I always say the best time to take the Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Birth Program is when you are ready and can fit it in!  For Jess and Brent, that was when they were 37 weeks pregnant.
Jess had a really positive mindset even before taking classes…she wanted to take the class so she and her partner had plenty of tools available to them and so they felt empowered as a team to get the positive birth they both wanted.
And they definitely had a positive experience!

Here is Orlando’s beautiful birth story, as written by his amazing mother, Jess.

Welcome to the world sweet darling Orlando.
Arriving Sunday 2 June at 8.39pm weighing 2.669kg and 45cm long.

We would like to thank you so very much for giving us the knowledge and power to believe in ourselves and to birth such a beautiful little boy. I felt so empowered giving birth – it was by far the most magical experience myself and my partner have gone through together.

Here is how the story goes…

Sunday 2 June at 12.05am, I woke up to my waters breaking.  I was so incredibly excited knowing that today would be my son’s birthday.  There weren’t any signs of contractions but that was okay because I just knew that today was the day.  I called my mum to come down and be with me and my partner.
At 4.30am, we ventured into the hospital to have my baby’s heart rate checked and to see how I was going…everything was on track and I was able to return home to labour with my partner and my mum by my side.
I remember my mum saying make sure you have a nap when we get home as it could be a long day.. well, I was way too excited – I couldn’t sleep!

As the day went on, my contractions began.  They felt like period pains – nothing I couldn’t handle. I would sway and sing through them.  I felt comfortable.

By lunch time the contractions had started to increase.  I started to bounce and rock on the yoga ball as I found it helped distract me from the pressure.

Around 2.30pm my contractions started to become really close to each other and really intense.  During a contraction I would become out of breath and I couldn’t talk. We called the midwife and she said she thought I wasn’t ready to come in yet. I was fine with that.  I took a long hot shower and when I got out, I just knew I needed to go in to hospital. I did not want to birth at home I was so scared of this. My mum knew that I was getting impatient and needed to go in. She packed us all up and off we went.  By this time it was 3:30pm and I was contracting every two to three minutes and holding for 40 to 50 seconds.  The car ride was definitely interesting.  Of course we hit every traffic light on the way! 

We arrived at the hospital around 4:00pm.  We met our midwife and I immediately striped off and went straight into the shower as I knew the heat felt so good on my back…but unfortunately I love boiling hot showers and the hospital water just wasn’t hot enough!

My midwife offered to check how dilated I was and at 5:30pm I was “only” 2 centimetres.  But I knew his little head was right there and I wasn’t concerned. My midwife had a real good feel and realised there was a small pocket of fluid still sitting there so she decided to pop it and well.. it was all systems go from there!

I straight away turned over onto my hands and knees and started to bear down. I remember hearing my partner saying to a different midwife who had to take over “she has changed her voice, she is ready to push” thankfully he was in tune with me and knew what was happening. With their help, I moved down onto the floor to work with the yoga ball and bean bag.  At one point I needed to sit up and use the birthing stool as I felt I wasn’t getting him down the canal right, then back I went to being on my hands and knees.

As all this is happening, the relaxation music I had going all day at home and in the hospital was playing and my partner and my mum were using various hypnobirthing tools – they just seemed to know exactly what I wanted.  Their support and the music really made me feel calm and comfortable throughout the whole journey.

At one stage I needed to stand up as my knees were so sore from kneeling and it turned out, this was the best position for me. I stood up and was rocking with my partner and I said to him please hold me, and with every contraction, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pushed down. He was like my monkey bars – thank goodness he could hold me up as that was exactly what I needed to bring my little man down.

At 8.15pm the midwife told me she can see his head and that I really just needed to keep breathing him down.
Right before he was born she came around to my head and said, “I need you to just stop pushing and breath him out using such a calm voice.” So as she asked, I sat up onto my knees and just gently breathed him out.  I felt so calm, the room was silent, the air felt warm, the lights were dimmed –  and he was born!  My partner caught him – he had his eyes wide open and as he was passed to me he uttered the the most gentle cry.
He was here, he arrived into this beautiful world with such ease.  It was just pure magic.

We are so grateful to have the knowledge from the Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Birth Program as it guided us to bring such a beautiful little man into the world in such a beautiful way, so thank you!

Sara was one of those women who came into class already sure of herself and of the birth that she wanted.  Some women simply have this sort of internal determination from the beginning…and others gain it over the course of the Hypnobirthing Australia program.  But even those who seem innately confident need the reassurance of additional information and additional tools!
Sara and her husband Mike took everything they learned in hypnobirthing and put it into practice.
They fully committed to the birth that they wanted and took they steps they needed to ensure they were supported, prepared, and feeling positive!

Here is Helena’s amazing birth story, as written by her superstar mother, Sara.

Helena the “unremarkable” miracle.

‘Unremarkable’ is not always a word looked upon favourably, however when it comes to pregnancy and birth, there is nothing you would rather hear. I had a smooth pregnancy which I feel very fortunate and thankful for. I attribute this experience to remaining active during my pregnancy. I exercised daily and felt strong. I believe this translated well into labour and delivery and aided my recovery from labour.

Myself and my husband attended Caitlin’s hypnobirthing classes early on in our pregnancy. We learnt so much about the natural process of labour and coping methods for labour. This was enough to convince me that my body was inherently capable of nature’s most natural process and as long as I relaxed, let go, and gave the process over to my body and my baby then my labour could be an enjoyable experience! I was excited to meet my baby and had no fear. I think is the main factor in my amazing natural birth experience.

My contractions started the morning of 12 October. I was confused about the mild twinges I was experiencing. I was only four days past my due date and had not had a ‘show’ or any Braxton Hicks leading up to that day. I had made plans to watch a movie in the morning with a friend. I felt good and assumed the twinges were my first experience of Braxton Hicks. We walked 3km along the Brisbane river to the cinema and laughed about the possibility that today could be the day. By 3:00pm the surges had become stronger and I became more focused on them. I had a gut feeling this was it and I needed to be at home. I said goodbye to my friend, called my husband at work, and told him to start heading home. I was still very unsure of my surges as they were very inconsistent at this stage.

We called the midwife around 5:00pm for advice and she agreed home was a good place to stay. She advised me to try and eat and get some rest. I ate a small meal then lay on the bed where I listened to my Hypnobirthing Australia “Surge of the Sea” track. I’d spent time listening to this track through my pregnancy and each time I would fall asleep. This time was no different. I managed to sleep even through the surges.

When I awoke the surges had become more intense and by 7:00pm they were getting much closer together. I was pacing up and down the hall stopping before contractions to get on my hands and knees. It was not that they were crippling but stopping meant I could shut my eyes and really focus on them.
At 7:30pm my husband called the midwife again. She asked about the timing of contractions which were still inconsistent (and didn’t become regular until I went into transition) I told her that I had been sick a couple of times and couldn’t stand up during contraction so this time she suggested we make our way to the hospital.
We arrived just after 8:00pm.

The midwife asked if I would like her to do a vaginal check. I had said throughout my pregnancy that I wanted intervention kept to a minimum and I would have no vaginal checks, but on the day I felt it was good for the midwife to know how I was progressing and because this was my first birth I wanted reassurance that everything was ok. I asked her not to tell me how “dilated” I was because I didn’t want to get hung up on a number! (Later I found out that I was 4cm dilated when she checked me but went to 10cm in less than an hour).

As soon as the midwife examined me I felt like she had shaken things up a bit. I could not find a comfortable position on the bed so asked if they could get the bath ready. The warm water was a huge relief. I quickly entered the transitional phase of labour. I knew to expect this so it came as no surprise that the surges intensified. It became like an out-of-body experience. My conscious mind watching like an onlooker as immense pressure swept in and out of my body like a flowing tide. Between these surges I was so relaxed I could barely talk or lift my head. I became very aware of the feeling in my hands. It was an unusual tingling sensation almost like when the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. This gave my something to focus on and stay within my body.

Only a few contractions in, the midwife (a wonderfully calm woman named Elaine) sat on the edge of the pool and said, “If you want to start pushing, you can… your baby will be here soon, the head is right there.” I had to get her to repeat herself! I thought it would take so much longer. I was so happy and excited. The pushing stage was nothing like I thought it would be. I had no pain just an overwhelmingly intense pressure like an eruption throughout my entire body. It came with some incredibly primal roaring noises but the noises weren’t due to any pain, it was just a reIease I think.  I had to tell my husband not to panic as I wasn’t in any pain at all, I just needed to scream! I can remember thinking I hope there was no one outside who could hear me and think that labour was awful. I wanted to shout to them that it’s not that bad, it just sounds it!

Between pushes I would rest and the room was totally peaceful. At 9:15pm, with only a few pushes, Helena arrived. I felt a little burning because I tore (she came out very quickly). Overall I cannot believe how painless the whole process was. I can see how many of the feelings could be perceived as pain but I just felt it was an intense, strong convulsion like sensation. The relief and joy I felt as I birthed Helena was amazing. I was so proud and full of love for her.

I also wanted to thank you and praise the work you do. Your course had so much influence over our entire pregnancy and birth experience. We can’t thank you enough.

If you are interested in learning more about the Hypnobirthing Australia program and booking into a class, you can find more information here!