into relaxation for each contraction. One of the other really useful tools was the picture you had shown me of the longitudinal muscles of the uterus-I was able to picture each contraction working to open the cervix, so in combination with my affirmations was able to meet each contraction with some sort of positivity.

Molly is an absolutely beautiful little girl and we feel very blessed to have her. She has so far been very content and is feeding well which we are contributing in part to the fact that I was so relaxed in the run up to the birth, and that the labour was much much faster than with jack.  Jack has so far met Molly with curiosity and has been keen to have some cuddles and kisses (we will have to see if he stays as keen once he realises she won't be able to play trains for a little while!!! :)

I cannot thank you enough for the tools you provided me with in the build up to and the birth of little Molly. I will certainly recommend your workshops to our friends."

31. Lee, St Ives....

Just wanted to let you know that our gorgeous little girl was born around 7am on Saturday morning (23rd) weighing 7lb 2oz. Her name is Darcy Rose, she was a week early and we are besotted! Throughout the pregnancy we both practiced our hypnobirthing exercises regularly, and despite my worries that I wasn't 'doing it right' it did bring me an awful lot of comfort in the lead up to the birth. I especially loved the 'Breathing & Bonding' visualisation which gave me a real connection to what was going on inside me.

I went into labour on Thursday (21st) evening and eventually went to the hospital on Friday night around 9pm. Darcy was back-to-back so causing me an awful lot of back pain; despite that however I was able to use the breathing exercises to manage the contractions and went from 1cm dilated, when I arrived at the hospital, to 9.5cm dilated just 3 hours later.

Unfortunately I couldn't dilate the last 0.5cm and the pushing on the last remaining bit of cervix was making it swell up rather than dilate so around 3am I was given an epidural to stop me pushing.

Around 6am, when I was fully dilated, I started to push but Darcy was very high up and after half an hour (and having been awake for 2 days) she was still quite high and both me and the baby were very tired so was given a bit of help by the doctor and Darcy was delivered by forceps just 20 minutes later.
 
Throughout the experience I don't really  remember feeling much pain - apart from the back pain at the beginning - and was very proud of the fact that I got to 9.5cm without anything but gas and air (which I didn't feel provided any pain relief but having something in my mouth did help me focus on my breathing).

The hypnobirthing definitely made a huge difference and from Danny's perspective, gave him a real role in the birthing experience. All the way through I could hear the affirmations in my head. 'I give birth easily' and 'I surrender to the sensations'.

Just wanted to let you know how things had gone and to thank you for your help and encouragement throughout it all."

32. Katie, Helston...

"Just to let you know Ruaridh was born Thursday 20th Dec at home in our bedroom.  He weighed 8lb12oz and came out no problem.  My labour was about 5 hours and I used only a tens machine and the breathing techniques I'd practiced up to just before transition...I then had gas and air, but only for about half an hour :)

I am really chuffed with the whole experience and luckily I never felt that I needed a birthing pool , as I chose not to have one in the end!  Fortunately I didn't have one anyway because Ruaridh's umbilical cord was very short and I could only hold him between my legs and no higher!!  Unlike the lady on your FB page, my boy was crying even before all of him was out!!

He is a very calm baby, but has a huge pair of lungs on him, I don't think I've ever heard a baby cry so loudly!!

Anyway, thank you for all your help and giving me the tools to be so positive about giving birth naturally; although very painful in transition, it was an amazing experience!" 

33. Sarah, Roche...

"Just thought I'd send you a quick mail to say thanks again for helping me to have such an amazing birth experience. I still can't quite believe that I enjoyed it so much!! It's definitely made a huge impact on me. I want to do it all over again! Anyway, little Ida is 11 weeks old now and is a little beauty. Going too quickly though."



34. Donna, St Keverne...

"Just wanted to drop you a line to say thanks so much for sharing your hypnobirthing wisdom!  I gave birth to our baby Reggie at 4.24am on Friday 19th July, he weighed 8lbs 1 3/4 oz with nothing other than hypnobirthing and a little gas and air!

My waters went at around 9pm but contractions didn't start until a couple of hours later. At around 1am contractions still weren't coming particularly regularly but having had a bit of a bleed I called the delivery suite for advice. They said that nothing would be happening yet but suggested I go in just for assessment to check baby was all ok.

By the time we arranged childcare for George (our 3.5yr old) and got sorted, it was almost 3am before we left for the 30 mile trip to Truro.  As we left home my contractions had ramped up quite a bit, they were coming fairly quickly (perhaps every 3-5 mins) and were enough to stop me and need concentrating on. Hypnobirthing affirmations and breathing were getting me through at this point (and my Mum, who had come to collect George, commented afterwards on how calm I had seemed).

As you know, the car journey to Truro was the part of labour I was dreading, but I stuck the affirmations MP3 on my phone, plugged in my earphones and concentrated through the contractions. This saw me through most of the journey in relative comfort - contractions were getting closer and stronger, and the pain was increasing but I was still managing.

As we arrived at the hospital the surges were very strong and as we were walking through the corridors I began to have doubts and become fearful. I believe now this may have been transition. I managed to focus myself back into it and after being quickly admitted to a delivery room and being examined by a midwife, I was declared to be 8-9cm dilated.  

At this point my body started to take over and I was pushing. The midwife initially tried to dissuade me as there was still cervix there, but my body had other ideas. She informed me that if I was going to carry on pushing I'd need to open my legs and give my baby some space! I tried to keep relaxed and let my body lead the way.  Within a few minutes I heard her asking for a delivery trolley, and just half an hour after arriving at hospital, Reggie was born.

Having had rather extensive tearing from his speedy arrival, the hypnobirthing also helped me through the stitching, after which we enjoyed a couple of hours of family time just cuddling and feeding.

I am absolutely convinced that hypnobirthing helped me to have such a good delivery. It helped me to remember that birth is a natural event, and to remain as in control as possible over my fears to keep the pain to a minimum. I am so proud to have given birth as I did, it was an amazing experience and in no small part that was down to hypnobirthing. I'll be recommending your workshops to every pregnant woman I know!!

Reggie is an absolute sweetheart and we are all smitten. Thank you for making this such a brilliant experience, such a contrast to my previous experience and my lasting memory of birth will be positive and happy"

35. Tamsin, Stithians...

 

"I just wanted to drop you line to let you know that our gorgeous daughter Amara Elizabeth was born on the 24th Nov (only 2 days overdue) and weighed in at 7lb 3oz. I went to Treliske at 1pm for a labour assessment as I was having contractions, but not sure if they were real or practice. I had been suffering with a harsh cough and my coughing bouts also bought on contractions (or so it seemed to me) so we wanted to be clear if this was it. They confirmed that I was indeed in labour and 3cm dilated, but as I had practiced hypnobirthing, they said best for me to go home and put into practice what I had learnt and to come back in the evening when contractions would be closer together 1 min on, 1 min off!

 

However, we were not at home for long and by 4pm, we were back at Treliske as contractions much more frequent and powerful. They examined me and I was 8cm dilated and transferred straight to a delivery room. Amara was born just before 7pm with the assistance of gas and air only and in her waters - amazing!!

 

The midwife commented on how relaxed and calm I was throughout and that no doubt contributed to the quick and straightforward delivery. This of course is all down to the hypnobirthing techniques. We had the music playing, lights dimmed and throughout the whole thing I kept thinking of relaxing, releasing, breathing through each sensation and ultimately listening to my body. As you mentioned during the course, I did avoid watching any films/TV programmes of people giving birth as I didn't want any preconceptions about how I should act/how it should be and I think this really worked. I found my primal instincts just took over and I went with what they were telling me!

 

Thanks so much for introducing us to hypnobirthing, I do strongly feel this contributed greatly to our straightforward, quick and easy birth, so I cannot thank you enough for that!"

 

 

36. Claire, Truro...

"I found the workshop very positive and inspiring and felt it made the subject feel very accessible....  Isla May was born at 7.46am on Friday 25th March, one day before her due date. My waters broke at 1.50am on the morning of 25th when I had got out of bed to go to the toilet. I dried myself off and went back to bed, however within 40 minutes I had to get up as from the time my waters broke I had started getting contractions, coming about every 6 minutes, so was unable to go back to sleep.

I phoned the on call midwife at about 2.30, to say that my waters had broken, that things seemed to be progressing, and that I was planning a home birth. She reassured me that there was no problems with midwife availability, and to continue as I was, but to ring back when I felt that I needed the midwife to attend, or if I wanted any other advice.

I spent most of my labour sitting on my birthing ball. Mainly because I found this by far the most comfortable position, but also, as my membranes had ruptured I periodically, if  I was up and walking around let out VERY large floods of water! After soaking 3 pairs of pyjama bottoms, 2 dressing gowns, multiple towels and a large number of maternity pads, I felt it was better to just stay put and hold a towel between my legs!!

After 5am the contractions seemed to be getting more intense and were coming about every 3-4 minutes when I sat on the ball or every 1.5-2 minutes when I was walking about., Neil phoned back to request a midwife come out. She arrived at about 6am and examined me, by then I was 7cm dilated, so she suggested if I wanted to give birth in the birthing pool Neil better get on with filling it, and she contacted the second midwife.

At this point Neil swung into action! He was amazing – filling the pool, making tea and toast for everyone, getting our daughter Evie up and collected by Grandma and Grandad, yet throughout remaining a constant support for me.  It took Neil about one and a quarter hours to fill the pool and I got in it as soon as it was filled, at about 7.25. After a couple of contractions in the pool I felt the urge to push and with 3 pushes (at 7.46am) Isla was born into the water and I pulled her up into my arms.

I chose not to use any gas and air, mainly as I'm not keen on the “out of control” feeling it can give you, and also because I felt comfortable breathing through the contractions, and using hypnobirthing techniques. I couldn't have asked for a more calm, relaxed birth, and I couldn't have done it without the amazing support of my husband."



And here's Claire's subsequent birth with Seth!

"I woke up on the morning of 20^th October, 5 days past my due date, at around 7am and realised I was having contractions every 10 minutes or so. After about half an hour I got up, had my breakfast and decided to run a bath. By this time the girls and Neil were up, I said to Neil that I thought our little man would come today, so he got the girls dressed and arranged for his parents to come and collect them.

Neil set up our front room for my labour. After some time in the bath, I decided that I’d prefer to be downstairs, so I continued to labour downstairs, focussing into myself using my hypnobirthing techniques and breathing through my contractions, rotating on my birthing ball or standing and leaning forward on the side of the birthpool. The contractions were by then coming a bit more frequently and intensely, so I rang to talk to the midwife. At around 10.15 she arrived to see how I was progressing, and I was 6-7cm dilated.

Neil filled up our birthpool, made tea for the midwives and by 11.15 I was ready to get in. The midwives very much left us to ourselves, I laboured in the pool, leaning forward on the side.

Around 12.20 I felt that I wanted to push, I tried the bearing down breath and after about 10 minutes my waters broke, and I felt an absolutely overwhelming urge to push. Seth was born at 12.41, his head came down gradually and I felt I had to focus on ‘opening wide’ to help him come down. As it turned out he was occiput transverse, but he delivered with no tearing or damage to either of us, weighing 7lb15.

Seth and I stayed in the pool cuddling and happy. After 15 minutes or so Seth latched on for his first feed and I delivered the placenta. The midwives stayed for about another hour to check we were all ok, then left us to it, to get to know our new and beautiful member of the family."

37. Lizzie, Praze-an-Beeble...

My second son's birth was completely different to George's...

Initially, worries from my last experience and dramatic TV birth documentary stories were playing on my mind. The hypnobirthing activities you taught me - reaffirming the positive points and discussing how to cope with a first child coping with a sibling really helped to dispel my concerns.

This time my waters broke unexpectedly over a period of 30 minutes around 10pm. There were no other symptoms until after 11.30pm. Between midnight and 1am I focused on the breathing techniques and wandered the house. From 1am my contractions appeared to be around every 5 minutes so I woke my husband. He decided we should pack and get ready for the hospital. We arrived at 2.20am and after the midwife palpated my tummy she left to do my admission notes on the computer.

Within minutes of the midwife leaving my contractions changed. Thankfully, my husband noticed this and called for the midwife who returned - slightly disbelieving that things could change so quickly. Subsequently, she did an internal examination, and then said "On the next contraction, we will see the head." I was shocked! Edward was born at 2.46am whilst I was in kneeling position. I was given him immediately for skin to skin contact, and the cord was not cut too quickly this time. He weighed 7lbs 10oz. By 6am we were all home making a big cooked breakfast and waking George up to introduce him to his baby brother which was an amazing moment too!!

I truly believe that the hypnobirthing techniques allowed me to experience a relaxed and speedy birth where I felt in control and each contraction was managable. From start to finish, this birthing experience was amazing, natural and I can almost say enjoyable. It was everything I had hoped it to be. Thank you Alice!"

 

38. Becky, Portreath...

"Just wanted to thank you for the workshop. We had a baby boy, Harrison Jack McKenzie on 28th April. The birth was completely natural and I managed to avoid an epidural and didn't have any pain relief.

 

I never thought I would have such an amazing and empowering birth experience especially after a c-section and then forceps with my two girls. I listened to the music and words almost everyday usually as I was going to sleep. I really believe this helped me massively. It turned the painful sensations into something positive and I was able to tell myself that my body was coping with it and I was able to do it without any help.

 

Surprisingly he was 10lb 0.5oz!! Lots of people were amazed I had him naturally and my midwife thought he was going to be maybe 8lbs at the most! 

 

I wish I'd given hypnobirthing more attention with my other two labours but am absolutely over the moon that everything went so well with Harrison."

39. Jayne, St Columb Minor...

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for your hypnobirth sessions earlier this year! Our beautiful daughter Jessica Ashling was born on 24th March at 41 weeks weighing 8lb 13.5oz (our second baby).
 
She was born in the water birth pool at Penrice. My first contraction started at 12.30pm and by 7pm they were getting pretty painful and I needed the TENS machine. By 10pm I was fairly convinced it was labour and by 11pm we were using the affirmations we had practiced (albeit not practised as much as we would have liked to have done). We kept it really simple, just about three lines that really helped me to focus and stay calm. We also used lavender and frankincense which I had been using when I had a bath in the evenings for a few weeks.

We arrived at Penrice at 1am and I got in the pool at 1.20am. Andrew felt a bit shy of using the affirmations when we were at Penrice (even though we never mentioned what we were doing to anyone else) but I made sure he kept it up... It kept me sane & focused! I was 5cm when I got in the pool and at 2.42am with no further pain relief our baby was born :-)) 

We were so chuffed and I'm very confident that the hypnobirthing was what made it possible and so bearable. I was quite sceptical at the initial idea of hypnobirthing but I truly couldn't have been more wrong and would recommend it to absolutely everyone. We both really enjoyed your sessions and I really wanted to say a HUGE thank you."



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40. Sophie, St Ives...

"Our birth plan didn’t go quite as hoped although I did get a few hours in the birth pool and the most important thing was that our gorgeous boy arrived safe and well.

Having had signs of early labour the previous night which eased off the next day, my waters broke at around 9pm (just as the England football game was drawing to a close!) and regular surges started minutes later. An hour or so later the midwife arrived and I was in established labour.  My husband had set up your affirmations tracks and calming music and I was breathing through the surges with Tim working on the pressure points on my lower back. It was so useful having these tools available to us.

The various positions really helped labour to progress well through the night. However I started to experience quite intense back pain and it was suggested that perhaps baby had moved into a back-to-back position making labour more uncomfortable. Therefore we decided it was time to get into the pool to provide some relief. Sometime later I reached full dilation and began pushing. However labour then slowed and after pushing for two hours (inside and outside the pool) it was suggested I should transfer to hospital due to dehydration and ketones being too high. Also unfortunately by this stage I found it unable to focus and maintain a relaxed mind and body, so at 10am I was taken to Treliske and given fluids, syntocin and an epidural.

Despite this not being the way I had hoped to deliver, it did revive my mental and physical strength and I was eventually able to deliver a healthy boy at 13.44 without instrumental intervention and no tearing. I was so proud that despite the fact that I lost my calm state of mind, my strong baby maintained a calm and steady heart rate through the entire process.

Thank you for all your advice which enabled me to accept the different path that my birth took."




41. Alissa, Newquay... 

"I created a lovely birth space in the days before by printing off the visuals and hanging them up to remind me each day and help me focus.

I was super relaxed and calm throughout the whole experience and once I was established and the contractions were stronger and 1min apart I just lay / leaned there propped up with my eyes closed not making a sound and then breathing and shushing through each surge.

My friend who is an amazing doula came round at about 6am (1.5 hours in...I had a show at 4:30am which started my contractions).

I had really enjoyed the quiet calm of everything as I walked around my quiet home in the dark, lighting candles, preparing things, relaxing.

When Claire arrived we hugged and chatted, got my partner up and prepared the birth pool.

At about 7:30am it was time to get our daughter up and ready for school. I went upstairs to help her brush her teeth by which time I was having to get down and not talk with each contraction. There was a beautiful moment when she had finished her breakfast and I was leant over the birth pool with a stronger contraction and my daughter put her arm round me and gave me a hug.

My partner took her off to school about 8:30am. By the time the midwife arrived at 9ish and examined me I was 9cm so she gave me the all clear to get in the pool whenever I wanted.

The midwife was so great. She picked up on the vibe and what we were doing straight away and just left me to it. She made monitoring the baby really easy and never asked me to change position despite me offering to.

When I was feeling like pushing I jumped into the pool and within a few minutes baby's head had been born. It was then seven minutes till the next contraction so we just waited and wondered as my daughter was looking incredibly peaceful in the water.

The next one came and at 9:49am she was born and we were holding her with huge gratitude and love.

After the birth I had a retained placenta and had to transfer by ambulance to Treliske. All of that was very traumatic and difficult, or it had potential to be. The ambulance journey was horrendous, I was in a lot of pain and discomfort, and fear could have easily crept in and caused panic. Fortunately I had got so used to reaching a deep state of relaxation and calm through the hypnobirthing I was able to stay totally calm and focused through a tough journey. I kept my eyes closed and focused on my breathing. Fortunately I didn't have to go into theatre and the placenta was delivered soon after arriving at the hospital. This provided for me the biggest sense of relief I have ever experienced! Afterwards the staff noted how well we had managed the whole process and I was home in time for tea.

Rosie was / is so calm and peaceful... She barely cried or even opened her eyes she was so relaxed at birth. Since birth she has been very relaxed and happy. I felt truly empowered by the whole experience and feel really pleased to have brought a baby into this world in such a way that meant she had nothing to recover from in her first days and weeks.

Also extremely glad I opted for a home birth and stuck to my guns despite lots of external pressure to go to hospital. A real lesson in trusting our instincts.

The birth was everything I could have hoped for... Quick, easy, med-free and natural, and I'm sure we owe much to the hypnobirthing. Much of it was things I already knew but it really helped remind us of what's important and to help get dad on board and prepared too.

Thanks a million... I enjoyed listening thorough the portal in the weeks running up to my birth, and always felt calmer and more positive on the mornings I woke up having listened the night before.

I particularly found the birth affirmations helpful as they could be listened to any time, especially in labour. I would highly recommend your course to anyone preparing for birth."


Click on the 1st pic below for Rosie's home hypnobirth story in pictures!

42. Vic, St Eval...

"I started having irregular contractions in the early morning on the 17th. I woke a few times in the night, but by the time it was morning they had stopped! I had a midwife appointment that day at 4pm where she did a stretch and sweep and said I was about 1cm. It certainly worked!!! I was contracting all through the night, becoming progressively stronger, I spent the night laying on the lounge floor, then bent over the pouffe when contracting!

We got to Penrice about 2pm on the 18th, where I was 3cm but very stretchy so she let me stay! I got in the pool when 5cm. By 7pm I was 7cms and so relaxed! I cannot explain how relaxed and in control I felt, we had the hypnobirthing music on and joe was massaging my head. I kept on falling asleep in between contractions! I was so happy that everything was going as I had imagined.

But I thought too soon as just then my waters broke along with some clots. Then again more with more contractions. The midwife wasn't happy and we discussed being referred to Treliske. I really didn't want to but the thought of anything happening to my baby that they couldn't deal with there made me agree. We got to Treliske about 7.30pm and I could feel I was definitely losing it, the relaxing, serene atmosphere of Penrice felt like a distant memory!

The contractions seemed so much more intense and I couldn't manage them anymore. I stayed at 7cms for about 5 hours - Very disheartening. I couldn't get out of the negative frame of mind and upset the way things had gone - which I totally believe is why I didn't progress. I gave in to having an epidural about 12.30am, still at 7cms. It wasn't something I had wanted but looking back it was the best decision I made given the circumstances.

Then all of a sudden all hell broke loose as Stan's heart rate really dropped, the room was full of people shouting at me to push! I'd gone from 7-10 cms in about 10 mins and he'd dropped into the birth canal and was getting stressed. He popped out in about 5 mins! I had to have some stitches but who cares when you've got the most beautiful baby in your arms?! Maybe I didn't practice the techniques enough under stress as I might have been able to control it better at Treliske. Who knows. But I will definitely use the techniques next time and hopefully things will go a bit smoother!"



43. Sammy, St Erth...

My contractions started in the early hours and were every 2-3 mins lasting 1 min. After a couple of hours I woke Gary up and he called the midwife who met us at Helston Birth Unit at 4am. Obviously with me not wanting examinations she couldn't tell how dilated I was, but she said it seemed early because my contractions weren't strong. It made sense that it was early stages because I could feel the lifting feeling you told us about! So we went home to try and sleep.

Contractions carried on throughout the day but they were all over the place and not that strong until the evening. Went to bed and around midnight again they started getting more and more intense. Gary decided around 2.30am to call the midwife because I felt I needed gas and air. They were very strong and I could feel something pushing down each time - I didn't tell Gary because I didn't want any panicking!

The midwife arrived within the hour, and I decided to be examined... She could feel the head! I then had to make the decision whether to risk travelling in the car to Helston without the gas and air, or stay at home.... So I wasn't budging! I was going through the gas and air pretty quick so she had to call the the 2nd midwife.

I'd been lying in bed on my side all night because I was most relaxed that way. Around 5.30am when the 2nd midwife arrived with more gas and air, I got up and was leaning against the back of the bed. After a while we remembered we had a birth ball so I got that out. After getting up, leaning on the ball, my waters broke around 6am - which Gary and I think was pretty amazing - it was literally like someone burst a water ballon! It was a big pressure release. There were mats down but I was on the mattress... Oops! Gary was very hands-on helping the midwives though.

Not long after the waters went the head started to show. I started panicking saying I couldn't do it, but I did! The head was soon out - can't remember how many contractions it took. Then I think it was the next push when I had to do the panting and her little body came out at 6.25am! Most amazing thing I've ever done! I forgot to see what sex she was, so we had a lil look! We were over the moon!

It definitely wasn't pain free, but with your sessions I really felt able to cope with it and believe that my body was capable of giving birth. No screaming either, just a lot of grunting noises when it was time to push. When I got up on the ball I was imagining the baby coming down and breathing her down so I wasn't pushing as much until I really needed to. I had the music playing, and lying in my own bed (which is where I practised all my hypnobirthing) with the bedside light on all made it very relaxing. Where's more relaxing than your own bed?!

I would definitely choose to have a home birth again, the midwives are so hands-on listening to baby's heartbeat every few minutes. I knew if they had any doubt whether it was safe for me or the baby they would have got an ambulance straight away. I only had to go Treliske because they weren't sure if I had 2nd or 3rd degree tearing. Turns out it was only 2nd so I didn't need a spinal anaesthetic. Was back home within a few hours :)

Thank you for your sessions, I don't think i would have managed without them, and probably why I lasted the contractions out for so long before we called the midwife! Really didn't think it'd be possible to have such an amazing birth... will be recommending you to everyone! :D
 

44. Emma, St Eval...

"Here's a picture of Oscar entering the world in our front room, in the birth pool we bought from you! Oscars birth was a wonderful, magical experience all thanks to you"




Emma's second birth story...

"After a lot of hypnobirthing practise listening to your MP3's and having our own script we would use to relax Tom and myself were feeling quite confident but we were getting a little worried about the date as I was keen to have another homebirth.  

 

I started having waves about seven in the evening on the 17th, I had had them on and off for the two weeks before so I wasn't sure if this was it or not. Tom decided to give the midwife a ring around 10pm and even though I wasn't yet in established labour she thought it would be a good idea to stay as she had a feeling things might move quite quickly.  She called for the other midwife after a couple of hours, we were very lucky as both our midwives were absolutely amazing and kept out the way and left us to it as much as possible whilst still being very aware of what was going on.

The waves got stronger and closer together and I decided I was ready to use my birthing pool but after a couple of hours the waves unfortunately slowed down. Things had slowed down to almost a stop and my midwife decided to break my waters as the baby's heartbeat was causing some concern.  I had my waters broken on my bed and from then on things moved very quickly and I started to lose control, luckily Tom was brilliant at keeping me calm and kept bringing me back and using the words we had practised to get my head focused again. An ambulance was called [seems just as a precaution] as I was getting very dehydrated and Tom had spotted meconium in my waters when they broke. The ambulance took quite a long time to turn up and by the time they arrived she was very much on her way.  Bailey was positioned in a very odd angle (sideways) and it took some time for her to crown.  Between Tom and my amazing midwife they kept me calm and I couldn't have done it without them both.  

 

She was born on my bed at 6.28 am and latched on within five minutes.  Her big brother walked into the bedroom an hour later to find his new sister waiting to meet him.  I was extremely happy with how things had worked out as after a very successful hypnobirth with her brother I absolutely wanted to have the same experience.  Although her birth was slightly more complicated the hypnobirthing techniques were so helpful.  I was very fortunate to have a very supportive midwife who seemed to know exactly how to be around us.  She was giving Tom all the advice to give to me and using hand actions so it was him talking me through the whole thing.  

 

Thank you so much Alice for yet again giving the chance to have an amazing birthing experience." 

 

45. Ellen, Looe...

"Now that I have a quiet moment (Peter has taken the baby out for a walk) I thought I'd write and let you know how my pregnancy and the birth of our baby boy went (name to be confirmed) and to thank you for the hypnobirthing classes and use of the MP3s.

I was very lucky with my pregnancy so did not suffer from any problems apart from a little pelvic girdle pain so I was able to have a pool birth at Penrice Birthing Centre in St Austell as planned.

Prior to starting hypnobirthing I was insistent on paying for a caesarean section as I was always very scared of natural birth.  I am 5'5" and have very narrow hips so I could not see how I could give birth naturally without problems - and large babies run in my family, I was just under 10lbs when I was born and my partner is 6'2".  However, the positive affirmations MP3 helped me believe the baby would be appropriate to my size and the birth would go smoothly. The MP3s definitely kept me relaxed through the pregnancy and enabled me to not be affected by other people's scepticism and horror stories.

My due date was 19 June but my waters did not break until 28 June.  They broke before I went into labour which I understand is due to the position of the baby.  I had a sweep the Wednesday prior and was 4/5ths engaged with a 'paper thin' cervix.  My contractions started at 11 pm and right away they were so painful all I could do was pace.  I had hoped the hypnobirthing would help me relax through the contractions and manage the pain but I was unable to relax and focus. The baby was back to back which meant I was experiencing severe back pain with each contraction.

In the early hours of the following morning, my contractions were between 5 and 9 minutes apart and as they were irregular. Penrice told me to have a warm bath (which was lovely), record my contractions for half an hour and then phone them again.

After my bath, I started recording my contractions which were a minute long each and about 2 minutes apart. Peter suggested now might be a good time to go to hospital and he phoned Penrice for me as I was in too much pain to speak apart from during the brief break in my contractions. During the drive I listened to the positive affirmations to distract myself, which worked.

We arrived in Penrice at 4am and I was 4 cm dilated (that was quite disheartening!). I was fully dilated some time prior to 8.40am. This is when I entered the pool and after an hour of pushing our baby was born on 29 June at 9.40 am weighing 8lbs 4oz. I only had gas and air and started this at quite a late stage.

I am told that was a very quick labour for a first baby and the midwives said they considered the hypnobirthing would have helped me during my labour. I think the positive beliefs towards the pregnancy and birth helped me cope. It was incredibly painful but I managed to achieve something I could never have imagined. I understand the baby didn't turn so I think his entry into the world may have caused more pain than usual and it gave him a slightly funny shaped head, which is gradually becoming more regular. I had only a small amount of tearing - I think I had four stitches in total."

 

46. Charlotte, Falmouth...

"After a traumatic emergency caesarean with my daughter two years ago I spent this pregnancy worrying about the birth. At about 28 weeks I found Alice's website and we had a half day session with her. I found it incredibly relaxing and affirming but still worried about my bodies ability to really do birth naturally! I took her advice and every day used the MP3 downloads and read the affirmations while visualising a natural, peaceful birth.

After two weeks of on and off contractions I finally went into labour after a blissful day at the beach with my toddler and family. The contractions took 14 hours to progress to five minutes apart at 2am during which time I bounced on my exercise ball and did the breathing exercises Alice had taught us. We went off to the hospital once my mum and dad arrived to stay with our daughter. I was disappointed to be told I was only 2cms and began shaking as I was convinced it would be like last time. However, I continued breathing and calmed myself down. After one hour downstairs to relax the labour suddenly progressed and I went to 4cms and then before we knew it I was at 10cms with an unstoppable urge to push. It was an incredible feeling, so right and so natural! Our son was born with just a little help from the ventouse and I was up and walking around 20 minutes after stitches for tiny tears. It was the most affirming, positive experience I could have hoped for and I credit Alice's workshop with helping me to finally experience what I hoped for. Our son Ernesto is now almost three weeks old and a happy little soul."

47. Abbie, Helston...

"Having had a negative experience with my first labour, I especially wanted to have a straightforward natural birth and I am very grateful to Alice for helping me to achieve this. She made both my husband and I feel totally at ease and with her positive support I was able to prepare for the birth with confidence. The hypnobirthing and relaxation techniques that she introduced me to were invaluable and helped me to stay relaxed and calm throughout my short labour. Her calm and positive support both before the birth of my baby and the encouragement afterwards made the whole experience totally fulfilling.


48. Klaire, Redruth...

"I sought Alice as a doula because I had some quite severe fears regarding child birth. I was so scared of giving birth that I was planning to ask for an elective c-section. I worked on specific fear release hypnobirthing exercises with Alice and watched some inspiring birth videos. Slowly I started to overcome that fear. For that I will always be grateful to Alice.

I was 6 days over my 'due date' but still felt comfortable and happy to wait for my baby to choose when he was ready to be born at home and in water as I had planned.

My partner Matt and I went to bed at about 10pm. Just before we switched off the TV I felt a tightening sensation which came and went within 30 seconds. I didn't think a lot of it, but by the time we had got into bed I felt another and told Matt I 'think' I just had a contraction.

Maybe we were both in a bit of denial but I thought we should get some sleep. However, 5 mins later I got another contraction. There was no denying labour was starting and the contractions came fast and steady from that point on.

I got in the bath and put my hypnobirthing MP3s on. As I lay there I swayed my hips and breathed softly and deeply though the contractions with my eyes closed focusing on each one for a good 30mins. I then felt the need to be more submerged so I could move freely. I asked Matt to start filling the birth pool and to contact Alice. When Alice arrived she reassured me that if I felt I wanted to get in the pool at that time I should listen to my body (I was worried about getting in too early and my labour slowing down, I had been informed I needed to be 5cm before getting in the pool).

I walked into my 'birth room' which Matt had been busily organising while I was in the bath. It was beautiful... we had the birth pool set up in the corner of our lounge with dim lights and candles all around, my birth music CD was playing quietly in the background. I climbed into the pool, the warm water felt amazing and elevated the pressure I was feeling in my hips. My contractions were soon coming 2 mins apart and Alice and Matt decided it was probably time to call the midwife and our birth photographer Bekkie. 

My contractions were strong and I began to become fearful of how I would cope with what was to come... Matt fetched me a small glass of wine! It felt a little odd to drink it, but it lighten my mood and I was laughing between the contractions and relaxing more. Which allowed me to focus on my breath with each contraction. 

Matt had been on the phone to the midwives outside of the birth room and had been advised that nobody was available and I would have to come into Treliske or Penrice. At this point there was no way I was getting out of the pool, so Matt relayed this.

The midwives arrived and were keen to do a VE. I had previously tested positive for GBS and request no VE'S due to the increased risks associated with it. I was told I had to have a VE in order for the midwife to know if I was in established labour. I explained the pressure in my hips was too great for me to get out of the pool, the mw agreed to examine me in the pool... I was 7cms. It was encouraging to hear that I was making good progress, but could have been equally disheartening if I still felt like I had a long way to go.

With renewed confidence in my body, I moved around in the pool getting myself into whichever position I felt I needed to be in. Matt was leaning over the edge of the pool supporting me. I used his body to ground myself and pulled against him, I breathed deeply and heavily through my contractions. I remembered a birth image I had seen of a woman birthing long ago, holding onto a tree branch for support. Soon I began to feel my body start to spontaneously push. What an intense and powerful feeling that was! Soon after I felt my waters pop, the fluid was clear and all was well... I could feel my baby descending and was trying to breath him down gently and let the contractions do the work and allow my body to stretch. 

After about an hour of pushing the midwives became concerned that my baby's heart rate was starting to show signs of distress... I was instructed to try some forced chin on chest pushing to get baby out. It didn't work. I was told I needed to get out of the pool for an episiotomy, one of my birth fears I was desperate to avoid. I asked to try one more thing. Remembering a birth video Alice had shown me about birth in a squatted position opening up the pelvis. I got myself into an upright squat position and pushed with every ounce of my worth... suddenly my babies head popped out, and I didn't tear! I reached down and touched my baby, then his body turned and on the next contraction I guided him out with my own hands and brought him to my chest for his first cuddle... Jacob was born at 5:20am

We stayed in the pool together for about 30mins, where Matt and I blissfully stared at our little boy and fell in love with him. Jacob was starting to get a little cold so Matt cut the cord and the midwives took Jacob to check him over, then he was given to Daddy for cuddles. I sat back in the pool and smiled. I was on such a high from the birth that I didn't even feel tired.

I had a natural 3rd stage and my placenta was carefully handled ready for the placenta encapsulation. I also had a fruit smoothie made from the raw placenta and although I was sceptical of being physically able to drink it, I have to say it was delicious, and the capsules certainly had an effect in the weeks following birth.

The midwives helped us into bed at around 7am. We lay there with our gorgeous little boy tucked down my nightdress to keep him warm (tip from the mw) as a new family... I am not sure I slept at all really. I just couldn't stop looking at the perfect little person we had created."  [Klaire went on to have an unassisted birth with her second baby Sienna; read her birth story here]

49. Alice, Gweek... 

"Thought you might like to know that our baby boy, Henry Rowan, was born at Treliske on 28th April at 4.13am weighing 8Ib 7oz. He was 12 days overdue and missed his induction by 4 hours! I was lucky enough to have a completely natural delivery, no small thanks to the hypobirthing techniques which helped to keep me calm (ish)! Stayed at home til my waters broke then we raced to the hospital and I had Henry 40 mins later. I was home by 9am! Anyway I just wanted to say thank you for the introduction to the hypnobirthing techniques. I think they did help, especially when I was tense about being overdue. " 

50. Charlotte, Midlands...

“Thank you so much for all your help – this really did make a difference, not just in the short term sense of helping with the birth but long term in that you have helped me to change how I felt about Noah’s birth and my ability to have a baby naturally. I don’t think that I’d have had the confidence to even try for a VBAC, let alone the labour and birth I’d hoped for if I hadn’t met Alice. In addition to achieving it this time, I not only now see my first labour and birth as a positive experience but the confidence I gained in my body through our time with Alice and by achieving a VBAC has helped me to overcome fears of a recurrence of mastitis and to try again – and this time succeed – at breastfeeding.  So thank-you Alice,... I will forever be grateful.

"I often think of that weekend when we did your course - I can honestly say that I think it was one of the best things I have ever done, you really did give me back my self-belief and helped me to trust my instincts and body, something which not only helped in Isla's birth and breastfeeding but with Gabriel's too and also just in general day-to-day life, from using the techniques for general pain control (headaches, etc!) to generally just being at ease with my body again."

51. Sarah, Falmouth...

“I definitely support hypnobirthing and believe that if madam hadn't been posterior that I could have dealt with the contraction pain no bother as they weren’t hurting much at all with the relaxation etc....But our hypno-waterbaby is definately a relaxed laid back happy one!” 

 

52. Kate, Downderry... 

"Our beautiful baby girl, Rudi Harper, arrived safe and well on the 20th October, just 5 days late!  She weighed a healthy 4.1kgs (9lbs). We had a rocky few weeks before the birth. After a period of reduced movement and a trip to triage, the doctors were concerned that she was going to be too big and I would need a c-section. We continued with the hypnobirthing practice and it really helped to keep me calm. Anyway we managed to have a homebirth and it was the most beautiful, peaceful experience. I loved it so much I now want another baby! She was born in water after just 4.5 hours of active labour and just 20 mins of pushing ... so so so different to my son's birth! Thank you for your help and support"

53. Rae, Mawgan

"I have practised Alice's hypnobirthing techniques in every pregnancy and birth and I really cannot imagine labouring without them. I am so grateful that her knowledge and skill has helped me have joyous, wonderful births. I feel almost evangelical about spreading the word of hypnobirthing - it gives women back such a mind blowing power and trust in our bodies. 

When I was unexpectedly induced because of pre-eclampsia with our first son, the affirmations helped me to stay grounded, happy and focused despite everything going on around me. 

I thought my second birth was pretty amazing but when our beautiful third child, our second daughter, arrived everything was even more instinctive and relaxed. 

Early and then active labour was at home in our bedroom... chatting as our 3 year old watched Thomas the Tank Engine and our shoe-obsessed 1 year old bossed me around trying to get me to put on leopard print wedges (!), while the cat got into the wardrobe and noisily insisted that I joined her and made a nest to deliver my kittens (!!) I smile so much when I think of it and I was also smiling lots at the time. 

As my contractions intensified I used Alice's breathing techniques and continued to listen to the affirmation tracks downloaded to my phone. I felt calm and in control throughout and in a very short space of time (my labour was 4 hours from the first contraction to holding our daughter, something I attribute to hypnobirthing and letting my body take over completely), I was standing and breathing my daughter out... Something I had heard of but not experienced before in my other two births. 

It's hard to put the memory I have of it into words, but my body knew exactly what to do and the hypnobirthing helped me be in the perfect mind space to let it. It was incredibly intense, with every inch of my body involved, but not in any way frightening, painful or even an effort really. 

I felt the strongest I have ever felt in my life and very in-tune with my daughter too. We were working together for her to be born in the most beautiful way.  

Lots of people also commented on how content my little ones seemed in their first few weeks and I'm sure that's down to the peacefulness that hypnobirthing gave me and them through labour.

Thank you Alice. A hundred times over. I am so, so grateful to have first met you and been able to use hynobirthing to bring my three babies into the world xx"


54. Miranda, Pentewan 

"I got through 17 hours of labour using Alice’s wonderful advice without any drugs.....thank you Alice.

The Truro Birth Centre was mega and the staff were amazing, I floated about in the hot tub for quite a few hours and had to go to the delivery suite in the end for an assisted delivery, which wasn’t what we’d planned, but the result was what we wanted.. e.g. a cute baby!

He was calm throughout the whole process and I put this down to Hypnobirthing and the importance placed on being calm, breathing and being positive.

He’s doing well and is just scrumptious. Oh it definitely made a huge difference, I would recommend it to anyone....in fact I am telling everyone who listens about how amazing Hypnobirthing is!"

56. Eleanor, Hayle

"Thank you so much for passing on your valuable knowledge and positive birth techniques, helping me to remain calm and relaxed throughout labour and giving birth.

It was a long 36hrs of labour at home before making the decision to go to hospital for extra help as my labour kept stalling.

I did end up having the syntocinon drip and and epidural. I truly believe that having your positive affirmations carried me through each stage of my birth journey with peace and confidence.

I have also found the parenting track really lovely to make a part of my get-ready-for-bed routine and feel your course has played a vital role in our positive parenting journey.

Thank you so very much, a special gift you have."

57. MC, Glasgow...

"I loved your voice, and listened to all your tracks regularly from 34 weeks, especially affirmations. I also went over the theory sections of the website several times.

From the beginning to the end of my labour I listened to you on repeat with my headphones on! It kept me very focused and in my zone, to the point where I panicked at transition when I couldn’t hit repeat on my phone quick enough! 

I had a quick birth. My baby's waters broke on their own at home at midnight. I got up to the hospital to be triaged at 1am (3cm dilated). She was born two hours later, with transition very brief.

I remained upright as long as possible and birthed her leaning over the back of a bed on my knees. It felt very intense and powerful. I used gas and air for an hour at the end and this was a good distraction coupled with the hypnobirthing track.

She came into the world calmly and without a cry, but bright eyed and alert. I attribute this to the techniques learned and the trust placed in my baby to come when she was ready.

‘Your baby and body know what to do' - and thank goodness for that!’ Thank you! I’m so proud of her and me"


58. Xenia, Cardiff...

"Thanks Alice, I enjoyed the daily affirmations email, the weekly story taught me many important things and the info on your website was very helpful. The birth plan was invaluable! Xx 

I listened to the mp3s and also had sessions with a local hypnotherapist for some extra practice. The two went very well together. I planned a home birth after reading the lovely stories on your website.

I had an intense early labour through the night and it took all my concentration to breathe through it. I was so uncomfortable between contractions I didn't feel I could get up. I didn't even ask for the hypnobirthing tracks - big mistake. At 5cm I was ready to throw my birth plan out the window and ask for hospital and epidural.

Later I was helped into the pool and when my husband put on the mp3s the relief I felt hearing that familiar music was instant - I felt so much stronger and calmer. And actually that time from 5cm through to birth was far easier than the first half had been, even pleasurable at times. 

The gas and air arrived so late I didn't bother with it, I had no pain relief other than the pool, head stroking and the hypnosis. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have coped without the hypnobirthing. My baby was born at home, 8lb10, in the presence of my little boy, everything I had wished for. I'm so proud of the gentle start I gave her and she's a contented little thing."


59. Georgina, Northamptonshire...

"I had the most amazing birth on Tuesday, my little Sophie was in a rush to come out. 

I probably didn’t do as much “active hypnobirthing study” as I should, however I listened to it to go to sleep every night and I could hear the music in my head during labour, especially the “positive birthing affirmations with Wah”.

My waters went on Monday afternoon, followed by slowly building tightenings, which thanks to the online course I knew to expect and breathe through - even managed to sleep for a few hours through them!

Then we went to the midwife-led birthing unit and (thanks to the online videos of breathing techniques), I sounded like I was playing a kazoo throughout my labour and it helped wonderfully.

In between each surge I was my normal chatty self, I would then zone out when each surge came. I instinctively knew each phase of my baby's birth and was in tune with my body completely, even my midwife commented on it! 

I had my perfect water birth after 2 hours of labour and 5 minutes of breathing my baby out. Thank you for your fantastic course and daily affirmations! I will miss those!"

60. Naomi, Derbyshire...

"Practicing Alice's hypnobirthing techniques helped me to stay positive and relaxed when complications in pregnancy arose and I suddenly had to induced rather than the home birth I had planned.

I also believe it helped me to start in early labour while waiting to be induced.

In labour I felt powerful, primal and positive but found the techniques again particularly useful to stay calm and manage pain when I had to go to theatre for a retained placenta.

Despite things not going to my original plan, I had a hugely positive and empowering experience. I would definitely recommend Alice's hypnobirthing course. Thank you!"

61. Ingrid, Leicester...

"I would definitely recommend this course to anyone! It really helped me focus on the task at hand and calmed me down in the weeks coming up to my birth. I only started this course at week 35 and wish I had listened a lot more to the mp3s, however in the short space of time it still helped me cope very well with labour.

I was due my little girl on the Friday 7th Sept. My waters broke at 2am on Monday 3rd. My contractions became quite strong from 8.30am onwards, I got into the birthing pool at 10am and my baby girl Lilah was born at 11.24am!

I had her at a birthing centre with only two paracetamol and a water birth. She weighed a massive 10lb! This course reassured me that my body could give birth, as my biggest fear was not being able to push baby out. Although it was tough I just remembered my affirmations and that got me through it.

Thank you so much to Alice for this course."




62. Amy, Lake District... 

"Just wanted to thank you for the course which was such a help during pregnancy and labour. Our little boy Ezra Alan was born yesterday morning at 11.38am, weighing just over 8lbs.

The hypnobirthing course really helped my partner and I to prepare for the birth together and focus on a positive birthing experience.

63. Serena, Surrey...

"The day after our due date my waters broke at 10:30pm & I started to prepare myself for a long journey through labour. I even told the midwife on the phone that we would wait until after rush hour the next day to head in, my husband Clive still laughs about that comment now...

Over the weeks leading up to this moment I had been listening to Alice's MP3s whilst burning the recommended oils and I never really thought I was 'hypnotised'. I was dubious about the effect as I'd sometimes find my mind wondering & thinking about what to have for dinner, whilst when Clive would listen with me he would fall into a nice relaxing sleep! But I stuck with it.

After a shower things started to progress so we ran a bath, started our MP3s and lit the oil burner. I was so calm listening to Alice and smelling the oils, I was transferred back to my relaxed safe place that I had been when listening all the times before.... apart from when my husband used matches to light the oil burner! That was not a relaxing smell at all ; )

As the contractions got stronger I was in & out of the bath finding what was most comfortable. I tried a TENS machine but I just found it distracting and annoying so removed it pretty quickly.

We decided to head to the birth centre after 3 & half hours and still listened to the MP3s in the car and were easily able to plug the tablet into the speakers in our birthing room.

When we arrived the midwife was surprised to inform me that I was 9cm dilated as I was so calm and she asked me "how long have you been needing to push?" I was a bit confused and replied "I just thought this is how it feels?". 

An hour later at 03:38 I gave birth to our beautiful daughter Eva in the birthing pool, with no pain relief and just the support of Clive, the Midwife and of course Alice.

It was textbook and I couldn't have written a better birth plan for us. I was the first person to hold her and Clive was the second, he was also the first person to see and reveal the sex of our baby.

When you are calm and believe in your body and what is happening to you everything just goes right and in a comfortable slow motion, we have the most amazing memories that we will cherish forever.

Also, I strongly believe that because Eva had such a natural and stress free welcome to the world it meant that we were able to bond and establish breastfeeding

Now 16 weeks pregnant again we are hopeful for a similar experience and will definitely be including Alice on this journey with us. Thank you Alice."

64. Eleanor...

"Thank you for your fantastic online hypnobirthing course. I practiced regularly from 21 weeks into my pregnancy and it was invaluable to staying calm during my long labour. 

When I was growing up, almost everything painful was compared to childbirth as a kind of benchmark. So although my mum was very positive about it, saying that the body just does what it needs to instinctively, I always rather dreaded birth. 

My main fear approaching my own labour was that I would lose control emotionally and say terrible things to my husband in the heat of the moment, which he would find very upsetting and which I would regret as soon as labour was over. I also had real doubts about my physical ability to maintain the stamina required for labour and the natural delivery that I wanted, and my mental resilience to handle the pain, as I've always regarded myself as a wimp with a low pain threshold. 

Having done your superb online course, all my worries were completely unfounded. My labour started on Saturday night and our little daughter Amara Lily arrived 60 hours later on Tuesday morning weighing 7lbs 10oz, with a natural delivery using only a TENS machine and gas and air.

I managed to stay focused and calm throughout, in spite of a period of back to back labour before she managed to rotate for delivery. I arrived at the hospital already 7cm, having been able to remain at home due to my hypnobirthing. I really think I was able to find the strength to deliver her naturally by believing in myself and trusting my body, all embedded during my practice of your course.

I never once lost my temper with my husband and he saw a strength and determination in me that he hadn't seen before, and which I didn't know I had. Thank you so much for helping me to believe in myself and have such a positive experience."

Birth story 2...

"Although this was not my first pregnancy and everything was very smooth, I was of course extremely worried to give birth during the global pandemic, and the fact that my husband could only be with me for the actual birth was also very stressful to imagine. We live in Japan and the birthing clinics are generally wonderful here, but very strict due to Covid.

 

67. Rinat...

This was my first birth and it was entirely unmedicated. I have the privilege of saying how truly wonderful it was and how genuinely excited I am to do it again.

Alice’s hypnobirthing course was extremely helpful.  I had read Marie Mongan’s Hypnobirthing book (which got me interested in hypnobirthing) but then wanted the practical tools to prepare for birth. I couldn’t afford an in person hypnobirthing class so I loved that Alice’s website was easily accessible and conveyed the main aspects of hypnobirthing and the functions of labor in a concise and less overwhelming way.

I also liked that I could go back and read and learn as many times as I wished.

I also loved the audios. I listened to Alice’s recordings on rotation every night before sleep starting from 28 weeks onward. I began to notice that they had relaxed me so much that I started drifting off without realizing it! I took in and accepted the words and affirmations that Alice kept on repeating. Her comforting tone of voice and music helped me “relax, release and open” and gave me the tools and courage to naturally birth my baby as well as carry on that calmness through postpartum. 

I really enjoyed reading other people’s positive birth stories as well. I also appreciated the videos that showed positive birth experiences (they were not too vivid or scary to watch either… as I and most people would assume).

Thank you so so much Alice for giving me the opportunity to gently and respectfully birth my sweet girl into this world. As well as empowering me to trust my body and my baby. 

My birth story: 

I went into labor three days earlier than my due date.

That same day I was feeling draggier than usual but nothing crazy. I was actually cooking all afternoon for our weekend guests who we were planning on hosting the following day! (pretty ambitious of me…)

That evening by 7:00 pm, I felt a bit of pressure in my lower abdomen not thinking anything of it.  I just felt the urge to move my hips. 

I had wondered if it was “false labor” and began tensing up each time I had felt this feeling. The sensation began coming and going. As it got more predictable instead of fighting it, I remembered that I could get “ahead of the sensations” and breathe like Alice taught me. The moment I started breathing with it, the feeling was not painful but something that simply demanded my full concentration. I told my husband that we could still probably go to bed tonight and he looked at me in confusion. 

I had started involuntarily jittering (didn't know this was also a side effect of labor). Again the breathing helped calm the shaking. I was heavily in denial and told my husband I was probably just in the “early stage labor” and not in active labor. He said, “Ok love, sure, you can think that”.

In between surges I went about my regular night, eating, peeing, and drinking a lot of water. As the sensations intensified and got closer together,  it demanded more of my attention, I laid on our bed with eyes closed and continued breathing through the surges. 

As my eyes closed again and again my husband stopped what he was doing for the moment, and stood by me holding my hand.. he was incredibly supportive. I asked him what the jitters were and he said so sincerely “its power, my love.”

He absolutely got it. His words were so encouraging throughout. The moments I spent with him while in labor were the most connected I had ever felt to him— we were soon going to be parents together.

As surges became more frequent, I agreed to go to the hospital. It had been six hours later but I was not aware of time passing. It was now 1:00 am. The nurse and my doula were highly impressed by me as I was 7 cm dilated!  My husband looked at me with a giant smile.. “I knew it” he said. I had started out in a bath and then made my way on all fours, and hovered over the hospital bed making breathing sounds. Conversations grew fainter and the sensations felt more intense. I kept up with the breathing but more rapidly this time.

 After a couple of surges, my midwife checked inside and could feel the baby’s head!! I reached up a finger's width, and there she was, my finger was touching her little head. It was so incredible to me. 

The energy in the room was filled with excitement and I felt so encouraged.

In my birth prep I had read about adrenaline kicking in at transition. I thought that meant that my heart would be beating rapidly. No. It was adrenaline on a different level; the adrenaline that made me feel unstoppable. 

All of my natural hormones kicked into full gear. I was zoned in completely, hearing the noises behind me but didn’t feel like talking. I was squatting and breathing on the hospital bed with each surge. My husband said I must have been doing that for nearly an hour. It was a full on athletic performance. The exhaustion eventually hit, forcing me to lay on the bed in between each surge trying to regain my strength.

My baby was nestled in my water sac,  taking her sweet time, inching down with each surge and then bouncing right back to the same spot I found her in. Every so often my husband and the doula followed me with the monitor, hearing a steady gentle heartbeat, dancing to the little thumping.

After another hour had gone by with the baby sitting tightly in the same spot, my midwife suggested breaking my water, since it never broke, as it could help move things along. 

After a bit of hesitation and assessing what the risks would be, I pushed it off for as long as I could until the exhaustion really hit. 

She gently broke my water after I agreed to it, and I felt an overwhelming feeling of relief. More so than my baby coming out!  Apparently she said that my water sac was REALLY strong! My baby gracefully slid down and peaked her little head out, as my doula describes it. My midwife was in shock because it happened so quickly! With a few more powerful pushes, a soft cry emerged. Little Nina was born at 6:33 am. Just 6.7 pounds (3.065 kg).

Since Nina was born she has been such a sweet natured and calm baby. I truly believe it was because of her gentle birth. It also happened to be the superbowl that week. My husband eagerly told his friend who’s wife was also expecting that watching your wife give birth is like the most insane athletic achievement. He would like to see an NFL player try to birth a baby!

  

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See also:

Positive induction hypnobirthing stories

Positive caesarean hypnobirthing stories

Fab hypnobirthing birth videos