London HypnoBirthing Classes for easier natural birth using self hypnosis and relaxation

This is just a sample of the wonderful birthstories we are receiving....

Hi Helianthe,

Ella's birth was the most beautiful experience of my life! Absolutely amazing!

It went really well and was a quick one for the first baby (six and a half hours). I woke up at 5:00 am on Friday and had a "bloody show", then a little later some random contractions came on. They felt stronger than the braxton hicks I had experienced before so I knew it was the real thing. They continued throughout the day, but they weren't real strong or regular so Rick and I just hung around the flat eating, reading, watching TV, and I even gave myself a facial and painted my toes (not easy to reach as you can imagine!). Then, about 2:00 pm. the contractions became regular and were about 5 min. apart. The midwife came and took us to the birth center. We had the place to ourselves so it was very private. They have a small garden where Rick and I walked around in circles (must have done more than 50 laps!) I would just hang onto Rick during the contractions and then continue walking. The midwives said the walking would help my cervix dilate faster and it seemed to do the trick.

At about 5:30 the contractions got more intense so I got into the birthing pool where I stayed for the next three hours until Ella was born. I listened to the tapes, and practiced my breathing and relaxation exercises between the contractions. All of the techniques helped me stay really relaxed, which I think is why the birth progressed so quickly. I went through transition in about 15 minutes and then I felt ready to push. I pushed for an hour, which surprised me because but it really only seemed like about 15 minutes. I did most of the pushing in the pool on my knees with my arms and head supported by Rick on the side of the pool. The pushing was very painful, but I never felt like it was unmanageable or that I would need pain relief.

When Ella came out, the midwife caught her and handed her to Rick and he brought her out of the water. I laid back and he put her on my tummy after he announced that she was a girl. She laid on my tummy for maybe 45 seconds while the fluid naturally drained out of her lungs (they didn't even suction her). Then she took a deep breath and made a little yelp- she was so relaxed that she didn't even cry.

As you can imagine, we just adore her and sit and marvel at her all the time. It's hard to remember what it was like without her! She's a really sweet baby- rarely cries and is calm and alert when awake. She sleeps really well- goes down with us between 10:30 and 11:30 and waking around 2:30 and 5:00 and then every hour after eight. The midwives say she is an efficient feeder because she gets what she needs in about 10-15 minutes. Thus, I have been able to get nearly eight hours a night. I just hope this will last!

Thanks for leading such a great hypno-birthing course. It really helped me achieve the childbirth experience that I wanted for me and my baby!

Katie Vasicek
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Carl & Stine's Birth Story

Daniel was born six days after his due date on 6th of December 2004 at 19.25. His birth was a wonderful experience thanks to the hypnobirthing techniques.

I started having surges in the morning approximately 10 minutes apart. Carl and I got up and started doing the 20/20 breathing. The surges were slightly painful before I got up, because I could not concentrate, but when I focused on what we had learned at the course and what we had been practicing at home the pain disappeared. Carl made a big packed lunch and we checked the bag to bring to the hospital. At lunchtime the surges were 5 minutes apart and we rang the hospital. They advised to come in if I could not manage the surges, but it was not a problem. We went for a walk instead. Carl got a bit nervous about the whole thing and he told me in the middle of the street to breathe the baby out. I told him it probably was not the best place for that!

Baby Daniel We arrived at the hospital at 15.00 and went to the birth suite. The midwife had not heard about hypnobirthing, but she could see we knew what we were doing and left us alone most of the time. We had a midwife student present throughout - she was amazed about how relaxed the atmosphere was. She got the job of getting ice water and keep the CD going.

An hour after arrival my water broke and soon afterwards I went into a trance like state pretty much up to Daniel's birth. Carl was invaluable. Without his prompts and shoulder press I could not have done it so easily. Unfortunately I relied on him so much, that I nearly panicked when he was not by my side and the poor guy never had a chance of getting anything to eat. So much for his packed lunch!

I started having the urge to push at 18.45 and 40 minutes later Daniel was born. Seeing him for the first time was unbelievable and the whole experience was amazing for both Carl and I. I did not really experience any pain during labor except stinging in the last few minutes before Daniel was born. I was in control during the surges and able to focus on relaxation, and as soon as Daniel was born I was ready to do the whole thing once again. Daniel is a content baby, feeding well and sleeps well between feeds at night, so much so that we are already looking forward to give him a brother or sister sometime in the future!

Thanks Helianthe for helping us have such a relaxing and joyous birth!

Love Carl, Stine and Daniel

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Dear Helianthe,

We are extremely happy to inform you about the miraculous arrival of our baby boy Alexander. That was unbelievably easy and comfortable birthing. Waters broken at 5 a.m., that I went back to sleep and woke up at 7:15 because of surges (very mild surges). I remained in bed and we chatted over different things. At 8:15 the interval between surges became 7 minutes and each surge lasted for 1 minute, so we phoned our midwife Maddie. When she arrived one hour later the surges were already with the interval of 2-3 minutes each lasting 1 minute. Surprisingly I felt no discomfort at all, just mild tension. I was easily coming back after each surge and we discussed whether we are going to the Birth Centre or staying at home.
Having considered all risk factors we decided to stay at HOME (and that was the right decision). At about 10 am went to the toilet and felt really strong and very painful surge. At this moment I started panicking, thinking that this is it, this is the real birthing starts, and now this pain will be there for at least several hours (Mikhail felt absolutely the same, he came to me wishing to help me back to bed).

While I was in the toilet Maddie and Rachel (midwives) quickly unpacked birthing matte and covered everything with disposable sheets. On my way back to bed I had to stop and get on my knees, as I had a strongest wish to push. I was expecting the midwives would tell me not to push and breathe, but they kept saying that everything is OK. So one push - and Alexanders head was born together with one of his hands (he was holding his ear). Another push - and Alexander arrived to this world. 16 minutes later placenta was born. I had no bruises no nothing. I was absolutely shocked by the ease and comfort of the process (it seems to me now that till the very end I was not 100% sure that this is possible at all).

Mikhail was absolutely delighted. He also was not expecting everything to be so perfect and great. Alexander is one week old now. He is a very calm and smiley boy, sleeping and eating a lot. He almost never cries (only when I change his nappy). Anna was at home and came to see her little brother just 20 minutes after he was born. She adores Alexander and really likes to spend time with him, showing him toys, talking to him or singing to him.

We would really like to thank you for everything you have done to make our experience unforgettable and just perfect.

Sincerely,
Elena, Mikhail, Anna and Alexander
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Beverley Turner & James Cracknell: Our Experience.

Beverley:

Helianthe's hypnobirthing gave me a birth experience that I could only have dreamt about. Like all women I was anxious and uncertain about what to expect. We were aiming for a natural birth at London's Birth Centre but everyone kept telling me it was a ridiculous idea and I should go for the drugs. I was determined to prove them wrong and I did! I was in the middle of writing a book about Formula One and knew that being laid up with a caesarean scar would be very debilitating. As it turned out, I gave birth at 9.30 am and was back home, watching the Grand Prix and taking notes by 10pm. The next day I went for a walk to the river.

When my waters broke I was calm and confident that my body would do exactly what I needed it to. I stayed at home and began cleaning like a mad woman. As the evening drew on my tummy felt tighter but not at all painful because I was so relaxed. James and I watched TV in front of the fire with lots of pillows. The midwives had been round and checked on me once but I wanted to watch the end of Sex in th City and said I would call them if I wanted to go to the Birth Centre. It was all very instinctive and I firmly believe that is because of the Hypnobirthing training. The midwives knew that Hypnobirthing mums give birth much more quickly but accepted my decision totally.

Finally at 3am I called them and we went into the Birth Centre where I got in the birthing pool. We played the hypnobirthing tape over and over and in my notes I apparently said "This is bliss." James wasn't as well-rehearsed as I would have liked (I have made him suffer with that ever since) but he counted my breaths and turned the tape over. I did get very tired towards the end but when I got of the bath in order to get gravity on side our little boy appeared pretty quickly. Because I was relaxed and because I had spent a few hours in the water, I didn't need any stitches and had no tearing whatsoever. Croyde fed well and was a lovely calm baby (he is less so now...maybe Helianthe can do some hypnosis on a boisterous 14 month old!!)

I will never give birth any other way. It was a revelation and I'm afraid I have become a bit evangelical about it. I recommended Helianthe to a friend who had had a terribly traumatic time with her first - lots of intervening doctors and an emergency c-section. She has since had a beautiful big baby girl completely naturally at home and is elated by her experience - all the doctors had told her it wasn't possible. My ante-natal pals also suffered a myriad of complications as a direct result of meddling doctors and their own - understandable - anxieties. Over half were given c-sections.

I cannot recommend Hypnobirthing enough. I even find myself doing some of the breathing techniques when I am about to broadcast on TV or Radio! The relaxation skills are very useful in everyday life.

James:

When Bev said she wanted to do Hypnobirthing I was very sceptical. You might think that as an athlete I would believe in the power of the mind but I needed some convincing. The main problem with our lessons with Helianthe were Bev's giggles. She couldn't stop laughing and on a few occasions she had to go into the garden to get it out of her system. I had hoped to be able to put her in a trance every time I needed a shirt ironing but no luck. The lessons themselves were great for me too as I got to have a lie down and do some deep relaxation. As I had normally come straight from a training session on the river I quickly fell asleep. But it didn't matter - although Bev was embarrassed by my snoring. I was away a lot during our pregnancy but Bev listened to the tapes and seemed very relaxed about the whole thing. I realized during the birth that I wasn't as well prepared as I should have been and felt bad about it. At one point I asked bev if she was ok and she growled back "Don't ASK me if I'm ok, TELL me I am!" She was more annoyed with me than with giving birth...tip for the dads...do your homework. it will make your lives a lot easier and your partners birth much calmer. I was so proud of Bev and the way she kept in control throughout. I held her head in the water for about 4 hours and all the callouses on my hands peeled off. It hurt like hell when I got back in the rowing boat. Bev said it served me right for not being better prepared. Next time I will try harder and we will certainly do the training again. I think it is understandable to be nervous and I expect that Bev will need to have any negativity erased again. People are always telling us their horror stories. Helianthe's service actually went beyond the hypnobirthing and she ended up giving us an afternoon of marriage guidance when the stress of the pregnancy, me being away and the looming Olympics all came crashing in on us. Bev was struggling to explain how she was feeling and I wasn't doing a good job of listening. Helianthe gave us a safe, objective space to discuss our concerns in and it worked brilliantly. We owe her and hypnobirthing an awful lot.

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Hi Helianthe

Just a quick note to tell you that Julia give birth to a 6lb 12 oz baby girl named Jessica three weeks early on 2nd Dec. Mother and baby doing very well.

We went to hospital at 11.00am, with Julia very cool calm and collected to find out that she was already 6cm dilated, at 1.29pm she said that she wanted to push as she had been very calm through her surges, suffering almost no pain whatsoever, our little girl was born at 2.44pm with 4 stitches, no cuts and no hassles, the placenta was delivered naturally after almost one hour and she had NO drugs, NO pain relief and everything went REALLY well.

She attributes her easy birth to attending your hypnotherapy classes and learning how to let her body take control of the birthing process. I am sure that she will send you a longer email herself shortly after the house move but we just wanted to thank you for all your help and to HIGHLY RECOMMEND your course to ANYONE thinking of having a natural birth.

The midwives were superb in fact they were even proud of the fact that she had an all natural birth and on several occasions stated that they "wished all pregnant mums were like you, so calm and collected".

Thanks again Helianthe, will be in touch again soon

Regards, W. Paul Liggett
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Hi Helianthe

We had a beautiful baby girl on Tuesday 27th April. She was 6 days early, born at home and I didn’t have any pain relief.

My labour start in the early hours of Monday 26th April. It was all fine and I used the hypnobirthing breathing techniques to manage the surges. I went to get my legs waxed when I was having surges every 5/6 minutes. Sue who did the leg wax couldn’t quite believe it but I had this real thing about not giving birth with hairy legs. Anyway she was amazed how calm I was at the time. To be fair though the leg wax was worse than the surges at that stage!

By 6.30pm labour was well established and Becky arrived at 7.15pm. I was really starting to feel the surges but kept breathing through them. As the labour progressed I kept up the breathing and listened to the hypnobirthing tape and tried to do the visualisations.

It did become a bit painful towards the end and I did yell a bit! When it came to actually delivering the baby it was amazing. I started pushing and didn’t really feel very much then I gave a huge push and felt her head being delivered. Becky told me that with one more push the baby would be delivered. I gathered my breath and pushed and her little body just dropped out. When I saw her for the first time it was just awesome. The cord was cut and the placenta delivered 10 minutes later and then Becky ran us a bath and the baby and I got in it together, I had her cradled in my arms and she was so calm but alert it was just such an incredible experience. Becky & Rachel tucked Adam, Amber and myself up in bed and left about 3.30am. I couldn’t sleep as I was so excited, I spent the rest of the night awake just watching her.

Amber is just over 3 weeks old now and she’s really thriving. I often think about the labour and delivering her and I am so delighted it went the way I wanted it to. So many people go on about what a bad birthing experience they had and I feel very proud to be able to talk about mine in such a positive manner.

Hypnobirthing helped give me the confidence, belief and techniques to be able to have that wonderful experience and for that I want to thank you for sharing hypnobirthing with us. It made the birth I wanted a reality. Hope to see you at some point in the future.

Love, Carole, Adam & Amber xxx

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Hi Helianthe

Thought I’d send you my story – thank you from the bottom of my heart for making my birthing experience a very happy one. I believe that the hypnobirthing techniques helped on 2 levels – The first to help me cope with the pain and the second, to allow me to communicate with my baby and help him on his passage. The picture was taken as he had just been placed on my chest and taken his first breath – amazing! And to top it all – I have an angel baby – he is so relaxed and happy being a mother is a breeze – I’m so
lucky.

Thank you ! Ali xx

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Hi Helianthe,

I went into labour six days after Leonardo's official 'due' date.

I woke that day at 6.30am with lower back pain - a bit like menstrual cramps. The discomfort started to come and go at regular intervals and this is when I realised that active labour had begun. I can only assume that I had slept through early labour.

Marco awoke and I asked him to put on some water for a hot water bottle which I held to my back and this went some way to alleviating the discomfort. Marco then put on the rainbow relaxation cd and I concentrated on the deep breathing. The most comfortable position for me was standing up where I was able to start really concentrating on what was happening and relax.

At about 8am we left for the hospital which was only a 5 minute drive away. Once there Marco dealt with the paper work and I stood leaning over a table, breathing up every surge whilst the baby's heartbeat and my surges were monitored.

At about 9am we were shown to a room and here I was only vaguely aware of a number of people around me as I was concentrating on my breathing and what was happening to my body. I found it really helpful to almost 'go into myself' and picture moment for moment what was going on inside. I kept tellng myself that all of these new sensations were
perfectly normal and that I should just go with the flow! I found the opening rose imagery really useful at this point and I kept willing my cervix to open.

At 9.30am the gynaecologist visited me whilst I was standing since this was the position I felt best in and she told me that I was already 8cm dilated so it was high time to move to the delivery room.

By 10.00am the tub was ready and as I slipped into the warm water and the weightless sensation that the water gave me was amazing. My back definitely felt the benefit. It was at this point that my waters broke and I felt like a deflated ballon - fantastic!

I was truly comfortable bobbing about regaining strength between the pushing/breathing down stage - in fact I was so comfortable that when the mid-wife suggested that I might like to try the birthing stool to speed things up it took me at least 1/2 hour to convince myself to get out.

Whilst in the tub the midwife sat in front of me taking Leonardo's heartbeat at regular intervals (which showed no sign of stress) and Marco sat behind me, reminding me to relax.

Every time I breathed down I let out an instinctive birthing cry that I'm convinced almost deafened the mid-wife and initally gave Marco cause for concern as he thought I was in pain - I wasn't - the only downside was a hoarse voice and sore throat once it was all over.

Since the birthing stage was taking quite a while I did eventually decide to get out and try the stool. Marco sat behind me and applied the light touch massage to my lower back which was wonderful. The midwife placed a mirror on the floor so that I could see the head. In fact things at that stage started to move fast so I was invited to get back into the pool which I had to waddle to as Leonardo was now very low in the birth canal.

Once back in the water it only took 3 pushes for Leonardo to shoot out at 12.54 pm - 6.5 hrs after I started to feel the first surges. He was immediately placed on my chest. Marco then cut the cord.

My perineum was intact except for a very small internal tear and I had no stitches.

I can definitely say that I had a wonderful birth experience which was made possible thanks to the hypnobirthing course and undoubtedly the support and courage that Marco gave me both leading up to and during the birth.

If I can give any advice to future mums I would say be prepared to really listen to your body - these are new sensations and it helps to remember that your body is just doing a job that it was programmed to do; choose the most comfortable position for you - whatever it might be; remember to breathe correctly - it is crucial.

Tanya, Marco and Leonardo.