My First Birth ~ the story...
- Georgia
- Oct 1, 2024
- 6 min read
Updated: Oct 3, 2024
"Wow, I'm definitely going to Hypnobirth my babies!" These were the first words to leave the student midwife's mouth as I cradled my new baby boy.
I remember thinking: "Really, did I do okay?" because truth be told, I was howling like a beast and the sensations were intense.
"I grew up listening to my mother's horror stories on her 'near-death' experiences at birth."
But a few moments later, when they weighed him at 9lb 4oz / 4.5kg I concluded that yeh, I did good.
Let's back up a moment...
I'd always dreamed of being a mum. I'm one of three children and always wanted kids and love the fun dynamic of a large family. My husband grew up with seven siblings, so we were on the same page.
We felt so blessed when I fell pregnant and the pregnancy itself was relatively smooth (aside from the crazy painful pelvic pain which is totally manageable I learnt in subsequent pregnancies).
The only problem was the birth. It was a HUGE block for me. I grew up listening to my mother's horror stories on her 'near-death' experiences at birth.
She's not the only one, ask anyone and they love to tell you their dramatic birth stories, and the stories in the media don't help.
Neither do the images we see of women screaming down the halls while laying on the bed. It's all wrong, SO WRONG. But I didn't know that...
I was around 6 months pregnant and couldn't sleep one day, wondering how the hell I was going to get this baby out of me, when I ended up googling childbirth and fear. That's when I came across Hypnobirthing. It felt too good to be true. I signed up to a local course there and then and never looked back.
I listened to podcasts (at the time there were only two on Hypnobirthing), started daily exercises and attended the course. By the time it was over I remember saying to my friends: "I don't care what happens now, I'm not scared."
"I no longer feared what was to come. "
It was so powerful. My fear had completely disappeared. I wasn't fixated on a particular birth outcome, I just no longer feared what was to come.
As the pregnancy progressed I practised multiple times a day, relaxation, repeating affirmations out loud, post-its all over the house, visualisations. I was all-in!
By the time I started to feel the first twinges, at around 10pm on a Saturday night in mid-June back (a day after "due date") I was so excited I couldn't sleep. Imagine being excited about birth...?!
I was up all night, bouncing on the ball watching Michael McIntyre as I had learnt laughing was the perfect way to hack the hormones. I was walking up and down, dancing to music, I had a brilliant night, all while my husband was asleep upstairs none-the-wiser.
By the time he woke up, around 10am the next morning (life before kids), he took one look at me and knew it was happening.
He gathered our things and we made our way to hospital; The Rosie Birthing Centre in Cambridge. They had a look and said I wasn't "progressed enough" and sent me home.
I was determined not to be disheartened and decided to stay in the zone. I went home, because home really is the best place to relax and progress, had some food, had a bath, listened to my relaxation and stayed focused.
Just a few hours later, we were back in the birth centre. They kept me there, got the birth pool ready and just as I got in the pool I had the most almighty gush of water. I was buzzing as it was just like in the movies (heads up: it rarely is like the movies).
After that the surges really ranked up a notch, or ten! I definitely had to maintain my breath to carry me through as I clung to the handles of the pool as each surge came in.
I remember watching the clock (never watch the clock during labour!) as it got later and later thinking my parents will be in bed when they get the call.
Then all of a sudden I got the urge to push. I couldn't fight it. It was accompanied by this wild, involuntary noise that came out nowhere.
I was mortified as I let out some guttural roars. Good god! I just went with it, that's what felt right, afterall we are mammals and this is how we're wired to birth.
"I was mortified as I let out some guttural roars. Good god!"
I soon got that sensation of fullness, like a huge massive poo, and then with some vigorous humming and downward breathing, out shot his head. His body soon followed.
He was placed on my chest and in a matter of a few seconds, life as we knew it, changed forever. A mother and father had been born.
That's when the student midwife, who had accompanied our lovely experienced midwife, had uttered those words.
After some incredible moments in the pool with our new son, I then handed him to my husband who was an absolute natural. I was taken to the bed and then encouraged to continue with third stage labour.
I was tired, so opted for the birthing stall, which is where I birthed the placenta and lost a significant amount of blood. As a consequence I was kept overnight and felt super weak.
However, after a couple of days me and our new baby boy were home and I was on cloud nine. I never really got that feeling of "Oh my god we have to keep this human alive, what do we do now...?" because my husband was so at ease and confident with him. It was amazing seeing him in this new role.
As for me, the rollercoaster of motherhood was just beginning. It wasn't long before I concluded that birth was the easy part, as I began to navigate hormones, breastfeeding, sleep deprivation. It's a tough gig, but it's the most wonderful and fulfilling thing in the world.
We called him Alexandre Laird Mathieu, aka Lex, he was a beautiful big baby. So big people couldn't believe I birthed him naturally without pain relief. But the weight and the pain is aside from the point.
You can watch his Birth Video here, yep, we filmed it!
I remember feeling so in awe of my body and what it was capable of conceiving, growing, birthing and producing in order to bring this tiny human into the world. We so often lose sight of that.
"I remember feeling so in awe of my body and what it was capable of conceiving, growing, birthing and producing"
Our bodies are designed to do this, it's our heads that get in the way. That's what hynobirthing does; it encourages you to put your mind on a shelf, and trust your baby and your body to do what it's designed to do.
As Marie Mongan, the founder of hypnobirthing, said:
"When you change the way you view birth, the way you birth will change."
With the help of a good hypnobirthing course you can have a positive birth experience too.
You will learn the physiology of birth, how your body and baby work, and exactly what you need to do to support them. You will become a master of relaxation and be given the tools to navigate your birth, no matter what path it takes.
It's something I became so passionate about, especially after my second birth, which you can read here. That's when I realised I had to share this with other women.
I've been teaching since 2018 and have many more years of teaching ahead of me. I love empowering my couples and transforming attitudes to birthing.
If you're ready to take control of your birth check out my courses here. I have brought UK based hypnobirthing courses to Abu Dhabi and teach clients online all over the world. So wherever you are, I've got you.
Get ready motherhood! Join my Hypnobirthing Workhop today. For more information on all my upcoming courses, click here.
Georgia x
Psssst! You can watch Lex's Birth Video here!
Some other posts you might like:
Yes we filmed all our births. Sienna's birth had a professional birth photographer too...
"Mummy has been eating too much chocolate." This was my response to Lex, whenever he asked why my tummy was getting bigger.
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