Leo born at SCUH, 23 Jan 2020

Hi Carrie, we had our baby boy Leo on Thursday at 7.02 pm via emergency Caesar after a vacuum procedure failed.  This was certainly not part of the plan and I'm feeling very fragile now but I feel happy that we made all the right choices to keep myself and our baby safe.  The labour itself was very intense and all my pregnancy symptoms intensified during labour, I was vomiting non stop and my swelling got so bad the pressure in my legs made it difficult to find a comfortable position.  In the end I became very disorientated and fatigued.

Despite this, I remained surprisingly focused and I coped amazingly well with all of the surges, and everything else I was faced with during labour (which I have no doubt is because of the skills developed in hypnobirthing).  I kept my eyes closed and breathed deeply which allowed me to take myself to another place as everything intensified.   I kept telling myself that I was capable of coping with anything for one minute if it was bringing my baby closer to me - I needed no pain medication the entire day until my surgery.  Chris was also able to be an amazing support person and I feel like his coping skills were incredible given what he was watching me experience. His kind words at the end gave the energy to keep going when I had nothing in the tank.

In the end my baby was just too big for my body (weighing 3930 g).  I was able to touch his head with my fingertip inserted to my first knuckle at the end but he wouldn't budge much further than that despite my very best efforts (probably due to the lack of steam I had left in the tank).  In the end the doctors were worried about leaving him there any longer due to some swelling on his head.

My midwife was in awe of my strength and has told me so many times how well I coped with such a difficult labour.  She told me had he been just a little bit smaller I would have had no troubles at all and that she hopes I haven't been scared off from this experience.

While I am still trying to process everything that happened in such a short period of time I know that I have coped so much better because of your hypnobirthing course. We both felt confident making decisions that we were faced with and able to cope with so many special circumstances.  And even lying on the surgery table I was smiling because I knew I had done my absolute best.  Seeing my baby for the first time was everything.

While I am not planning to have another baby any time soon I know that will try for a vbac because I am confident that given different circumstances I can deliver a baby vaginally. I attribute so much of my strength, perseverance and courage in delivering our baby to what I learnt in hypnobirthing - I really can't thank you enough.  Thank you Carrie.

Love Lauren, Leo and Chris