Hypnobirth in Mumbai

The following birthstory has been told by Kasia Wierzbicka. She can reached on email at kasiawierzbi@gmail.com

"Ever since I started teaching yoga to pregnant women I felt it's very special to have this opportunity to be able to contribute something to both of them, the mother, and the baby and I believed that both of them can really benefit in many ways. But ever since I heard about HypnoBirthing I got even more enthusiastic, because this time also father was involved in the process, and they became complete, loving family, working together in harmony for better future…I was always admiring pregnant women moving slowly, and gracefully, with a beautiful glow on their faces .When I met Jaipali, she was exactly this type of mom! I was very happy to have her in my first HypnoBirthig class. She came with her mom, since her husband was in USA, but he was planning to come back to have baby with her. So we decided she will attend first 2 sessions by herself, and once Ashok is back we will do extra class for him, and he will join the last 2 sessions. They were both very eager to do this program, since Jaipali's first baby was breach, even though she was preparing for natural birth from the beginning, she ended up with c-section. She said "I wish I have known about HypnoBirthing then, I would know what to do". It was all in USA 3 years ago. So this time she decided to do all that is possible to be in sink with her body and her baby and have natural birth. She was very relaxed and calm about it, having totally positive approach form the very beginning. Practice of yoga and transidental meditation helped her throughout last few years, and it really came handy now because she could slip into her deep relaxation very easily! The only obstacle was her doctor, which was known for high rate of cesarean section, offered her routine episiotomy and the menu full of interventions, which she wasn't interested at…. There was only one choice, to look for knew doctor, that will give her a chance to birth her second baby naturally, despite being Vback as they call it in medical terms. I recommended her Dr Amit, with whom I did HypnoBirthing course. I also advised her to use a midwife to have more support and confidence. Selecting the right care providers is 70% of the success in achieving natural birth! As long as mother isn't relaxed and trusting in the environment where she is giving birth it might be much more difficult and obstacles might come. It's a natural defense system of the mother and the child…

We went through our HypnoBirthing sessions beautifully. There was one more couple in the class, and once it got over I felt I will ask Jaipali, if she would like me to come to her birth. She said yes. On Tuesday 18th I was thinking about Jaipali so I just called dr Amit to tell him I will also come to the hospital, and he says she is already admitted! So I just rushed there, and I met both parents smiling, relaxed as usual. It seamed like it was just the beginning, so I said I will go home, change and come back, but in few hours we realized that they were labor warm ups, so they returned home. Then finally on 22nd of November I got a call at 3am, that this time it was for real! So I quickly pack my old cd player, our HypnoBirhting scripts and rush.

When I entered Ashok was giving Jaipali light touch massage and they were going through the surges together so beautifully! I started to read HypnoBirthing scripts to her so she went deeply into her body and connected to her baby. Hours were passing, but none of us felt time. The surges were closer, and closer. Lina, the midwife joined us after 2 hours, and Dr Amit came around 7am. Jaipali was either on her side breathing through the surges, later standing up by her bed and in supported squat with Ashok against the wall. At the last stage she decided to lie down on her back. We elevated her upper body with pillows. Ashok and Lina were by her sides giving all the support she needed and I was behind, by her head whispering in her ears HypnoBirthing scripts. By the 8:30 baby came! We learnt it was really big 3.77kg, that's why it took some time, but it was worth it! Mom needed 1 stitch, since she had only small tear. We were all so happy!

After the birth many reflections come…Would it be easer for her to birth in some other position with the help of gravity….It would be good to have some light music (my old cd player refused to work)….But now it all feels fine. Family is happy, baby was so alert and breast fed immediately! The father looked ecstatic and said that every dad should be there by their wife's side and witness their baby coming into this world! Jaipali admitted during her birth and after, that HypnoBirthig scripts and relaxations really helped her and the thought of taking any sort of pain killer hasn't even crossed her mind!

It was amazing to witness the miracle of giving life and I will definitely attend more births as a doula and HypnoBirthing practitioner to support more families in that beautiful journey! " - Kasia

More on BIG birth

Saloni and Vasant were in my childbirth class when I travelled to Mumbai to do the Hypnobirthing workshop with Sarojini. As we went through our 4 days together I felt that these were THE people to benefit from hypnobirthing.

To begin with they believed that birth was natural. It took me a while to decide how best to approach/offer them to consider a hypnobirthing class. So I offered my class without charge, primarily because I wanted to get a feel of how the classes would work in real. Also I told them that I totally believed in the philosophy of Hypnobirthing so any short comings were my own. The next big hurdle was to get the book and CD quickly. They ordered on Amazon and her mom carried it from USA.

We began in earnest. I studied each module many times and practised each topic each week before the class. By the second class they were into hypnobirthing. Vasant was very involved by now. At one point when we discussed listing of fears, he said "my biggest fear is that what will I do when she is in pain".

The EDD was sometime around end Oct, we decided not to go by dates. Also they had decided not to have many ultra sounds. They were also keen to use water for labour and we were set to give birth. Couple of times Vasant sent me an SMS that said ... she is having mild surges so we are going to do relaxation and sleep. Lots of practise, and there never seemed any sense of panic or urgency. The doctor was on board with this as well.

Saloni went for a routine check on the 3rd morning. The doctor did and internal and found her 1 finger dilated and asked her if she was ok with a sweep. Saloni agreed. By noon she was having mild surges, and was at a friend's place near the hospital but decided to go back home and wait and watch. I met them at home at about 3 pm that afternoon. She had eaten sandwiches and was relaxing. As I sat with her the surges seemed to get closer so we decided to go to the hospital.

En route things slowed down again. Upon reaching the hospital she was checked and was fully effaced and had dilated a wee bit more. There after we were on our own with periodic checks for the fetal heart rate. Vasant was taking video clips and at some point Saloni said.. I am confused if this is IT. With all the experience of start and stop she was joking about not being responsible if it stopped again. The doctor said she was definitely in labour.

Around 7 in the evening we decided to get out of the hospital for a bit. So we went out for dinner to a nearby G K I market restaurant. She wanted to eat her favourite sandwich at Cafe Turtle, just like they did after the Saturday class each week. There was a lot of joking and fun about this. Of course she could tell the surges... she did feel some thing. It was amazing to be laughing and sharing this time. Vasant recorded every detail of the food and other things... memories from the day of the birth.

I had a feeling things would get more intense after the food and the moon. At 10pm she was something between 2 and 3 cm, but I could feel labour getting stronger. The staff at the hospital felt it was too early and very slow but somehow I felt things were moving fine. I didn't think we could categorise. I felt more tuned to her feeling than findings. She started to talk of warm bath or shower. So first she took a shower and said that the surges felt different in the warm water. I knew she was ready to move to the warm tub. The doctor left the decision entirely up to us. However, some of the staff felt it may be too early. As soon as she went into the water, she visibly dropped down and the very next surge was longer and stronger, and she slipped into a trance there after. we had dimmed the lights and some soothing music was in the back ground, Vasant was whispering the hypno prompts to her and at one point it seemed that I was intruding on a really intimate moment. The gentleness of it all was overwhelming.

In the water she would spread her legs really wide and lean on the side of the tub and relax. She moved in and out of the tub a couple of times and sitting on a birth stool at one point her membranes released. She was already breathing the baby down by 3:30 am and soon after that she was ready to push. A junior doctor tried to organise the pushing but she tuned out and went with what she felt. The baby emerged slowly supported by her doctor's hands and as she held her baby the father cut the cord. Later when the baby was weighed .. they did it four times. No one could believe he was a 3.95 kg baby, the mom had a superficial tear.

Doc and I shared a cup of celebration tea and acknowledged...

had there been an ultrasound...

we would have an idea of the weight of the baby...

considering it was biggish ...

maybe we wouldn't have waited,

definitely not used water

and definitely had an episiotomy bigger and deeper than the tear,

and this would be the best case scenario.

And here the one thought I had was`"That's a lot of divine coincidences"

Her I was a doula, the childbirth educator, the hypnobirthing practitioner, friend, stand in sister, everything, nothing. I felt deeply connected to her as if i was in labour too and at some point I made some suggestions which were only in the realm of the above coincidences, and I didn't make them thinking, I felt the need to make them.

As we were sharing the birth together both the parents felt that it couldn't have been more perfect. To answer my question if this is what they had thought it would be like... they said this is what they hoped it would be.

I hope this is really a positive inspiration for all and I am sure all of us would be happy to answer any questions the reader may have

BIG BIRTH

Baby boy born to Saloni and Vasant, born Nov 4th, 2008, at 4:39:20 am. Wt 3.95 kg

Hypnobirthing mom, water baby, euphoric doula

I am at loss of words, but I feel that I do have to acknowledge that this was an amazing birth for me. At this moment, just hours after birth and fewer hours of sleep, I cannot put into words all that I experienced; the mundane and the sublime . And perhaps I would never be able to put into words however it is important that I say

"This one was BIG."

(pun intended)