Eliana's Positive Induction

I loved teaching Courtney and Nigel, they were so enthusiastic and it was so lovely to see. I received a message from Courtney telling me they were in hospital facing an induction, so I popped into their room, reminded them of their BRAIN technique to ask questions to ensure that they were comfortable with the interventions being offered, and gave them a positive induction story to read. This story helped them so much that they wanted to be able to do the same for others. So here is their amazing birth story, grab a cuppa and enjoy these superstars version of events!! Nic PS maybe grab some tissues x

At 10:30am Tuesday the 7th of May I was 39 weeks pregnant. I went downstairs to get the washing out of the machine. When I lifted the basket of clothes, I felt a small gush! I thought, “Did I just pee myself?” I went up stairs to the toilet to check. “Oh I think I better call the delivery suite!” The week leading up to this, I had been eating dates, taking raspberry leaf tea capsules, hand expressing my colostrum, rubbing clary sage on my body and had acupuncture. I wanted this baby out.

The midwife at the Delivery Suite asked the usual questions, “Is there any blood, mucus, contraction?” All of which I answered, “No.” So they asked me to go to the Delivery Suite to check if it was my waters. I told my partner Nigel to stay at work and don’t worry because nothing is happening. He was getting very excited to meet our baby. I told mum, who lives in Katherine, and she said it’s starting to sound like her birthing story when she had me. 

So I got to the Delivery Suite and they monitored my baby’s heart rate, did an ultrasound to see how much fluid and also did a test to confirm my waters have been broken, but only a little bit. I got sent home and told to come back when contractions have started and are close together or 4am the next morning as infections can occur when waters have been broken and the baby is still inside. 

When I got home, I went for a big walk to encourage labour but nothing happened. So I decided to kill time and straighten my hair, make dinner and not focus on bringing on labour. Still nothing happened.  Before going to bed that night we made sure everything was packed and ready to go for hospital. 

We arrived at hospital 4am on Wednesday the 8th of May. They said that every 6 hours I needed antibiotics to make sure the baby is healthy while still in my stomach. They also gave me extra fluid through a drip. At about 9am a doctor came in and said that I wasn’t dilated and that I had to be induced. I was devastated. After all the education I got from Nicole at the Hypnobirthing Course, I wanted to do this as natural as possible. So I asked for more time. He said he will give me until 2pm to bring on my labour naturally. I was then moved into my room at the maternity ward. 

I quickly messaged Nicole as I needed some reassurance on what I wanted and what I was doing was fine. I also wanted to make sure that I could still hypnobirth if I choose to be induced. Luckily she was at the hospital and saw me at the maternity ward. She gave me a birthing story to read, which confirmed I can still hypnobirth with the syntocinon drip. She also said to try buy as much time as you're comfortable with, it is your birth! So I did!

I did 4 flights of the stairs from the ground level to level 6. That was tough and I had a lot of breaks and still nothing. Nicole asked me if I could get acupuncture again but I felt time was running out. I went back to my room just before 2pm and a midwife said all the rooms at the Delivery Suite was busy so I couldn’t be induced at 2pm. This was excellent news! So I got the breast pump out and started expressing, in hope contractions will start and guess what? IT DID!

By 5pm, a midwife came and said there’s a room available and I can be induced now. I was in two minds. I didn’t want to be induced via the drip because I knew it was synthetic which meant it would give me an unnatural high and the downfall could be an unnatural low afterwards. But at the same time, I wanted to conserve my energy for what was coming a head. So I agreed to the induction as my contraction were very faint and I had a feeling it would take too long and I had already consumed so much energy climbing stairs, pumping and stressing! 

At 5:30pm, the midwife broke the rest of my waters and gave me a stretch and sweep. By 6pm the syntocinon, fluids and another dose of antibiotics were in. 

My faint contractions were beginning to have a pattern and by 8pm I was in active labour. I remembered Nicole saying “contractions comes in waves, think of it like a squat hold”. So I kept that in mind. While Nigel, my midwife and I were watching comedians on YouTube, I could feel the contraction working up my stomach, tightening then releasing down my stomach. I visualised the diagram of the uterus from the Hypnobirthing Australia™ Course. While these contractions were happening, some of the words from “Surge of the Sea” and “Affirmations For Beautiful Birthing” would automatically replay in my head. I would close my eyes and breath in slowly for 4, breath out for 8, I would say in my head “every surge brings my baby closer to me” and “millions of women are birthing with me around the world” then open my eyes and the contraction were over. I remembered asking my midwife, “So contractions are 40 seconds on and 1-2 minutes rest - just like a HIIT or Tabata workout session?” And she agreed. This made everything tolerable. 

I was doing the Hypnobirthing Australia™ method, pain and drug free until about 11pm. The midwife had to call in the doctor because my baby’s heart rate kept going from 140bpm to 90bpm every time I contracted. I agreed for them to put a heart rate monitor clip on her head. So they got me onto the bed, saw I was 4cm dilated and tried to put the clip on her head. I heard them say, “We can’t find the heart rate, maybe turn Courtney to her side.” This is when I thought the worst but at the same time went into the transitional phase. I asked them if they “amped up the machine” but they said they turned it off and that my body is contracting on its own now. I then remember saying, “I can’t do this anymore, give me something!” In my head I remember Nicole saying, “Right before pushing, Mothers will say they can’t do this and they want to go home. That’s called the transitional phase.” I thought to myself, “I can’t be in transitional phase if I’m only 4cm dilated!” Then all of a sudden I felt my body bearing down and pushing. I yelled again at the midwives and doctor, “Give me something because my body is pushing!” And they gave me the gas. They said I had to stop pushing because I’m only 4cm. I said that I wasn’t pushing, my body was doing it by itself - (how amazing is that!) So they rolled me back over and saw I was crowning. I heard them say to one another, “wow she went from 4cm to pushing in just 20 minutes. Get her off the gas she needs to push!” 

Eliana arrived 20 minutes later at 11:40pm. 

Despite not wanting to be induced, I am extremely happy and proud of myself for using the Hypnobirthing techniques learnt! I am forever raving about it and getting my pregnant friends on board! What better way to bring your perfect human to earth side :)