I felt that I was safe so long as you were there watching ❤️
/My labour came on hard and fast and soon I was off to hospital, hoping to slip into a big warm pool and give birth within the next few hours. Unfortunately it wasn’t quite as quick as that, but after having so many obstacles thrown our way we got the VBAC I was so hopeful for and that was an incredibly beautiful and special experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.
I learned a lot about myself and about labour through the experience. It was very intense and not ‘to plan’ but I feel very lucky and grateful.
Nancy, you helped me/us understand the hospital system so much better than we did the first time and how to prevent things becoming difficult with important negotiations. That was everything for a VBAC. I felt that you understood the nature of labour exceptionally well and that I was safe so long as you were there watching. It was so important for me to feel safe through such intense pain and to have a familiar face who wasn’t just my husband but someone calm and experienced with birth.
What is the most memorable moment of our time together?
Remembering to breathe and relax all my muscles at the end of and between every contraction. I think this helped me physically and mentally to cope with the contractions. I think I learned the most during our birth plan session and how you edited my original birth plan and pointing out all the possible loopholes I’d have never seen.
It was extremely helpful to be able to message/call you whenever I needed and get answers about anything I was having issues with.
Oh and the massages!!
What did you find were the most helpful things through your labour?
Probably being adaptable and ready to change plans if things didn’t feel right (for example going into hospital a lot earlier than planned, knowing when was the right time to get the epidural etc). That took a lot of having to be confident in my own choices and responding to the situation as it arose. I think the ‘doing the least to achieve the most’ idea too - relaxing in early labour, staying in the pool in a squat position rather than feeling bad about not getting out and walking up stairs etc. Just being comfortable with doing whatever felt right to me and my body to stay calm.
Did you want to mention anything else about our time together?
Massages were incredible! You’re very knowledgeable about the body and helped me manage pain issues in my pelvis.
Pain tolerance practice with my calf muscles was so useful!
The Body Balancing Workshop together with my husband also really helped us physically practice what we were learning in the She Births course and Spinning Babies online.
Do my fees reflect the service you received?
Yes I think I got very good value for money. It’s a hard thing to put a price on! Getting a VBAC was really invaluable to me and you really helped me to get that.
If you were to share words of wisdom with a first time family preparing for labour, birth & bringing their baby home, what would they be?
Get a doula! That’s what I tell my friends now.
Do a proper active birth skills birth class, not the hospital class or hypnobirthing class (or not only those anyway).
Try to get into MGP.
Would you like to rave about any practitioners/websites/podcasts/groups you used during your pregnancy or postpartum to other families?:
Anna Lanyon for sure! I also did pain tolerance practice with her and a mini active birth skills appointment with my husband. She was really direct and upfront about the pain and intensity of childbirth and coping strategies and I appreciated that. (https://www.herconnectionphysio.com.au)
Lots of love from all of us. x