20 Nov The Home Hypnnobirth of Baby Imke
This birth story will give you goosebumps.
I had the privilege of supporting Sadie and Benny with a private Hypnobirthing Australia™ program, as they prepared for the homebirth of their baby.
Like many expectant parents I work with, they were eager to have a natural and intervention-free birth, but had some fears around what to expect and whether their wishes would be made possible.
But both Sadie and Benny embraced the teachings with passion and commitment and their anxieties faded, paving the way for a calm and ‘dreamlike’ birth.
This is their beautiful birth story.
“Five weeks after the birth of our baby daughter, its hard to pinpoint the words I would use to describe the experience because it was totally dreamlike and unlike any other moment in our lives. Our birth was relaxed and calm but there were moments of incredible adrenaline and excitement. I felt strong, and confident in what my body and my baby would be able to naturally do. And once she was with us the dream didn’t stop there but it felt like as I opened my eyes the experience opened up to include my partner Ben and our new little love – and we’ve just about stopped pinching ourselves now weeks later as the dream haze is lifting.
Imke announced she was ready to meet us at nine o’clock on a Sunday morning as my membranes ruptured with a pop!
Despite our expectations that we would be filling the initial stage with films and slow walks to pass the hours, the surges came on quickly and strongly – with one minute on, and one minute off. I began in our bedroom sitting astride the birthing ball and rocking back and forth with my arms and head stretched out on the bed in front of me as each surge rolled through. From that point on all my awareness was naturally focused inwardly, my eyes were closed and I gave all my attention to my breath – practising the techniques Stacey had shared in our Hypnobirthing course and focusing on the immediate sensations I was experiencing without worrying about what was going on around me, or coming next. Even music was a distraction and the playlist I had spent hours carefully curating to provide the perfect background to our birth quickly went out the window!
As the surges got stronger and stronger I retreated to our tiny bathroom where I felt most safe, with Ben sat to my side offering support and encouragement quietly through his presence and loving words.
It got to the point where the urge to push came over me and in line with the home birth we had planned and hoped for, Ben contacted our midwives Phil and Mary who joined us around 2pm. After a quick check Phil confirmed “we’re going to have a baby very soon” and it was at this point that we realised how quickly things had moved along. Ben was still inflating the birth pool as I clambered in!
I would describe the first part of the birth as something that was happening within me as my cervix thinned and opened, whereas the next stage was something I had to actively do. Taking myself deeper with the natural urges required all my energy, and I was grateful for the support of our midwives who gently encouraged me to move into different positions to help Imke along. She was born into our arms at 5pm on the same day, with a massive cone head, covered in thick white vernix but cute as can be!
Ben and I were expecting to have to actively keep moving the birth along, and had practised all our Hypnobirthing techniques in the months beforehand to keep the hormones flowing and stay calm.
In fact, we think that all the preparation we did in practising the mediations, creating affirmations and talking about how excited we were to meet our baby laid the groundwork which removed all the anxieties in advance of the birth. And so on the day our mindset was already so positive and calm that we just went with the flow.
For our family, Hypnobirthing came together with the decision to have a home birth, and an incredible team of midwives to create the most wonderful, positive, natural experience – after which you get a gorgeous baby!
Stacey is a multi-tasking mum, Childbirth Educator & Pregnancy Yoga teacher…& the founder of Buddha Babies, a social enterprise* that provides ‘Mindful’ antenatal and Hypnobirthing classes in Bondi and Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs.
*20% of all course costs go directly to The Freedom Project and the fight against child trafficking
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