Wanting a Natural Birth
“I have had two pregnancies and two births,” tells Michelle. “My first son, Jarrod, was born very prematurely at 24 weeks. Sadly, he died shortly after birth.” She had wanted a natural birth with Jarrod. “Everyone I knew had C-sections, mostly out of choice but some were emergencies. I didn’t really fancy the idea of major abdominal surgery, but aside from that I was dead set against having an epidural. I had a bad experience with anaesthetics not working and I was adamant to not open myself up to the possibility of that happening again,” says Michelle. She feared not being in control of herself. She was determined to have a natural birth. If things did go wrong and she needed an emergency caesarean, it would have to be done under full general anaesthesia.
Deciding on Hypnobirthing
“Being so against an epidural for a C-section also put me against one for a natural birth. I did a fair amount of research after I fell pregnant with Jarrod, on the side effects of epidurals and what stood out most was the possibility of back pain and severe headaches for years to come afterwards. I already suffered from fair amounts of back pain and frequent headaches. I was not keen on potentially making it worse. So I started reading up on other methods of pain relief,” says Michelle. Michelle met Kim Young, a hypnobirthing instructor, on the Moomie forum. “She commented on it occasionally and I started reading up on it.” She admits that she was sceptical at first as she was against using hypnotism. As her research continued, she discovered that the name was rather misleading as this technique was more about deep relaxation. “The best part was that I would be in control of myself the whole time. The person controlling me and my pain relief would be me.” Michelle googled methods and techniques and discovered that it boiled down to relaxed breathing. “I practiced a bit and signed up for classes.
The Unthinkable
But Michelle and her husband, Damen, wasn’t prepared for what happened next. “My water suddenly broke at 24 weeks and three days. I was rushed to the hospital where they scanned me to find that there was no fluid left. I was given steroids to develop the baby’s lungs. Then we waited.” About 20 hours later she went into labour. “The contractions were so mild, I thought it was just cramps caused by trapped wind. I realised those cramps don’t come exactly every four minutes.” The nurse was called and it was confirmed that Michelle had gone into labour. “I called the gynaecologist who said the only pain relief I was allowed was an epidural as anything else would be too harmful for such a young foetus.” But at this stage, she wasn’t even thinking of pain relief. The contractions were still pretty mild. “I lay on my side and started doing the deep calming breathing I’d read about. I’d literally ‘slept’ through the entire labour, only mildly aware of the contractions.” Four hours later, all of a sudden, Michelle knew the baby was coming. “I had not yet attended any birthing classes and had not found any information on the type of breathing to use during the actual birth. I forcibly pushed and cried out in pain. It was so sore." He was very small and he did not survive.
Fast Forward
A few months later, Michelle was pregnant again and wanted to try hypnobirthing once more, but her husband had been sceptical when she told him about it during their first pregnancy. “But when he saw how relaxed I was during the labour, he was sold. He strongly urged me to sign up for classes and luckily I was able to attend them,” says Michelle. “The actual classes do involve a bit of hypnotism where the instructor guides you through certain things, helping you to relax more deeply and release deep seated fears. I felt very uncomfortable with this so I just closed my eyes and thought of other things until those bits were over. I did learn all the breathing techniques, including the one for the actual birth.”
Being Cautious
Michelle had a cervical cerclage placed in in order to avoid another premature birth. “Countless times during my pregnancy I asked my doctor exactly what to expect during labour and birth – when he would be present, how involved he would be etc.”
He is not Waiting!
Five days before Michelle was to have the cerclage removed, her water broke and she went into labour. “At about 18:00 I went to shower. I was planning to spend the night at my parents’ house as Damen was away. As I was finishing up in the shower I started to loosen my mucus plug. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do. I knew if I went into labour I had to get the stitch removed ASAP or it would tear though my cervix. I wasn’t sure if this was the start of my labour as I’d heard that a person can loosen their mucus plug a few before labour sets in. I didn’t want to call Damen back if nothing was happening.” Michelle got out of the shower 20 minutes later and decided to phone the maternity ward for
some advice, but her phone wasn’t with her. As soon as she got up from the toilet, it felt like urine was running down her leg. She quickly got her phone and sat down on the toilet again. They told her that her doctor was on call for that weekend and recommended she came in for a check-up. Michelle phoned her mother and then her husband. With every passing minute she became more convinced that she was in the early stages of labour. “I got up to get my things together and more fluid ran down my legs. I realised it was definitely my water. My mother phoned me to say she was coming to fetch me and take me to the hospital where Damen would meet me. I got dressed and got my things together. Luckily, my bags had been packed for a few weeks already. I remained clam, knowing that everything would be okay.” Michelle knew this as she had a scan the previous week and the doctor estimated her baby’s weight at 2.9 kilogrammes. “He said if I did go into labour before 37 weeks the baby would very probably be fine and I could still do natural delivery as he was such a good weight already.” She reminded herself of everything her doctor had said and thought positive thoughts. “I got excited at the prospect of meeting my son.”
At the Hospital
Michelle and her mother arrived at hospital at 19:00 and went straight to the maternity ward. “A nice midwife took me through to a labour room where she assessed me and confirmed that I was in fact in labour. She called my doctor and then put me on a monitor to check the baby’s heart rate. Everything seemed perfect.” When the doctor arrived, he attempted to remove the cervical cerclage, but struggled. Her contractions has already started and her cervix was thin as paper. “He managed to locate the knot of the suture and he cut and removed it. He could not, however, locate and remove the rest of it. He did make sure that my cervix would be able to dilate without tearing. As soon as the stitch was cut I dilated to three cm, but the baby was still high, only at station two.” Damen arrived while the doctor was busy.
The Labour
Damen and Michelle were left to labour in peace. Michelle assumed and upright position so that the baby could drop faster. “But I could not get comfortable and the contractions came hard and fast, about every two minutes,” recalls Michelle. She decided to get onto the bed and got out her hypnobirthing CD. She lay down as if she was going to sleep like she had been practicing. “I was much more comfortable and the contractions became far more manageable. I went into a very deep relaxed state.” Around 22:35 the midwife came in to tell Michelle she would come to check her cervix again at 23:30, but by 23:10 things started to feel different. “The contractions became more intense and I was now feeling them in my back and hips as well. I called her and asked her to please check me. I was now dilated 5cm, but the baby had dropped right down which was why the contractions felt so different. She monitored the baby and he was still doing well.” Every time Michelle lay on the bed listening to her CD, the contractions were manageable and seemed to be spaced a decent length of time apart, but every time she went to the bathroom and got up, they came hard and fast, approximately every minute. “I spent a few extra minutes sitting on the loo each times trying to allow gravity to encourage the baby down. I was still in such a relaxed state though that I kept almost falling asleep whilst sitting there.” Back in bed she listening to her CD again and eventually fell asleep between contractions, but the surges were getting really intense. “I continued to breathe through them and became more and more focused.” At 00:30 the midwife came again said she would be back to check Michelle’s cervix again at 02:30, but around 01:00 she suddenly started feeling pressure in her bum with each contraction. “I called the midwife back and asked her to please check me. I was dilated 8cm. As she was checking, I had another surge and went to 9cm. I was feeling the strong urge to push. She said she would call the doctor and if I really felt the need to push, I could, but if I could manage to rather breathe through the surge then it would be better.” Michelle tried not to push, but the urge was intense.
Unable to Wait Anymore
The doctor came around 01:30 and she immediately started pushed. “I just couldn’t wait anymore. My immediate reaction though was to tense up and forcibly push.” Then Michelle remembered her hypnobirthing techniques and how to breathe the baby down. “I changed what I was doing and started to breathe him down instead. The change was incredible. I felt so much more control and the main was less. There were pain and discomfort, but it was bearable.” It got to a point where she could see her baby’s head. “I kept thinking the head was about to come out, but the surge would end I couldn’t ‘push’ anymore. They said I could just wait until the next one, so I did. As the head came out, it was very sore, but also very empowering. I just kept reminding myself that this was a good thing and this was what we’d been waiting so long for. We were about to meet our son!” The head finally came out and Michelle was asked to breathe through the next contraction. “I tried and then the shoulders came out. The second shoulder came our very fast and caused me to tear slightly, but my baby was here. He was pink and crying. I was so happy!
A Mother’s greatest joy!
The baby was rubbed down and Damen cut the cord. He was wrapped and placed upon Michelle’s chest. She received the injection to help deliver the placenta and the doctor massaged her tummy to encourage it to detach.
“He had transient wet lung syndrome and so, after spending just a few short minutes on my chest, the midwife took him to the warm bed next to mine to give him some oxygen to help him. Sadly, he wasn’t improving so she called the paediatrician and he was moved to nursery. Damen went with him.” Michelle’s gynaecologist stitched up the tear and was shocked at her ability to manage a whole labour and birth without an epidural. “An hour and 25 minutes after Logan was born, I walked down the passage to check on him. Honestly, it felt like 20 minutes. The doctors told the nurse to get me a wheelchair. I waited three minutes and then told her I didn’t feel like waiting, let’s go, I don’t need a wheelchair. When I got to the nursery they were all shocked, unable to believe that I was walking and fine. The kept offering me pain medication, but honestly I had no pain at all, not even discomfort. I was more confused as to why they were offering than anything else!” - Zanri Kotzé
Baby’s Weight: 3.04 kg @ 36 weeks and 3 days
Books Read: Attended Hypnobirthing Classes
Birthdate: 30 October 2011