I can remember asking my mother when I was growing up what childbirth was like.  She would always give me the same answer “Your childbirth experience will be whatever you decide for it to be, you can choose to have a wonderful birth”.  It wasn’t until I fell pregnant that I asked my mum what she really meant by that and she explained to me that she had calm birthed my brother and I in the early 80′s.  Unsure as to whether I would be able to do the same, I did some research and came across the Hypnobirthing Australia website and decided to enroll in one of the courses held on the gold coast.  It turns out that it was the best decision I could have made in preparation for the birth of our son.  Melissa is a fantastic teacher and provided my husband (Joel) and I with the skill set and confidence that we needed to calmly welcome our son Cooper into the world.  Our little ANZAC day miracle.  I would not call my case a “textbook” hypnobirth but I would like to share my story to show others that even though things don’t always go according to plan, you are always the one in control of your birth and we should all embrace that fact!

I awoke at around 3am on ANZAC day to what I believed to be regular surges but being a first time mum I didn’t exactly know what to expect surges to feel like.  I decided to sit in our rocking/nursing chair and listen to the affirmations soundtrack on my Ipod.  After about an hour I felt as though the surges were starting to become more frequent so I started timing them and was shocked to discover they were 2 minutes apart.  This is when I woke my husband and told him that I thought I was in labour.  He called the hospital because we live a good hour away and they told us to come in if we really wanted to but we might be sent home because I seemed to calm to be too far along.  

On the drive to the hospital the surges were coming every 60 seconds or so and I just remember after one surge turning to my husband and saying “Do you really think I am in labour or should we just turn around and go home?”.  Luckily he kept driving to the hospital   When we arrived at the hospital the initial midwife wasn’t very interested in our wishes and tried to hurry me down the corridor to the birthing suite when I was in the middle of a surge.  I just remember planting my feet and concentrating on floating up over my surge but most importantly ignoring the small shoves in the back I was getting from the midwife!

When we finally made it to the birthing suite, 2 surges later ,  she insisted that I lay down on my back on a bed in order to do the mandatory 20 minute monitoring.  So after being pushed, pulled and strapped up, in came the food service asking what I would like for breakfast and asking my husband to order all our meals for the day, followed by a conversation between 2 midwives beside my bed discussing a broken thermometer.  At this point I had completely lost my focus and I knew I needed to get off my back and to a quite space.  The midwife wasn’t willing to let me off the bed so I insisted I needed to go to the bathroom and then………I refused to get off the toilet hahaha   Luckily at this point her shift ended and the relieving midwife was familiar with hypnobirthing and was absolutely fantastic.  She left me sitting on the toilet because I was happy there and even brought the monitoring equipment into the bathroom to finish the 20 minute monitoring period.  She would occasionally poke her head through the door to see how I was going and started to get the large pool ready for my water birth.  At this point my husband had set up all our ‘hypnobirthing tools’ and was standing ready and all excited to be of any assistance he could.  I can just imagine his disappointment when all I wanted was for him to stand in front of me so I could put my hand in his pocket and remain in complete silence hahaha poor guy.

After about another hour my obstetrician arrived and needed to check how dilated I was which I wasn’t planning on having done but my doctor said it was important for the health of the baby so I agreed to it.  I’m not sure who was more shocked, myself or him, when he exclaimed I was 9cms dilated.  At this point I was moved to the birthing pool which was the most amazing and relaxing feeling.  So much so that I would 100% recommend a water birth to any expecting mum!  By the time I was set up in the pool my obstetrician had left and told the midwife to call him when I was further along.  After about 10 minutes both my husband and the midwife noticed the change in my breathing as I had started to breathe my baby down.  The midwife came over to check me and felt the head coming out.  All I can remember at this stage is hearing loud footsteps and her calling down the hallway “I need another midwife in here, this baby is going to arrive before the doctor does”.  My obstetrician did make it back in time and our gorgeous son Cooper was born at a healthy 4.12kg and 55cms long at 9:46am after a 6 hour labour.  The 2 midwives that were present for the birth and my obstetrician were all shocked at the fact that I had just calmly delivered a 9 pound baby, without tearing!  I just kept repeating “Melissa taught me” hahaha and my husband explained we had done a course with Hypnobirthing Australia.

I have attached a photo, from our professional photo shoot, of our happy little hypnobirthing baby – Cooper Jackson!

The most important message I can give to expecting mums is to take control of your birth!  Even when you are met with situations you were not expecting or wanting, at the end of the day, you are in charge and have the right to a beautiful calm birth!!

Good luck to all the future hypnobirthing mummies

Thank you so much Melissa for your wonderful course, I cannot recommend you enough to anyone that asks me what my birth experience was like!

Sincerely,
Rebecca, Joel and Cooper, Nerang, Queensland

Kimberly & Josh, Mackay, Queensland

Well – as of this week – that has changed!!!

Click here to download the world release – Hypnobirthing – Caesarean Birth Calm & Relaxed MP3 Album (or find it on iTunes)!

I am a passionate advocate for natural birthing; but I also recognise that sometimes the safest delivery for mother and baby is via c-section. 

Caesarean Birth – Calm and Relaxed has been developed to assist mothers to prepare for a positive C-section birth. The first track can be listed to at any time. It can be played as you go about your regular tasks of the day, or during dedicated relaxation practice time.

The second track is professionally guided self-hypnosis, so it is important that you do not listen to this track whilst operating a moving vehicle or when engaged in an activity that requires attention.

The third track is designed to assist recovery. This can be listened to at any time.

Allow yourself to release any fears relating to your birth and positively anticipate the birth of your baby. Take some time out of your day, relax and enjoy this beautiful time as you bond with your baby and reprogram your subconscious mind for a calm and positive caesarean birth. Click here to download.

Melissa Spilsted

Director – Hypnobirthing Australia

Many mothers feel calm, relaxed and confident after attending Hypnobirthing classes; but then find that as their birthing date gets closer that little niggling doubts and reservations can start to creep in.

This album, Hypnobirthing Australia – Hypnosis for Childbirth is for you!

This is a specially designed Fear Release that you can do in the comfort of your own home. Allow yourself to release any fears relating to your birth, keep yourself calm and relaxed and positively anticipate the birth of your baby. You may only need to play this track on a couple of occasions leading up to your birthing day. When you release the fears – they are gone.

Take some time out of your day, relax and enjoy this beautiful time as you bond with your baby and reprogram your subconscious mind for a calm and positive birth. 

Click here to download your very own Hypnobirthing Australia – Hypnosis for Childbirth Fear Release (or find it on iTunes)… and approach your birth as the Fearless Mama you are!

Melissa Spilsted 

Director – Hypnobirthing Australia

Having breastfed three babies myself, I know firsthand the challenges that we can face with breastfeeding. It isn’t always as ‘straightforward’ as it seems. Breastfeeding isn’t just up to us; our baby is learning too! Also, stress, lack of sleep and/or poor nutrition can all affect our milk production. 

This album has been created to help you to reduce tension and enhance your level of relaxation during breastfeeding. Research shows that relaxation can increase breastfeeding milk production by up to 63% (when mothers listen to 20 minute relaxation and visual imagery audio recording) ⁽¹⁾. Stress hormones, anxiety and fatigue are also known to inhibit milk supply ⁽²⁾ and this is why regular relaxation practice can be highly beneficial when feeding your baby.

Hypnobirthing Australia – Breastfeeding and Bonding with Baby is especially for mamas who wish to continue with their positive, calm journey and help their body (through their mind) to produce ample milk for their baby; whilst enjoying this very special time together.

Breastfeeding provides babies with more than just physical nutrition – it helps them to feel loved, protected and nurtured. Babies who are breastfed tend to be much happier, well-adjusted, and enjoy better health.

Click here to download your MP3 of Hypnobirthing – Breastfeeding and Bonding – or find it on iTunes.

(1) http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/83/1/57: “To facilitate the breast-feeding experience, intervention mothers were given a 20-minute audio cassette tape based on relaxation and visual imagery techniques. At a single follow-up expression of milk at the hospital approximately 1 week after enrollment, they expressed 63% more breast milk than a randomized group of control mothers.” 
(2) http://www.bioline.org.br/request?mr05007: “Any kind of stress including cesarean section may postpone milk ejection by hormonal inhibition for a few days after delivery”

Melissa Spilsted

Director – Hypnobirthing Australia 

Well my opinion is that when mother relaxes deeply, so do the uterine muscles – therefore giving baby more room to move!

Also – we always start our relaxation practice off with some lovely deep breathing; which of course sends lots of oxygenated blood to the uterus and to baby. Our babies just LOVE it when we take time out to fully relax and enjoy this special oneness with them.

Check out this amazing video of a mama at 37 weeks. You can see her baby clearly moving around in her belly. It is great footage!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Melissa Spilsted

Director – Hypnobirthing Australia

Unfortunately, we didn’t have the planned hypnobirthing experience that we had hoped for but we did manage to utilize the tools that Melissa taught us and which prepared us for any turn my baby’s birth may take.

Aaliyah was very comfortable and content inside me as she decided to stay in an extra 2 weeks (42weeks). My waters partially broke and seeing that I wasn’t going into labour naturally, I had no other option to be induced as waiting might have put her at risk. I was part of a trial to draw the gel (which is what we preferred) or syntocinon. It was just my luck that I drew the syntocinon instead. The ambiance for the room was just right, lights dimmed, rocksalt lamp, lavender aromatherapy and Sheldon even stuck up the affirmations / rosebud on the wall, the midwives were very supportive in our hypnobirthing and respected every request.

I was however able to use my breathing techniques and listened to Melissa’s affirmations and visualisations which I found to be most soothing and kept me going through my surges. I also found myself to be extremely in tune to Sheldon’s light touch massage which he did the entire time I was in labour. Halfway through my labour, the ipod froze and despite being lost without these to listen to, I had to just keep repeating affirmations in my mind, while the midwife hooked up some easy listening music on their ipod. 

I did get to the point of asking for an epidural, but with Sheldon, my mum and a midwife (richard, yes a guy, who was amazing) I was talked out of it and opted to use gas to get me thru. My labour was approx 13hrs. And at the end, the midwife didn’t even realize I was so close until I said I can feel something (which turned out to be her head haha) Sheldon received her into his hands and it was a moment of joy that he will never forget. 

At the end, Richard my midwife said he couldn’t get over how calm and relaxed I was despite me being on the drip and most people are likely to have an epi, which made me feel very proud of my myself. He also said that we were the most supportive couple he’s had and that we’re welcome back anytime to be a part of the Midwifery group for #2 as Sheldon made his job easy.

Even though she was a perfect little girl and scored 10/10 on her APGAR test; a day later we realized that she had TTN (Wet Lungs) and could have possibly swallowed in some meconium and had to spend 3 days in special care nursery on an IV drip, 48hrs of antibiotics, many injections, and scans and glucose tests. She was a little pin cushion by the end of it

She is home and apart from the usual new born adjustments she is melting every ones hearts, especially her mum n dads hehe ) She is so precious, and we are totally smitten.

Aaliyah is definately a hypno baby as many have commented on how alert she is, and is surprisingly strong for a bub her age.

Even though it wasn’t the birth we planned for, we can’t thank Melissa enough for giving us the tools necessary to get through this.

Amanda and Sheldon, Peak Crossing, Queensland

We did it!!

Our beautiful daughter Amelia Olive calmly entered the world on Sunday 21^st April. Our hopes became reality when Jason and I got into the bath and I breathed Amelia down to be scooped up into Jason’s arms at 3.16am.

Our story begins at 2am on Saturday morning when I awoke to period like sensations that came in waves every half hour. I was very comfortable, so after seeing Jason off to work at 5.30am I went back to sleep until mid-morning. In the afternoon Jason and I went for a walk through the market and pools at the beach at South Bank. My waves of sensations were coming exactly every 5 minutes for around 30 seconds. I was still extremely comfortable and each time a wave came I was relaxed and breathed calmly.

We shopped for groceries, cooked and enjoyed a delicious dinner, and got into bed to watch a movie. I had a craving for waffles and ice-cream, so we got back up and made those before lying back down again around 10.30pm. The period like sensation became stronger, and Jason got me a heat pack with clary sage oil. Suddenly an intense surge arose, and that was the beginning of Amelia’s descent. The surges came every 2 minutes for 30 seconds. We called the midwife, who thought that it was the beginning of pre-labour and suggested we go back to bed and call if the surges were lasting longer than 30 seconds.

I couldn’t lie down. I was freezing cold but needed to be on my hands and knees. The midwife’s suggestion of lying down was all Jason needed to put him to sleep after being awake since 2am and working in the heat all day. So…I was on my own for the next hour passing through the waves that were ‘bringing my baby closer’!! Through my mind the affirmations swirled- I knew that I could do it, and that each surge was bringing Amelia closer. I used the ‘surge of the sea’ technique to breathe, also imagining filling a balloon and watching it float off into the distance.

By the time Jason awoke at 1.20am my temperature was on fire and I had been pushing for a while. We called the midwife, who told us to call an ambulance. The paramedic kindly offered me pain relief, to which Jason quickly declined explaining that wasn’t a part of our birth plan. Like you said Melissa- a labouring mama is very open to suggestion- so I asked him what would be waiting for me in the ambulance!! Between surges I walked down the stairs and found the stretcher mattress to be like a fluffy cloud of heaven on my raw, carpet burned knees. I had 5 surges in the 15 minute trip to the Birth Centre and even though the option of relief was there, I concentrated on listening to Jason who kept me focussed on my breathing. The best part of the ambulance ride was that we didn’t have to park the car!!

We arrived at the Birth Centre at 2.15am. I declined the vaginal examination- I knew Amelia wasn’t far away. I whipped off my clothes and eagerly attempted to get in the bath…however the bath was still filling so the midwife had to coax me out until it was a little deeper!! Jason continued to talk me through breathing until the water was deep enough to get into. The midwife talked quietly to Jason, who in turn talked to me.

In the bath I was the most concentrated and calm I had been all night. I breathed 

‘Amelia’ – Journey of Life Photography

her down calmly, comfortably and easily. The midwife continued to respect our wishes and spoke in a quiet calm voice directing myself and Jason through the last movements until Jason brought Amelia up to the surface of the water. She was quiet, relaxed and alert and was feeding within 10 minutes.

We are both so thrilled that we were able to have the birth experience we were hoping for- all natural, no intervention, and quiet, calm and intimate. Thank you Melissa for giving us the skills and information that made this amazing experience possible! 

Kind regards,

Nellie & Jason, Clayfield, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia