Hi Melissa,

Just thought I would send you an update on my progress in the last few weeks of my pregnancy….

I’m now 37+5 and as you know I have been carrying my baby in breech position for quite some time. I was really grateful for the opportunity to do the special breech session with you a few weeks ago ” thanks once again for making time to see me.

Baby still wasn’t interested in turning in the days after the session and following additional acupuncture sessions, so I proceeded to opt for an external cephalic version on the advice of my obstetrician. It was a very difficult decision to make as I felt I was stuck between a rock and a hard place in terms of not wanting to ‘push’ my baby around, but also wanting so badly to avoid a scheduled caesar. In the end I felt it was worth a try….

Baby proved to be very stubborn and like a tightly wired spring, but we had success on the third attempt.

And……I firmly believe I would not have had a successful outcome if I hadn’t attended Hypnobirthing classes with you. I knew I would be very nervous at the procedure and that the levels of discomfort I would feel (and success in terms of relaxing my uterine muscles) would depend a lot on how in control I was of my relaxation. I was practicing my affirmations and rainbow relaxation sessions alone and with Pete pretty much daily since our classes and was amazed at how I was able to successfully access this during the ECV (particularly sleep breathing and visualisation) to stay calm in what was really not a very nice circumstance!

It was the strangest thing in the sense that I was aware that I was feeling discomfort that could be interpreted as quite a lot of ‘pain’, but at the same time I was able to transport myself (with Pete’s help) elsewhere and cope much better than I thought I was capable of.

After the procedure the obstetrician commented that it was one of the most difficult turns that he had attempted in a while and that the success was down to my very ‘high level of maternal motivation’ – the very nice midwife afterwards said straight out that she’d never seen anyone cope with such a ‘full-on’ and ‘painful’ ECV and asked what sort of breathing I had been using (she obviously noticed that Pete and I were following a sort of system). It was great to be able to brief her on Hypnobirthing! I mention this not to sound like someone who is proud of tolerating ‘pain’, but because both staff clearly thought they had seen something a bit unique.

Both Pete and I were really amazed at the whole experience and left feeling even more ‘converted’ to Hypnobirthing than before. We both agreed that our big lesson from this experience was the value of regular practice, not just alone but with your partner so they can help trigger/facilitate relaxation. Pete found that because he was familiar with our scripts he was comfortable ad libbing a bit when necessary/appropriate ” he really was a total star and it was great that Hypnobirthing allowed us to work as a team rather than seeing him sidelined as I imagine would normally be the case.

Now we are keeping our fingers crossed and focusing on lots of positive affirmations and thoughts that the baby will stay cephalic and we can have the delivery we would like. However, I am also at peace with whatever decision the baby makes in terms of which way he/she would like to greet the world!

I will keep you posted with our progress. In the meantime, Pete and I hope you are staying well and happy.

Regards,

Rebekah, Waterford, Brisbane