She cannot “wait to do it all over again”. Judy gave birth exactly as she planned – a non-medicated, induction free, midwife-assisted water birth.
“Before I gave birth, I did a lot of research. I spoke to people who have had different birthing options and I did a lot of research on the internet. I wanted my choice to firstly be the best choice for my baby and secondly the best choice for me. I believe women are created as strong mammals, and I wanted everything to happen as natural and peaceful as nature intended and as we were created by God! We did a Hypnobirthing course before the birth, as well as midwife presented pre-labour classes. I also read Hypnobirthing, the Mongan Method, which is the text book of the Hypnobirthing course.”
Surge after surge
When she went into labour, she was as ready as she could be without actually having gone through the experience. “I knew what I wanted from the birth, but was also informed of things that can go wrong and how this will be handled in the case of danger to me or my baby.” Her water broke whilst she was asleep. “This happened early on the Sunday morning. I did have my ‘show’ the Friday afternoon, but no other signs that labour was approaching. The Saturday night I however had loads of energy and didn’t want to go to bed. We stayed up watching TV till about 00:30 with me swaying and bouncing on my labour ball. The surges only started once I got woken up. They were about 7 minutes apart but not painful or intense.” Judy took a relaxing bath and in the bath the surges (contractions – Hypnobirthing moms refer to contractions as surges because there is no fear and pain involved) were a bit more intense. Before I got out the bath, my surges were already 3 minutes apart. I was therefore in full labour, but still calmly shaved my legs. When I got out I couldn’t time anymore. The surges were right on top of each other. During surges I sat on the birthing ball. I struggled to get dressed. Even in surges, I managed to put on mascara. To this day I don’t know why!”
To the birthing unit
They left for the birthing unit and when the midwife examined Judy, she was already 8 cm open. “I got in the bath and she assisted me by applying pressure to my back while my husband went to fetch the bags etc. in the car. “After he got back, he took over and she informed us that she will quickly slip out to perform paper work and that when she gets back, she wants me to get out of the bath and onto the ball, so that we ensure labour keeps progressing. When she got back, the baby was ready to be born and already crowning!”
Inner strength
Throughout her labour, she performed breathing techniques taught to her during Hypnobirthing. “The hot water also helped me to relax, as well as visualisation techniques which were also taught in Hypnobirthing. It surprised me how quickly it all went. Other moms I have spoken to, usually had quite long first labours. My labour was extremely intense, however it was not painful. When you become focus on being ‘one’ with your inner womanly strength, you become strong. I got new respect for women in general during my birth. Whilst I was in labour, I could not wait to hold my baby in my arms. I have waited almost 42 weeks for him! I wondered what his toes would look like, as his father’s 2nd and 3rd toes are fused together, and my second last toe looks like a parrot’s beak! Breathing and visualisation helped to keep me focused and work with my body.”
Dealing with fears
Judy had to make a decision to be put on an IV with anti-convulsive drugs directly after birth, because she had an epilepsy scare just after she fell pregnant. “That was actually how we found out I was expecting. The neurologist feared that directly after birth I might have another epileptic attack due to all the surging hormones. I prayed that nothing will happen and firmly believed I will be fine, but did however agree to the IV. I never experienced any fear during the birth but I did experience a slight dip in my focus and positive attitude during the drive in the car to the birthing unit. I did not enjoy the drive in the car at all. We unfortunately had to use Midwives Exclusives back-up unit within the Femina hospital itself, as their main birthing unit was being renovated. I hate hospitals, but this was unfortunately out of their or our hands. I unfortunately had to sleep over for the IV epilepsy medication to be admitted. Dealing with the dip in focus during the car drive, I closed my eyes, kept breathing and used visualisation techniques. Luckily the drive was not very long. Once I was in the water, I was fine again.”
Positive experience
Her birth was overall a positive experience for her. “My beautiful, healthy baby boy was very calm for months after his birth. We did not induce labour, although I was almost 42 weeks. I did not tear, immediate skin-to-skin was performed, we did extended cord clamping and I could breastfeed baby within the first 20 minutes of his life. I am still breastfeeding today!” Judy says her tummy was totally flat three days after birth and she quickly lost all her pregnancy weight. “I had minimal pain and discomfort after the birth and started working my horses again when my baby was three weeks old.”
A husband’s view
Judy’s husband, Divan, said he shared the wonderful birth journey with his wife. “I felt a little weird talking to my friends about our planned birth, because it is not the norm these days. It should be, though! My excitement built as the weeks passed. I was told by various people how the day was going to play out. This helped me to prepare mentally. When Judy said she was in labour, I could hardly contain myself from all the excitement. I just wanted to get in the car and race to the hospital.” Divan felt confident that Judy was prepared and knew the stages of labour she was in. He tried to be a part of the birth as much as he could. “I was sitting on the side of the tub the whole time for support and when Juhan was born; I basically caught him along with the midwife and then handed him to his mother. I never felt out of place, and was never asked to leave. I could experience the whole event beside my wife. It is after all our baby, and no-one should have the right to take away that experience from you as it only happens once for a first baby.” - Jana Engelbrecht
Baby’s weight: 3,8 kg @ almost 42 weeks
Labour lasted: 4,5 hours
Birth date: 15 April, 2012
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