Hi Melissa. Bel & Fern here. Just checking in to say hi, how r u & let u no we r doing great. Joel Seth is a beautiful baby, always hungry but very alert & happy still. Mum saids it’s like he’s been here before the way he looks around & so at ease when he is awake. I had thought the same thing. The breast feeding is always more demanding but other than that he is a perfect baby. He crawled to my left breast wanting a feed (straight after birth) –  I remember reading this about HypnoBirthing babies. Didn’t believe it until Joel did it. He is a strong baby & lifts his head quite easily!  He even slept from 9pm to 4am 2 ngts ago! I don’t remember any of my babies doing this!

I also wanted to let you know something Glenda (midwife at the Mater) said before we left birth suite. She was so impressed by our choices & techniques her last words were. Your welcome to come again anytime! Lol she was lovely though!

And he also had both his Apgar scores 10 at birth too!! I truly believe thanks to Hypnobirthing!! Thanks again wonderful lady!

I can’t thanku enough Melissa taking the time to meet Fern. I sent in a photo of him holding Joel after he was born.

There are some moments that u share with a person u wish could last forever. This was one of the for me with Fern! That pretty much sums up the birth for me, it was a beautiful moment in time for us honestly. So pls feel welcome you share our

testimonial & a pic if you like. I can’t say it enough on my fb – Hypnobirthing is the preferred natural birth alternative without a doubt! Lol take care & I hope I can convince other friends to contact you in the future! Which I’m sure will be easy! Lol love Bel xxoo

Bel and Fern, Middle Park, Brisbane

The labour was only 2 1/2 hours and we didn’t make it to hospital as we were told to stay at home as we were in early labour and to wait until labour was established.

Surges became fast and stronger very quickly and with 2 birth breaths he was born in the shower.

He was fine, very calm. My mother-in-law had just arrived to stay with our daughter while we went to hospital and said she couldn’t believe how quiet and calm it was. My daughter slept in the next room.

Thank you to Melissa and hypnobirthing. Our experience was unbelievable. We were told from 34 weeks there was a problem and I should be induced or have a caesarian as our baby was to small and we should have continuous monitoring. I was not allowed to birth at the birth centre or have a water birth as I was high risk and I had scans 1-2x  a week for the last 6 weeks and went to hospital every 2nd day for a heart trace.

I always believed everything was fine and normal and refused intervention. Our baby is perfect and very calm. I had no tearing.

Thank you to Melissa and hypnobirthing. Our experience was unbelievable.

Emma and Ben, Kedron, Brisbane

I really wanted to write to you because I really wanted to share my hypnobirthing experience with you.  It is slightly unusual in that whilst we originally set out to have a completely natural VBAC, we did end up having another c-section – however this time around, I was totally okay with how things worked out and for this reason feel that it is really important to me to be able to share my story – I want to prove to all out there that not only does hypnobirthing work, but it works for c-sections just as well and I truly believe that a huge part of why my experience with my second c-section was so great was due to the fact that I embarked upon a hypnobirthing type of birth.

I first began having some light discomfort on the evening of the 3th January and throughout the majority of the 4th as well – to be honest I thought I could actually have food poisoning because I felt more nauseous than anything else!  I had been experiencing some braxton hicks the week before and so had some good practice breathing through some of those ‘surges’ – I had my posters everywhere throughout the house so no matter where I went, I would practice!  Towards the end of the day of the 4th of January I started getting some consistent surges – I listened to the affirmations which Miguel had taped for me (Miguel had put his own spin on the affirmations and personally added some of his own which I thought was very special) and also had a nice hot bath whilst I waited for him to return home from work.  Once the surges were around 10 mins apart I rang my Obstetrician who suggested I come in to the hospital for a check – given I was a VBAC, I knew this would likely be the case, although I had previously run through our entire birth plan with my Obstetrician and he was extremely supportive of how we wanted to birth.

We arrived at the hospital later that evening and with each and every surge, I just focussed on my breathing, the script and visualised the opening blossom as much as possible.  We set up our room and explained to the midwives that we were a ‘hypnobirthing family’ – everyone was so supportive and friendly.  All in all, I was in labour for approximately 20 hours, however never dilated.  The baby was ‘asynclitic’ and was showing no signs of moving despite my swaying, squatting and trying everything possible.  My obstetrician outlined all the possibilities for us and I asked him to explain the options to be using the ‘BRAN’ technique – after knowing all the facts and given that my baby’s heart rate was doing so well, we decided that it was best to proceed with a c-section.  I felt so comfortable with the decision, I felt empowered because it had been my choice to make (unlike my previous birth where I was simply told at 36 weeks that I would ‘need’ a c-section because my baby was breech).  My midwife was so beautiful and she specialised in hypnobirthing so throughout the entire 20 hour labour before the c-section I felt in control, relied on no drugs and felt fresh to take on a second c-section.  Miguel actually has a photo of me sitting on the edge of the bed moments before the spinal tap went into my back and I am full of smiles – I just felt so excited and not nervous at all!!  The midwife and Obstetrician both listened to my needs and that I wanted to hold and breastfeed my baby girl immediately – I was able to bond with her for approximately 20 minutes before having to go to recovery.  Once I was back in my room with my baby, I received the very first visit from my much younger 16 year old brother who’s first words to me were ‘Ingrid, you look so normal’!!! The next morning, I was up and walking straight away, having a shower, doing my hair and make up and just felt so healthy and strong.  I wasn’t even on any strong medication within a few days of having the c-section and the Obsterician as well as the nurses were incredibly amazed at my speedy recovery.  They also kept commenting on how placid my baby was and the fact that she breast fed so easily straight away.

I believe that the combination of the hypnobirthing techniques, acupuncture, and the great hospital staff and of course my wonderful husband who kept me going throughout it all really assisted me in having a great birth – sure it was not the birth that I had ideally wanted, but I do not feel anything but comfortable with the fact that we ended up having to have a c-section because in my mind and heart I know that this was the best decision for me and my baby.  But I believe that I am testament to the fact that any woman can have a great hypnobirthing experience if she follows whatever direction her birth takes her and listens to her body – because if you do this, then you cannot go wrong.

Thank you so much for everything Melissa – you were a fantastic teacher and I will be sure to recommend you and hypnobirthing to all my friends.

I have also attached a photo of me with my beautiful Elizabeth – I think she is just gorgeous.

Ingrid & Miguel, Drewvale, Queensland

Just wanted to share our wonderful news; we had our baby boy Curtis Nelson, on the 22^nd of Dec, at 1.37am, weighing in at 3.48kg and 53cm in length.

It wasn’t a straight forward birth, but thanks to our hypnobirthing conditioning it was a calm birth for John and I. The hospital staff kept saying what an amazing patient/couple we were. We arrived at the hospital 6.5cm dilated after an easy and excited several hours at home. However when we arrived we discovered that Curtis was in the posterior position and in some distress. Added to this, his heart rate kept dropping in all positions except for lying on my right side. There was a constant flurry of clinicians in the room monitoring, testing and talking to John and I. While not ideal, I kept thinking it’s OK because “I am prepared to meet whatever turn my birthing takes”. After another few hours, we were told we needed to get baby out quickly and I was given an epidural and taken into theatre with the knowledge that I could be having a caesarean or, if dilated enough, vaginal delivery with assistance. Fortunately I was fully dilated and we ended up having a vaginal delivery; a good outcome under the circumstances.   

Post birth many people have asked me about hypnobirthing and how much of it I used and if it worked. My response; I used many of the techniques; rainbow relaxation and opening blossom visualisations in early labour, slow breathing and balloon visualization during surges, anchoring to the colour orange, Johns light touch massage and most successfully, listening to John talk me through surges with his own blend of affirmations.  And yes it worked. I never once felt like I needed to ask for pain relief and I felt calm throughout the entire birth. But even more impressively, while I had my eyes closed, John observed a quantifiable effect of his talking. Because Curtis was distressed the doctor had inserted an internal fetal monitor to measure his heart rate and intrauterine pressure catheter to measure exact force of surges and pressure in between. Initially, with everything going on, John wasn’t talking me through surges and the pressure readings were approximately 200 during surges and 30-50 in between. However, the instant John started talking me through them the pressure readings were still 200 during surges but 5-9 in between. When John later told me (a scientist) about this I was blown away. Although I acknowledge that this single-arm pre-post measure with an inadequate sample size is less than ideal to make any strong conclusions about the effectiveness of hypnobirthing, in this business I would definitely say that these preliminary findings show a likely positive effect and that further research is well worth pursuing!

Curtis and I came home from hospital Christmas eve – BEST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER. He is the most adorable, calm baby (photos attached). He hardly ever cries, he is sleeping and feeding exceptionally well and was back to his birth weight in just 6 days (average weight regain time = 2 weeks). Once again, I suspect this may be in part due to John and my commitment to being prepared and relaxed, which was achieved through hypnobirthing. John and I are now learning the art of baby wrangling with enthusiasm and I am blissfully enjoying being in love with both my little and big man.

Thank you once again for being such an important positive influence on all three of our lives. Happy for you to share all or part of our story and photos with others if you wish, as while our birth was not ideal, I think the power of hypnobirthing in such circumstances could be inspiring to others… it certainly was for me.

Dr Vanessa B and John, Luscombe.  

I had to be induced I couldnt get anymore time out of the doctors, they were starting to get worried even though me and bub were doing fine.

Although things didnt go exactly to plan i think i had quite a calm birth i was extremely relaxed thoughout most of the birth and the midwives were quite interested in what we were doing and thought i was going awesome.

I truly believe that all the visulastions and meditations have made my baby so relaxed and peaceful he has been sleeping the whole night since 2 weeks old he is so placid… he hardly ever cries… im the luckiest mumma, he is awsome for me. I think my relaxed state thoughout pregnancy and childbirth have really impacted on how he is as a baby. I want to thank you, i tell everyone i know about hypobirthing and i think its going to be extremely helpful next time around too

So many people say to me how lucky iam to have a such a good baby and i tell them its not luck its “hypnobirthing” and being so relaxed ;) Thanks again Melissa for all your encouragement and support during this special time
Ellie and Marc xoxo

ps. Also some research i found when i went over due, is that after 42 weeks of pregnancy you have a 1.19% chance of stillbirth thats why they want to induce you, but you have a 50% chance of c section and all the risks that come with major surgery from induction. So when the doctors where throwing there statistics at me I said to them i think i will go with the odds that i have 98.81% chance of not having a stillborn because if you where told a horse had that chance of winning you are going to bet on that horse

It was an amazing drug free, natural birth.  My obstetrician was there for the final 45 minutes and was immediately commenting on what a beautiful birth it was and how easily I breathed her down.  It wasn’t easy, and doubt crept in at times, however being re-focussed time and again to the learned techniques really made a difference.  Again over coming days he (OB) continued to make similar comments about how well he thought the birth went.  We have also later laughed to ourselves as staff asked in the days after Olivia’s birth how my pain was and did I need any “more” medication.  I’ve still not had even a paracetamol.

Nick has since spoken about the benefit he saw in the breathing techniques and how playing the affirmations and relaxations really prompted a noticeable change in how I was going throughout the birth.  I couldn’t have had the birth I did without the encouragement and support from Nick.  I even used the relaxation on one evening while in hospital to assist me to get some sleep.

Thank you Melissa for sharing these invaluable skills with us both!

Danielle & Nick, Kenmore, Brisbane

On Wednesday, August the 17^th I woke up at 245am and texted Adrian to let him know that I was ok and to see how he was doing. He said work was going well and he should be home by 6am.

At 3 am (15 minutes later) lying in bed trying to go back to sleep, my waters broke.

I then had a good giggle to myself and rang Adrian to say I had jinxed myself and to get home in no hurry but when he could as my waters broke.

With this I changed… and set up my bedroom into the calm state, candles, Rainbow relaxation and relation music. The surges began not long after were 7-9 minutes apart and not consistent at this stage.

Adrian got home around 400am and by 530am my surges were consistent and around 5-6 minutes apart. Rainbow relaxation, Birthing Affirmations were listened to throughout this time.

I was coping unbelievably well with no real discomfort as yet.

We casually dropped my 6 year old son to my mums and on we went to hospital again in no hurry.

At 6am on assessment at hospital, I am told by the midwife she is unsure that my waters had actually broken. I was told I could go home, or be admitted to the ward for now.

I knew my baby was coming, I knew my waters had broken and I was not going home!

We were greeted by the ward midwife, and shown to our room. I was told to sing out if we needed her at any stage.

Adrian and I sat in our room and he helped me focus and breathe through the surges.

Using the facilities such as shower and a seat in the bath room I lasted until around 930am before I felt that everything was all getting a bit much.

I was sure at this point I was not getting much of a break at all.

And it’s here that I hit transition. Without even knowing it I asked Adrian to get the Dr, “I want a c-section to get this baby out”

Adrian grabbed the midwife whom I had not seem since admission and she requested a Dr urgently.

Note that at this stage, no one had checked me for dilation or to tell me how my labour was progressing. Nor was I hooked up to any kind of equipment. I was totally flying solo with the help of my partner.

I believe the time at this point was around 930 am.

Adrian calmed me down temporarily and I even rang my son Demitrie in between surges to let him know I was going ok and no baby brother just yet.

At this stage my contractions were 1-2 minutes apart and lasting for about 45 seconds to a minute. I was told by the Dr’s to head down to the delivery suite straight away and they could talk to me then about options that I had.

My midwife took me down to the delivery ward.

Adrian would like to say “It was the time between 9.45-10:15 that Danielle was delirious and demanding C-Sections and any pain relieve in sight.  Little did she know that she was going through transition which was explained in the hypnobirthing class.  I knew she was dilating beforehand but she wouldn’t listen to my opinion because I was not a doctor which is understandable.  I did mention the transition process to Danielle but she thought it was too soon, and the fact that no one had checked her dilating had really sent her panicking.  Danielle wanted to give up and thought she could not handle the process.  But given the information provided at the classes, I knew that we were experiencing transition and we were coming so close to meeting our baby.  I had to stay strong and implement the hypnobirthing techniques, ensuring I remained calm and supportive”

I arrived to our delivery room at 1015am where I met my wonderful delivery midwife who greeted me and took me in.

It is here I had the surge that got my midwife into emergency kick start mode. It appeared that as I was having this surge that she saw I was “Pushing” (Breathing down) without knowing that’s what I was actually doing.

To me I was doing this as it helped to relieve the enormous pressure I was feeling.

When she saw this she told me to get up on the bed straight away so I could be checked.

After being checked, I got the exciting news that I could forget pain relief or time for anything else because my baby was….. “He’s right there, Danielle”.

Finally I knew our hard work up until now was worth it, I was able to deliver my baby now knowing that he was right there, and that we got so far on our own through hypnobirthing techniques.

Our baby “Jett” was then delivered 30 minutes after admission to the delivery suite.  He was born at 1045am J

A miracle! Our little miracle… being my second birth, but my first natural birth.

I never dreamt it possible that I could get through such an event in life without medical intervention.

But we did! And I am happy to say that I can’t wait to do it again. It’s truly was a magical experience.

And although concerning, I think it was a blessing that I had little intervention on the ward and on admission because it allowed me to get through the birth without influence of others.

Adrian and I were such proud parents on this day. And my midwives were totally amazed!

I have had such a great recovery too and baby Jett is one healthy, happy and content baby.

My first birth with my son Demitrie was very traumatic…actually in comparison it was undeniably a total nightmare.

I had an induced birth from the start and then from here there was medical intervention after medical intervention.
I had an unsuccessful attempt 3 times for an epidural, and medical staff moved onto giving me a spinal block where I lost almost complete sensation from my neck down.

Logically how could I have delivered a baby without any control of my body? I was asking to fail from the start. I do see that now.

After almost 16 hours of labour I was deemed FTP à that dreaded saying of “Failure to Progress” where I was then moved on to an Emergency C-Section.

It really was my lack of knowledge of what my body was expected to do that I ultimately refused my body it’s ability to do what it has been made to do.

I honestly believe now and before Jett arrived to us that these medical interventions played a huge domino effect on how my labour went the first time.

So grateful to have been taught the techniques and knowledge that hypnobirthing offers.

Despite this previous traumatic first birth I really went into this second birth with my eyes open and fully equipped mentally and physically for what I was going to do this time around.

I accepted each part of our birthing, and such a difference it made, I didn’t refuse my body and its ability to deliver, not once.

I really truly believe that without these classes you offer I would still have not had the knowledge or ability to accept and cope with a natural birth.

Totally ecstatic with the results this time! I believe I can do it 5 times over! Not that we want that many children on top of the 2 we already have. J

I will totally recommend this to others as it was recommended to us…. I couldn’t have done it without hypnobirthing.

Thank You Melissa! J

On my due date (Thurs 27th Oct 2011) I woke up at 4am and noticed my birth show. Surges began soon after and were 10mins apart. They continued all day and were mostly quite bearable. I relaxed in different positions around the house and began my slow breathing which really helped. Brad and I double checked we had everything packed and ready to go in case we needed to make a dash to the hospital during the night. Surges continued all night and varied between 10 and 8 mins. I managed to get 1 hours sleep. 4am Friday morning surges began to speed up coming every 5mins and then some every 3mins. I continued to listen to my relaxation tracks and Brad would read me a script every now and then. Brad was getting a bit nervous as the day went on wanting to go to hospital but I told him I didnt feel/think that I was very dilated and I didnt want to go to hospital only to be sent home (we live 50mins away from Mater). So we continued at home till 5pm that evening and when the surges intensified, I decided we could go. In the car I lied down on the back seat and had Brad play the positive affirmations which was great. On arrival to the Mater I began vomiting with each surge. This made it extremely difficult to relax and focus on my breathing. During my initial observations the midwife heard my iphone playing the hypnobirthing rainbow relaxation and became very excited asking ‘are you hypnobirthing?’. Brad explained to her that we were. She did a internal and said excitedly ‘you are 3 cm dilated – that’s great cause that takes the longest’. Meanwhile I was thinking ‘only 3cm!!’. The midwife suggested she let us go up to the ward so Brad and I could continue to focus on keeping me relaxed as she didnt want to send us to the birthing suite and have staff put pressure on us to ‘help things along’. We were up on the ward for 4 hours. While we were up there the surges intensified again and Brad read me a few scripts and began using pressure points on my lower back. We moved to the birthing suite and I immediately got into the bath. I was very relaxed in the bath breathing up with each surge thinking ‘blue satin ribbons’ (which is funny as I remember thinking to myself in the hypnobirthing class ‘I dont think I’ll use that tool’) and then as a breathed out I was visualizing baby down and opening rose. The midwife we were assigned in the birthing suite had requested us as we had hypnobirthing on our chart and she had hypnobirthed her first child. She was fantastic. She just left Brad and I to do our own thing and just checked on us every now and then. I moved to a couple of different positions, in the shower, on the ball, back in the bath but at 3am I wanted to be on my side in the bed. At 4am my waters released on a contraction and sprayed across the room I came out of my relaxation to giggle for a moment before the next surge came. It was soon after that I began to breath my baby down using the birth breathing. I was surprised at the intensity of the NPR. It took me a few goes at being able to breath with the NPR but once I got the hang of it our baby girl was soon crowning and I breathed her out in only three birth breaths. Brad cried and I was laughing with complete joy once our baby was born. Our baby girl had arrived and was birthed calmly, gently and completely free from any drugs. We were both on such as natural high. I was also super excited when the obstetrician reported that I didnt tear and I  managed to birth my placenta only a couple of mins after Alivia was born and didnt need the oxytocin injection.

Alivia took to the breast straight away and is an alert happy baby. She is very content and loves her food! My recovery has been amazing. I went back to gym 10days after the birth and am feeling fantastic (apart from a little sleep deprived!!).

During my labour my midwife keep telling me how amazing I was and I didnt really think anything of it until a couple of other midwifes popped their head in to see Brad and I in action. It was only then that I figured that they must be talking about us outside of the room. After Alivia was born the midwife told us that she was honored to witness the birth and felt guilty that she was going to be paid for a nights work when she didnt really do anything. This made Brad and I both feel very proud. So all in all a 50 hour labour and no intervention needed.  Thank you so much for your support – I have friends all wanting to know more details about hypnobirthing!

Tanya & Brad, Cedar Vale, Brisbane