Positive Induction during Covid without Partner
I am Naledi, i live in a country called Botswana in Africa. I am a huge fan of gentle birth and would love to share my experience.
I had learnt about hypnobirthing really late into my second pregnancy with my daughter and i enjoyed the results given the little knowledge i had at the time. Visualizations got me through a straight forward 2hr labour with just gas and air. I had a positive birth despite being dehydrated and exhausted, because i was actually sent to the hospital not by labour but by a bad case of food poisoning, labour started spontaneously after a few hours of being admitted to the hospital.
So when i became pregnant with my 3rd baby, i was super determined to have an even more positive birthing experience and therefore wanted to learn about and practice hypnobirthing as early as possible. So while looking for hypnobirthing books and apps online I discovered gentlebirth when i was 28 weeks pregnant and I downloaded the app.
GentleBirth changed my outlook on birth and has been one of the most impactful things to ever happen to me. The book and the app helped me have such a calm 3rd trimester, I practiced the meditations and Hypnobirthing almost every day from 29 weeks and i was able to be present and connect with my unborn baby. I gained so much knowledge about childbirth, I rehearsed my birth constantly, my mood was lifted and I had never been so excited to give birth.
What i loved the most about gentlebirth compared to other Hypnobirthing books i read was that prepares your mind to be at peace with which ever way your birth pans out, so even if things don’t go according to your birth plan, you can still be at peace and have a positive experience.
The Birth of Micah
i went to the hospital the day after my 39 week check up because i noticed my baby’s movements had reduced and i was a little worried. When i got to the hospital, the baby’s heart rate was monitored by the midwives and he seemed fine. They called my doctor and to my great disappointment and dismay the doctor decided i should be admitted and induced because the baby’s reduced movements were a cause for concern. I was so defeated by this because my plan was always to labour at home as much as possible and to have a completely unmedicated birth, so this threw a curveball to my plan and i became extremely anxious and was over come with fear. To make things worse in my small country Botswana, hospital patients are not allowed to have visitors due to covid-19 protocols, so women are supposed to labour and give birth alone without support from partners or family members.
This was the first birth my husband couldn’t be a part of. Nonetheless my husband and my mum comforted me, and after praying and listening to fear release I felt better. I told the doctor I’d agree to have the induction solely for the safety of the baby, i couldn’t live with myself if I refused and something went wrong so i went ahead with it. He did a vaginal exam and said my cervix was soft and I was already about 3cm dilated so he would allow me to rest and put me on the Pitocin drip in the morning.
Morning came, my mind was in a better place and I had accepted the situation though it wasn't according to my perfect birth plan. They started the drip at 6am, and at 7:25 am I felt the first intense surge.
Thats when I started playing the labour companion and remembered to relax and breathe through the surges. Everything i learned through the app and book automatically came to mind.
I kept my breaths deep and even, the words “loose, limp and relaxed” kept coming to my mind as i relaxed more and more. I welcomed each surge with love and peace knowing it was bringing my baby to me, I also labored in an upright position, took a shower and had my lavender essential oil with me which helped me relax and feel good. I expected induction contractions to be painful, too intense and unbearable but I honestly cant say these were painful, intense yes but I definitely wouldn’t call it pain, nor unbearable. I visualized powerful waves in the sea, and connected with my baby knowing that God’s power is working through my body to bring him into this world. It was so beautiful and miraculous. I was so calm remembered to relax my jaw and forehead, I mean everything was working out so beautifully. The midwives were also shocked at how calm i was and thought I had a high tolerance for pain, they said I was pleasant.
It had been 3hrs since the first contraction I felt a pressure, that feeling of needing to poo and I knew he was almost there, I tried to breath him down while the midwife was telling me to push, I ignored her and only did it whenI felt the urge to do so while working with the contraction to bear him down, I also tried to focus as much as I could on breathing. ultimately my beautiful baby boy Micah came out in just 3 pushes in less than 10 minutes and he was born at 10:15am with NO TEARING (this was amazing because i tore with my other 2 births).
We did a bit of skin to skin and delayed the cord clamping. Unfortunately our bonding had to be cut short because I experienced post partum hemorrhage and I had to be attended to. Nonetheless this was the best birthing experience i had ever had and I don’t believe it would have been this positive had I not had access to gentle birth.
I wanted to share my story to give hope to mums who are discouraged by having to be induced, to let them know that it is possible to have a positive birth even if you have to be induced and that all the techniques learnt through gentlebirth will automatically come to mind and shift your mindset as well as your experience.
I am so elated that i just wish women all over the world would know that birth is a beautiful thing and doesn’t have to be the nightmare we are always told it should be. I am so over the moon i even wish I could become gentlebirth instructor in my country somehow.
Thank you so much Tracy for such a powerful resource!
Naledi