When Sarah says that ‘women are freakin’ superheroes’ she is absolutely right! Some births are slow and steady and others are much faster. This birth moved at quite a pace but Sarah still got her much wanted water birth. Welcome to the world little Anna 💗

Positive water birth story to share!

(Baby #2 at 41+3 wks, July 11th)

Very early Sunday morning around 12:30am contractions began. By 12:45am they were regular, around 1 minute duration every 1-2 minutes. We called the birth center and they said to go ahead and come in. Wow- that was quick! They said with my second it likely would be and they were right!! (Although waiting until the 41+ week mark felt like it would neverrrrrr end and I kept trying to be as patient as I could without induction to give my baby time to come on her own, but that was one tough waiting game & I didn’t know how it would pan out - my 1st was early, 39+2!).

We arrived at the birth center by 2am and got checked for the 1st time during my pregnancy: 4 cm & 80% effaced. We went back to the labor room and the midwife said to continue on and she’d check again in about 2 hours. 2 hours later: 6 cm. Contractions the whole time were regular every few minutes and intense. I shifted from the bathroom, to shower (the shower there is amazing for pain relief!!) and then transitioned (with some vomiting) to bed with the peanut ball, and constant moving around. A few hours of that and the intensity really peaked & I could feel baby getting much lower so they began to get the birthing tub filled up.

I felt the urge to start pushing on the toilet and then moved right away to the birthing tub… water, ahhh!… such a relief! But not for too long because within just 1-2 pushes my water broke in the tub, then only 2 more very BIG pushes (& definitely a very real and memorable ring of fire sensation this time!) and baby was OUT! Wow. Cannot even believe it! 8 lbs, 11 oz; 20 inches!

Arrived at birth center: 2am; and baby was born at 6:46am!! They brought her right to my chest as we sat in the toasty warm water with dad looking on from right behind me and my sister right there too, and she was covered with a little blanket and all was finally so calm. Baby had eyes wide open, just staring around so calmly and incredibly peacefully while cord clamping was delayed. It was amazing!

After 10-15 minutes, I stood up to get out of the tub and deliver the placenta and in doing so lost quite a lot of blood. The team knew exactly what to do in the moment - they gave me an injection of pitocin and some pills to swallow and helped me lay down in bed. They also gave me IV fluids and the bleeding stopped relatively quickly. I never felt dizzy or scared or out of control. I honestly felt so safe and taken care of the whole time.

From beginning to end, it was very quick, intense and raw and real (poop? uh, definitely! blood? yep, a lot!!), but I look back, now almost 2 weeks ago, and continue to think- holy shit!! I TOTALLY DID THAT! I brought a baby into this world as naturally as can be. How cool is that?! The whole experience is truly surreal. And women are freakin’ superheroes! No matter how your baby gets here, you did it! We did it!!

What helped me:

- An amazing team of midwives at my birth center… So calm, intuitive, professional, helped with pain relief (hip squeezes) and guided me with clear options that would help progress labor without being forceful. Plus, my awesome support team of my husband and sister.

- Relaxing music playing on the Bluetooth the whole time

- Focused, intentional, slow breathing and using hypnobirthing techniques

- An open attitude to accept each moment as it came because in labor and birth you just don’t know how things will go! .. i.e. - I hoped for a water birth but it didn’t work out that way with my 1st baby, so I didn’t let my heart get totally set or fixated on it prior because you just never know how things will go. Luckily, this 2nd time around I got to experience a water birth (yay!!).

- All the “little extras” they had in the SHOWER especially for support: the extravagant, multiple shower heads that provide so much pain relief on your back during labor, plus the exercise ball and shower chair in there too! Wow!

Best wishes to you all! Introducing Anna Zarina…

Want to learn hypnobirthing with us?

Don’t forget that we have a full Online Antenatal Hypnobirthing Class that you can follow in your own time anywhere around the world. It is only £39/$49.
The Online Hypnobirthing Course

We also teach antenatal hypnobirthing classes in London in person with our One Day Group Hypnobirthing Class.
In-person Antental Hypnobirthing Group Class

If you’d rather prepare for your labour and birth solo with Melanie you can do so in the privacy of your own home in person if you live in London or via the Zoom platform wherever you are around the globe.
Private Antenatal Hypnobirthing Classes