Tag Archives: c-section

How I Finally Got My Natural Birth.

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working mother, mother, working, freelance, blogger, mummy blogger, blogger, parenting blogger, blogger, writing,, pregnancy, birth, childbirth, hypnobirthing, Catherine Balavage, trauma, childbirth, women on childbirth As I write this it is my sons fifth birthday. He is happily playing with his new toys and his toddler sister is playing with a train track. The pain of my sons birth has lessened this year. The pain is not as searing. I wanted a natural birth with my son. I had gone to an antenatal class at the hospital and they had skipped over most of the birth part due to time constraints. The one thing they did cover was pain relief, and it all looked awful. Even the epidural which they said was the ‘only thing that actually works’ looked so invasive. A catheter? No thanks. I would have a natural birth. It would hurt, but it would be worth it. 

The birth itself was a series of little mistakes leading up to an emergency C section. I ended up having pethidine and an epidural. I have always been sensitive to drugs. I hate the feeling of being high, but by the third day of labour I could not take anymore. The midwives bullied me for taking drugs saying, ‘how much more pethidine is that baby going to have?’, but at no point did anyone induce me during my over eighty hours of labour until the very end. One midwife shouted and screamed at me at the top of her lungs while my water broke. I was bullied, abused and I thought my child and I were going to die. We both almost did. 

That is not what I want to talk about today. Today I want to talk about what happened two-and-a-half years later: I got my VBAC. Having a natural birth with my daughter was the most healing experience of my life. I was thankful it was at a different hospital with better staff. 

The trauma from my sons birth lead me to research childbirth and talk to as many women as I could about their experiences. This lead to me writing my book Women on Childbirth: Tips and Experiences from Women who Have Done it. I read everything I could about natural birth as I did not want another C section or any drugs. A book I recommend is The Positive Birth Book from Milli Hill. I was humbled when Milli was kind enough to contribute her birth story to my book. I also have to mention the team at St George’s who were so supportive. I cannot thank them enough. 

I decided to try hypnobirthing and I read everything I could about it. I was confident I could breathe the baby out of my vagina as long as I was in the right environment. I knew if I was as calm as possible things would go well. I wanted the room to be as dark as possible. I did not want any drugs as they slow down labour. I refused to have anyone other than my husband there. I was treated terribly by the midwives at the other hospital and I knew that it would be partly luck if I got a good midwife or not. I was not going in on just luck however: I was going in empowered with information and a confidence in the abilities of my body. 

I was in labour for over twenty-four hours but most of that was the early labour part which is not as bad. The pushing part was a few hours but it seemed to go faster. I was so surprised when the amazing midwife Elle told me I was ten centimetres. During my last birth I did not even get to five. The breathing really helped with the pain. 

Did it hurt? Of course it did, but a natural birth is only more painful in the moment. It does not hurt as much afterwards and the recovery is much quicker. The moment I pushed out my daughter and she was on my chest was one of the proudest moments of my life. The female body is an amazing thing and we need to have confidence that our bodies can do what needs to be done, but we also deserve to have the right environment to birth in so our bodies are able to do that. Birth rights are human rights. 

 

Why a Caesarian Can be a Positive Birth Experience

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Catherine Balavage I didn’t give enough thought to how my son would be born. I just knew it would be painful. I would put the baby clothes, we bought, to my bump and wonder at just how lucky we were to be having a child. It felt like such a happy miracle it didn’t even feel real, even as he kicked inside me. Little did I know just how hard his birth would be.

I went into labour with a positive mindset. I am a worrier by nature so I can’t say there were not moments when I did not contemplate the worst, but overall, I was feeling strong, happy and positive. We were so excited to finally meet our son. For such a worrier, I wasn’t that worried. The human race has survived thousands of years. Women have given birth at home, in caves and even in cars. It was going to hurt but I have always had a high pain threshold. I was confident I could manage the birth. So when I went into labour on a Sunday evening I did not think it would be long until we met our child. What followed was over 80 hours of hell followed by something glorious: a C section.

A lot of negativity is said about the C section. Some people claim it is the easy choice, it isn’t, the recovery is a bitch.  Others say it isn’t natural, it may not be ‘natural’ but it has saved countless human lives so hurray for medical science. I, however, have nothing but praise. After 80 hours of labour our son was in distress, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck twice and his heartbeat kept on dropping. I switched off and just concentrated on the best case scenario, knowing that panic would just make the situation worse.

As the surgeon who did my caesarean explained why I should have an emergency caesarian she looked almost like an angel to me. Within twenty minutes, my son was born. The obstetrician team at Kingston Hospital who did my C section were amazing. Despite being paralysed from the waist down and being naked underneath my hospital gown I felt safe. They were truly wonderful and I still think of them when I look at my little boy. My little boy who’s life they saved. The midwife even stayed with me the entire time, from the morning when my baby was in distress, until just after noon when he was born. There is an obsession with natural birth these days, and as I was wheeled into the theatre I did feel like I had failed, but the only thing that really matters about childbirth is a healthy mother and child. How that happens doesn’t matter in the end, and that is never more true than when they put the baby in your arms. My C section was not only a positive experience, it saved the life of my son. What could possibly be negative about that?

 

 

Birth Made Easy Book Review

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birth made easyI have previously interviewed Paola Bagnall. She had a lot of great things to say about giving birth. Now, let’s get down to the book.

The book has a great overview of pregnancy, both Pre and Post. It also comes with a free self hypnosis CD. For those interested in hypnobirthing (and there are rumours that Kate Middleton has joined them) this book is great. Paola believes that pregnancy is not a medical thing but a natural thing that the body is supposed to do. Although I don’t agree that pregnancy is not a medical thing, her ideas are interesting and certainly have merit. She is a qualified hypnotherapist and healed her own shoulder using the power of her mind.

This book has a lot of great information in it for any mother-to-be. Chapter one is about hypnosis and other chapters are about breathing, the biology of the female body, and the biology of birth. They are all very informative and fascinating.

There is also a chapter on how to use the CD. In the getting ready for birth chapter there are a lot of great tips, followed by an entire chapter or problem solving in, ‘What To Do if You Have….’ Nausa and vomiting are covered. As are C-sections and having a large baby.

The books tells you how to use the three stages of hynothearapy for the birth in an easy to understand way and has an entire chapter on how to disassociate yourself from the feelings of the contractions.

The last two chapters are what to do after the birth, a great chapter with some exercises on how to get back into shape, health tips, and enjoying your time as a mother.

This is a very good book for women who want a natural birth, and even has great tips for those who don’t. I can’t say it has convinced me to have a natural birth when I decide to have children, but the information is there for those who do.

Birth Made Easy – The positive and enjoyable way to have a baby easily and naturally using self-hypnosis

Interview with Birth Made Easy Author Paola Bagnall

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birth made easyFor our readers who are mothers-to-be we interviewed Paola Bagnall, author of Birth Made Easy. The book review is here. In the meantime enjoy the interview and please comment your thoughts below. Thank you.

I really liked how the book had advice on every aspect of pregnancy and birth. What is the biggest gem you can give to mothers-to-be?

 

To look forward to the birth with excitement and to work with your intuition and trust that your body is designed to give birth, which it is.

 

The book is big on relaxation, is this the most important thing when giving birth? How does one achieve this?

 

Yes relaxation is very important. The late Dr Grantley Dick-Read (1890 – 1959) visited a woman giving birth at her home in Whitechapel in London.  She declined his offer of chloroform, and gave birth without undue problem.  After the delivery, he asked her why she did not want chloroform and she replied, “It didn’t hurt.  It wasn’t meant to, was it?”.  Dr Dick-Reid actually said then that relaxation is the key to a good birth and in his book, Childbirth without Fear, he returned to women their rightful gift of a truly natural birth.

 

Today we are told that giving birth is painful and so many people believe this.  TV programmes like One Born Every Minute also reinforce this.  When you are relaxed you cannot feel fear and this is what hypnobirthing is all about.

 

Relaxation is achieved by visualisation of a favourite place, the use of colours, focusing on the breath and self-hypnosis – all of which are described in the book.  When you are relaxed your body opens up easily and so the baby flows out.

 

What was your own experience of pregnancy and giving birth like?

 

I have two sons and I gave birth to both naturally and relatively easily. The first one took six hours and the second eleven hours.  I am a biologist as well as a hypnotherapist and so I knew that my body could do this and also I was very excited about the process and looking forward to the experience.

 

When I gave birth 39 years ago we were given Pethidine automatically to help with the contractions.  I hated this as it caused me to hallucinate!  I wish I knew then what I know now about self-hypnosis as I would have been much more in control than I was.  Even so both my births were empowering experiences!

 

The book is about giving birth naturally. Do you think a natural birth is better?

 

If you can give birth naturally, I personally feel this is best because it should be a magical, empowering experience, where you are in control.  A natural birth also prevents the side effects of intervention and chemical drugs.

 

When someone has a headache or a medical procedure they generally use painkiller, why not do so when giving birth? It is the only medical thing that some people do without the help of painkillers. How is it different?

 

I’d just like to say that birth is not a medical thing!  It is a natural process and as such is not meant to hurt.  It is the medics in fact who have made it painful.

 

All pain is subjective and different for different people. If you think ‘pain’ then you get ‘pain’.  I feel contractions are different from ‘pain’.  They are intense pressure, good pressure, as they result in the birth of your baby.  I have suffered pain far worse than my contractions.  So think ‘good contractions’ and this alters your mind-set.

 

Of course using painkillers (epidural) may be what some people want and that is OK.

My book does not suggest that you have to have a natural birth.  This is a choice that the mum-to-be must make.  I simply suggest ways to achieve that goal.

 

Do you think the power of the mind can control the body?

 

Most definitely! We have the expression “mind over matter”.  We have the most amazing resource in our unconscious minds that most of us do not tap into.  By using positive affirmations and self-hypnosis we can use this innate ability we all have to make changes in ourselves for the better.

 

I got into hypnotherapy as I had a very painful shoulder injury that the medical profession could not help me with.  I learned to tap into this inner power and heal my shoulder using self-hypnosis. This is what showed me how useful self-hypnosis could be in giving birth. And why I created my own Inner Power Hypnobirthing.

 

Will everyone be able to achieve a natural birth?

 

A natural birth may not happen for everyone, as things just do happen which make it not possible.  If the baby is breach, or with complete placenta previa, where the placenta covers the exit for the baby, or if the baby is distressed in any way, then a C-Section has to be done in the best interests of the mother and baby.  However, hypnobirthing helps you to remain calm and in control in such situations.

 

Do you think you can get back into shape easily after giving birth as long as you work hard?

 

Yes, I do, though this is easier for some people than others.  Part of my hypnobirthing package is to help mums get back to their pre-pregnancy weight, shape and dimensions.  Simple exercises as shown in my book and a sensible diet help to achieve this.

 

Tell us about the self-hypnosis CD.

 

The self-hypnosis CD is to be listened to on a daily basis prior to the birth.  It uses visualisation, colour and positive affirmations to programme the unconscious mind to have a natural childbirth.  It is a bit like putting a program into a computer.  When you hit ‘play’ the program starts.  So the trigger for my CD is the first contraction, or the waters breaking, and then the entire program goes into effect almost automatically.  The CD takes you through pregnancy, the three stages of birth, healing up after the birth, bonding with the baby, breast-feeding easily (if you choose to do this) and getting your figure back.

 

What is the best advice you have for women giving birth?

 

Getting yourself into a positive frame of mind using hypnobirthing and start this as early as you can in your pregnancy so you have a beneficial expectation and you look forward to the birth with joyful anticipation.

Thank you Paola.

Birth Made Easy – The positive and enjoyable way to have a baby easily and naturally using self-hypnosis