Lemon Tree Birth Stories

It was half term and we had been keeping busy. Nancy had done a circus workshop that day which I had dropped her to Gemma’s for, who had taken her onto Vicky’s and then onto Farnham. Jasper and me had then gone to Lisa’s for the day with Delphine and all the boys got to play with each other. I had had some slight cramping but didn’t think anything of it.

That night I woke up to Jasper in our bed, he was giving me a cuddle and reaching out to me which was nice. I then got up for a wee. When I got back into bed I felt a sharp pain through my bum when I layed on my left so I decided to roll over. As I did this my waters went. I don’t know why I was in denial and thought maybe I had wee’d myself (even though I had just been to the toilet) I got up and went and sat on the toilet. The waters just kept on leaking. I could feel the baby moving like crazy and my tummy was moving loads. I started to shake uncontrollably as I knew this was it ‘this was what I’d been preparing for, for the last 8 or so months!’. I was also only 38 weeks and 3 days as well so I really hadn’t expected her this early. Even though I did have a strong feeling I wouldn’t make it past half term without giving birth.

I called Russell and said ‘my waters have gone’ he immediately got up and called Triage and let them know. We decided to let them know quickly as I got to the pushing phase with Jasper quite quickly. I soon got a call from Hannah who is part of the Home birth team, she asked me what colour the fluid was, whether baby was still moving and explained they were on their way to check how I was doing. She said they could always leave and come back again. I explained I was uncontrollably shaking and she said just try and calm down and get in the zone. Russell ran me a bath, I got in and started doing my breathing in for 4, out for 8. I got the freya app up and started timing contractions, they were every 3-4 minutes at that point. Russell put some candles on and tried to connect my phone to the speaker. We kept having issues with the freya app because the music kept cutting out after a while. In the background he blew the pool up and put my words of affirmation around the living room.

The midwives arrived around 3:00am. They came straight up, it was Hannah and Abi, I had met both of them in clinic so it was nice to have familiar faces. Hannah checked babys heart rate which was all good, and felt my tummy during contractions. She said I no longer had to time my contractions and that she would do it but that she could see they were coming pretty consistently. They decided to stay. I was getting quite hot in the bath so I decided to get out , I sat on the toilet for a bit then headed downstairs. I got Russell to put a tens machine on which I seem to love during labour! I also asked Russell to play some Adele on the speaker, I sat on the toilet for a while and sang/ hummed to distract myself from the surges. I was having a good cry whilst singing and labouring I don’t know if that was because of the song, or the fact I was in labour and knew I was meeting the baby soon, either way I decided to let it out. Hannah then said why don’t you try some gas and air which was great. I got into a bit of rhythm, every time I had a contraction I would press boost on the tens and start using the gas and air. The kids meanwhile had both woken up and were asking for snacks so it was at that point we decided to call mum and get her to come over and lay/distract the kids. She came over at 4:50am.

Eventually the pool was ready, it had taken a while to fill because we had used most our hot water in the bath from earlier. I had no idea but they had been filling kettles and taking them through. I got in the pool which felt nice but as soon as I had my next surge I found it very difficult. I said I just wanted to get back out and the midwives suggested I try a few more contractions in the pool and perhaps try submerging a little bit more. I did this for the next few with gas and air but it really didn’t feel good. I decided to get out the pool and get the tens machine back on. As I got out I ended up having another contraction straight away hunched over stood up. I hadn’t had time to get the gas and air or have the tens put on so that was pretty intense! I then stayed on the edge of the pool for a while.

I then went over my ball, the midwife used some biomechanics to try and help with getting the baby’s head in the right position. Russell and me had practiced this during our course with Laura and it was called ‘shake the apples’. I then tried hanging on one of our material babies slings that Russell had tied to the banister. After a fair few contractions there the midwives asked me if I wanted to be checked as I had been pushing for a little bit they wanted to check how dilated I was. At this point I said yes (I had previously declined when they asked before) I layed on the sofa and was checked this was pretty uncomfortable. Hannah said there was just a tiny bit of cervix left and they mentioned that the bladder could be full and slowing things down. I was then advised to go and try and have a wee, I wasn’t able to so they did a quick in out catheter onto a blue absorbent sheet. I then really wanted to just be back on the toilet so I went back through, the midwives just said as soon as I feel baby’s head descending it would be wise to come back into the living room on all fours to have more support with birthing the baby. You are at higher risk of tearing sat over the toilet. I stayed here for a little bit and decided to feel if the head was there. To my surprise I could feel the very top of the baby’s head so I told the midwives and we headed back into the living room.

I decided to go over the sofa on all fours, still using the gas and air and tens machine and every time I had a contraction Russell would push into my lower back. I had started breathing in the Gas and Air and exhaling quite primitively. According to Nancy I sounded like a ‘heard of cows’. We carried on with this for a little while and then I heard Abi say we might need to think up a Plan B as you have been feeling expulsive for quite some time. I said I felt exactly like this with my son and she said yes we are not concerned just aware and this might be the journey that your baby is taking we just expected it to be a bit quicker seeing as this is your second vaginal birth. Not long after Abi had said this I had the most intense contraction and the babys head started to crown. It was an overwhelming burning / stretching sensation that I knew I shouldn’t shy away from. It then took a few more very intense surges to get babys head out. Hannah guided my breathing and tried to keep me calm and used warm compresses to help reduce the possibility of tearing. Once the head was out the body and limbs just followed, I think gravity definitely helped with that as I didn’t need to push at all. Daphne was born at 7:07am , she cried straight away and was passed through my legs. I was able to bring her up to me and hold her into my chest. Abi put a towel over the top. I was making as Russell described it ‘firework noises’ as the feeling of her coming out was such a big relief.

I thought I heard the midwives say something about the baby being a girl and I said wait what I don’t know the gender and Russell said I do it’s a girl. I couldn’t believe it ! People had mostly said they thought I was having a boy to me so you just kind of start to believe it. I was however only ever dreaming that I would give birth to a girl.

I was then helped onto the sofa. I got to lay with Daphne and do skin to skin, Russell went and got the kids and my mum from upstairs and they were able to meet her 10 minutes after she was born, that was such a magical moment!

It was then staff change over so we got two more midwives come round. I was still feeling crampy so they said to try and push as the placenta might be just there waiting to come out. I felt so lacking in energy I could barely push so I asked for the injection. This still took a little while to work but the midwife gave a little pull and I got another contraction and was able to push the placenta out. The midwives were then able to assess my bleeding and if I tore. It was a 2nd degree tear but they were able to suture it at home. Nancy, Jasper and Russell all sat with me and held my hand. Nancy kept passing me the gas and air. Watching me get stitches didn’t seem to bother either of them haha. Christine popped over with some paracetamol and took lots of photos for us. Daphne was weighed (8lb 2 ½) and the midwives showed us the placenta. They then did some placenta prints for us just using blood. Russell was amazing, he was dashing all over the place doing lots of odd jobs on very little sleep and he kept calm and supportive.

I was then helped up to standing which was very painful ! I tried to go for a wee but couldn’t manage it. The midwives said not to worry and that I had roughly 6 hours to pass urine. With that they cleared up and headed off and said that we would have someone visit us this evening. Nancy and Jasper headed back with Grandma and we were able to head upstairs to bed. But first I tried to wee again and was able to which was a relief as with Jasper I couldn’t empty by bladder so had to have a catheter. The Lemon Tree Course run by Laura was what gave me the initial confidence to go down the home birth route. It was a safe space to discuss and learn all things birth and just how amazing the female body is. I particularly enjoyed the the session we did on biomechanics with a big rebozo scarf that our partners could use during the pregnancy and in labour to help alleviate any discomfort. I couldn’t believe how much of a different experience it was having a birth at home. It was such a healing experience after having two quite traumatic births at the hospital. Despite consultants encouraging me to have a C section I knew my body and I trusted it fully to have a vaginal birth. I feel I can look back so fondly at Daphne’s birth and am very proud of us.

Baby Georgia Freebirthed in the bathroom. 7lb 8 oz. “There was no pushing at all in my body and she knew exactly what to do. I just kept saying to myself “surrender and breathe”

Helen booked just 2 power hours with me. She had some unanswered questions, needed some reassurance, to explore her options and be given some space to be held and heard. Helen had already started doing the work, preparing reading, learning, looking at the evidence and making informed choices for her 2nd birth after previous trauma an episiotomy. Here is her story…

24th Sept after our session – “Thank you so much, I LOVED our session, already started on some biomechanics”
25th Sept – “After your suggestion I went and had some Bowen therapy to help release any emotional or physical tension. Went in with achey tight hips, came out with ENORMOUS improvement. A young man who was an osteopath but trained in Bowen and extremely passionate about it. Wants me to wait 3 days, see how I feel and if I feel I need it have more treatment next week if needed. Thanks again to the suggestion”.

FAST FORWARD….
Sunday 6th October 2pm…. “I free birthed my baby girl on in our bathroom this morning, placenta 2. Called the midwives after she was born, they were very handy for clearing up ha ha. Labour in total was 4 hours. You gave me so much confidence in just 2 hours and I can’t thank you enough. No tears even after an episiotomy first time round. Thank you”

Helen’s account of her daughters birth…..
“Just that 2 hour session with you boosted my confidence and there were so many things that popped into my head that you had said when I was labouring that really helped me. It was just bloody brilliant I can’t stop living it in my head in a positive way. Compared to my last birth with my son where I just kept reliving trauma basically. It’s great not because I’m mobile, not a cripple like I was last time after my episiotomy last time!

So my contractions started in the night I felt them coming in from about 3am Sunday morning. They were quite pleasant really. I assumed she would come in the next couple of days…. I went to breastfeed my son at 7am and I had a pop, a trickle, told my husband but just carried on as normal really and breathed through them, enjoying them really, make breakfast. I wanted to sit on the toilet and be in the bedroom, did some biomechanics. They ramped up about 9am but they were only 20-30 seconds but I didn’t really time them, I didn’t want to get bogged down with them really. I wanted to camp out in the bathroom so told my husband come have a shower, get yourself sorted I want to be in the bathroom. I will tell you when I need you and he trusted me. I turned the lights off, ran a bath which was nice. Then it got to about 9.30 and I got a pushy feeling contraction, which made me make that pushy deep sound and so I said to my husband take our some across the road to our friends it’s time. So he dropped him off and came back. I was hanging off a tall radiator and squatted standing, breathing through my contractions that we had gone through and thought about what we had said – don’t fear the big contractions we want the big fuckers cos that means the baby is coming (ha ha). Then when he came back he bought me coke which I don’t really drink but I welcomed it. He suggested blowing the pool up but I said no I think she’s coming now. So I stood up, I wanted to be leaning over the bath upright, I could feel her. The pushing sensation was incredible Laura, I didn’t have to do ANYTHING! I just kept breathing through the sensations Laura just like you had told me and I felt her head. I said “she’s coming she’s coming”. You told me about how through contractions babies come down and come sometimes then sit back a bit between contractions and that’s exactly what she did! I almost felt her twist and turn so I don’t know if she was the wrong way round or just rotating but I felt her twisting and just braced myself for that next contraction. My husband was saying “you’ve got this you’ve got this” and rubbed my back. I got down with one knee up like the running start position on the floor it was automatic to get down to the floor. I just told myself breathe and she just came out!!!! Like 4 pushes in total!! She was just out. I didn’t even think to call a midwife because I was managing so well and using my breath.

I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe how easy it was! I just felt so confident after our session. I thought about all the things we talked about like what if there’s not time to get a midwife out or they are short staffed what do you feel you would do and I was just not going to hospital. I joined Sam Gadsens groups you told me about, I did all my reach and properly prepared myself with regards to any situations that could occur, what to look out for and I just felt confident in myself and I just birthed her!

Then the midwives came out….. asked where the paramedics were and I said nowhere (ha ha). They asked if I wanted the injection for placenta but then said well you’ve done all this on your own so got me on the toilet with a bowl to catch the placenta. My hips started to hurt and I needed to stand up and plop the gravity helped the placenta and it just popped out! We left her attached. It must have been about an hour in the end she stayed attached before we cut it. Then I got back in bed, I was worried about tearing after a previous episiotomy and NO tearing! They checked me and just a graze! I couldn’t believe!

I didn’t want to use a pool, I knew I didn’t want it and the bathroom was my sanctuary

Thank you for your work, your help, it’s absolutely priceless. I’ve been trying to tell everyone and inspire me. Thank you so much. I just can’t get over it!!! I won’t probably have more children but I really want to do it again! It was just incredible! I keep thinking about how she went back in a little between contractions and I felt her turn it was just amazing!

From my husbands point of view he felt a bit useless and didn’t know what to do but I just needed him there but he was great and he said it was magical 2! Keep doing your amazing work. I’m sat with her now having cuddles, my son is out so peace and quiet. The only challenge now is getting my 2 year old to like her and adjust ha ha. Thanks again for everything xxx

I have always been for as long as i can remember, someone who is afraid of pregnancy and birth. The whole thing scared me to death and it was part of the reason I put it off until I was 32. A friend of mine highly recommended Laura and her hynobirthing course. I remember her telling me that she was considering a home birth since starting the course and I remember thinking WTF! I couldn’t believe the things she was telling me about what she had learned so far and it already began to put my mind at ease. I was intrigued so I booked onto a group course. Fast forward 6 months and my husband Rory and I had welcomed our first child into the world. Before the course we were, like most, of the impression home birth was extremely high risk and we would never be brave enough to go ahead with it but all of that changed after completing the course.

That morning I woke up to my waters breaking in bed around 6am. It was the feeling of wetting myself but it was the longest wee ever! I went to the bathroom and knew instantly it was my waters due to the clear colour and the fact it didnt smell of urine. I went back to bed, laid down and within a few minutes another release of liquid, this time more. I excitedly woke my husband and told him the news. We got up and went downstairs. I messaged the home birth team to let them know and they called me to ask some questions. They told me to let them know when my surges began.
Around 8.30am I started to feel some twinges so i informed the HB team.
They were very mild surges and I could continue doing everything as normal. They very gradually increased in strength over the next 2 hours. The home birth team arrived around 9.30. They checked babies heartbeat by holding a machine to my tummy.
They were happy to leave me until the surges were closer together.

After this the surges really ramped up. It felt like they were getting closer and closer very quickly. I focused soley on my breathing and nothing else. My birth plan was to have little to no intervention from the midwives and to keep my birth space calm and quiet so i could fully concentrate on my breathing. Obviously having a HB meant the only comfort measure available to me from the midwives was gas and air. I kept thinking of it like a life line that I would use if necessary. In the meantime I had other lifelines such as a tens machine and birthing pool. I had also requested on my birth preferences no VE’s unless they thought absolutely necessary in which case they would ask me permission and I could decide at the time.

Rory made me a bacon sandwich so I leant forward on my birthing ball on my knees whilst watching tv trying to eat, although I really didn’t have an appetite.

From the start I felt being on my knees was the only place I wanted to be. I then moved from the ball on the floor to the sofa so that my knees were cushioned as they started to get sore! I had been tracking my surges on the Freya app – well at least until I couldn’t anymore and Rory had to take over. We used the tens machine at this point which really helped. Rory counted my breathing and slowed me down when I was going too fast.

We sent a screenshot of the surge timings to the HB team and the first midwife Shiv arrived soon after. I remained on the sofa for a couple of hours, my spa music playlist in the background, the blackout blinds were down, my red xmas lights on to set the mood. After some time, the second midwife Sarah arrived- I didn’t actually see her until a few hours later as I felt I needed to keep my head face down on the back of the sofa to stay focused on my breathing.
The midwives told my husband to start filling the pool which he did. At one point they asked me to try and urinate as I hadn’t done a wee for a while. Rory took me to the toilet and we panicked when I pulled my pants down to find some blood. He called Shiv in to check and she said it was totally normal and It was my ‘mucus plug’ which immediately put our minds a ease.

Around 1pm I got into the pool. Unfortunately the pool wasn’t as full as it should have been so I didn’t feel much relief as it only just reached the top of my bum. Turns out the hot water had run out (something to note) so the midwives helped with boiling pans of water on the hob and made sure it was topped up. Rory was there by my side throughout. I needed him to massage my lower back firmly each time I had a surge. By this point I had less than a minute between them so there was no time for him to walk away. He could see I was exhausted, it really does zap your energy, so he fed me half a banana but even eating that was taking up energy I didn’t have.

Around 2pm the midwives informed us that they could see the head. It was then time to really focus, I was on the home straight. I was constantly repeating birth affirmations over and over again in my head. They really helped to give me the confidence to know I could do this. And just after 3.30pm our daughter was born, screaming her little head off – nothing has changed 10 months later! I sat holding her in the pool, in awe of what had just happened filled with relief and pride. We waited for white and then Rory cut the cord and took her for some skin to skin whilst I waited to birth the placenta which took around 15mins after having the injection.
Once I got out the pool I got comfy on the sofa and cuddled my baby for the first time. Shiv helped me to latch her on to the breast and I sat there for around an hour to take it all in whilst Sarah kindly made me tea and toast! Throughout the whole process the only time the midwives were touching me was when Shiv checked the babies heart beat with the machine every 10 mins or so and that was only the later part of labour. At no point did I have any fingers inserted in me or any other checks.

The midwives then gave Ocea her the vitamin K injection as id requested and then she went to Rory for cuddles whilst I had stitches. I had a 2nd degree tear although in the moment I didn’t even realise. It was also then I realised I hadn’t even had any gas and air. Once that was done I had a much welcomed shower, got into my pyjamas and relaxed with my baby. Shiv then did some checks on the baby and once the paperwork was filled out she was off around 7pm. We then ordered a takeaway and sat on the sofa with our new addition. It was so surreal and if I could relive that day again I would.

I would highly recommend a home birth even if you arent considering it and I would do it time and time again, no questions asked.

Our daughter was born at 40+4 days weighing 8lb4. From waters breaking to birth was 8.5 hours.
For someone who was so afraid of pregnancy and birth I still can’t quite believe I managed to labour and birth my baby at home with no pain relief simply by following Laura’s steps and advice. If I can do it so can you.

Our 3rd baby, our girl
Baby Immy
3rd Baby at East Surrey Birthing Unit
Refresher course with Laura The Lemon Tree

“After doing an NCT course we had a slightly challenging 1st birth that involved a fair amount of medical intervention. We went on to have an amazing birth with our 2nd son after doing a hypno birthing course with Laura. We absolutely knew we wanted to do a refresher course this time round with Laura in preparation for our 3rd birth with our baby girl. You can read about our 2nd birth on Laura’s birth stories. It’s titled “Baby Remy”

Our 3rd birth, our baby girl. I had picked my boys up from school/nursery and my eldest was having a friend round for a play date. After playing dress up and board games we had our dinner and I walked my son’s friend home just round the corner. When we got back and I sat down, I realised that the baby was wriggling a lot! My husband came home and told me to rest whilst he bathed and put our boys to bed. It wasn’t long before I felt like I wanted to stand as the baby felt very low so sitting was uncomfortable. As I was moving and swaying whilst watching TV, I noticed my mucus plug came away and that’s when we knew our girl was on her way!

We messaged our parents at around 10pm to tell them things were happening and it was at this point I made the decision that I wanted to go to hospital rather than have the baby at home. We had booked the home birth team and we were so well looked after by them during the pregnancy but for some reason I just decided last minute that I wanted to go into hospital to give birth. It might have been the thought of the boys upstairs making me anxious but looking back, I’m just not sure what made me change my mind. Laura always made us feel confident with our decision making and to follow what felt right on the day, which is exactly what we did.

My mother in law, who lives close by, came round to us at about 11pm to stay with our boys and by this point my surges were becoming nice & strong as well as close together. We left for the hospital just before midnight. As I arrived at the birthing unit at East Surrey Hospital, one of the home birth team midwives let us in and remembered me from a visit. We were so lucky, she said that despite me deciding to come into hospital, she could still be my midwife for the birth which was amazing as she was lovely & we already knew her which made me feel more relaxed. She started to run the water for the birthing pool as I knew I wanted to in water, I had birthed my 2nd baby in water which was amazing. Whilst the water was running my husband and I unpacked the things that we needed and wanted with us for the birth. The lights were dimmed down nice & low, voices were quiet & sinking into the the warm water felt like such a relief. I went through all the techniques that Laura had taught us, the breathing techniques were amazing at making me calm & comfortable. We also played our guided relaxation tracks which we had been using regularly to practice. I had got into the pool just before 1am. Believe it or not our perfect baby girl was born in the water not long after at 1.24am weighing a healthy 7lbs 6oz.

It was such a magical birth and went exactly the way we had visualised after booking the refresher course with Laura & preparing for the birth we wanted. She is an absolute Wonder Woman, a fountain of knowledge and all round amazing friend. I’m beyond grateful for Laura who supported us to have two absolutely incredible births following a complicated first one. Thank you

Speedy birth after a refresher course

“We had a bit of a shock with our second baby arriving very suddenly. I was so relaxed at the experience of being in my own house & it was lovely being home with my boys that evening after giving birth. It was a world apart from my 1st experience of birth. I was evidently more traumatised from my experience of giving birth in hospital than I realised. As my waters broke in my second pregnancy, just the mention of the possibility of being admitted into hospital sent me hyperventilating.

Thankfully, the homebirth midwives who visited assured me that whether or not to go into hospital was my choice. This reassured me & relaxed me so much that as soon as the midwives left, I had 3 contractions in 10 minutes. My husband looked at me in unbelief & said “are you kidding me…” But as they were very mild & super short, i just wanted to be at home alone. I rang the homebirth team a short while later when the contractions were a little stronger but still less than 20 seconds long every 4 minutes. I was still happy to be alone as I thought the contractions might stop if they came back too soon. Half an hour later, the contractions suddenly jumped to 2 minutes long & more intense, so I rang the
midwives again. It wasn’t enough warning for them to get here – soon after the call, I thought to just go to the toilet quickly in between contractions… but I only sat down for a second when I realised he was coming out! only half made it out the door before collapsing onto my husband who had to hold me whilst my baby was coming out into his hand. I managed to get the midwives back on the phone, who did their best to advise us as they were stuck in traffic. They managed to get to us a few minutes after the baby was born, & helped untangle our shocked selves from the mess of towels & umbilical cord. We have felt amazed all week at what happened. Thank you to my lovely midwives Rachel and Alison from the East Surrey home birth team for all their help

“Working with Laura during our private sessions helped me and my husband make informed choices, release fears from our last birth & build our confidence for our 2nd birth at home. We wish we’d had a home birth first time, we felt so informed, prepared & relaxed this time” 

Refresher Hypnobirthing Course. Online Hypnobirthing Course

Baby Everly
8lb 13oz
Born at home in the pool followed by cuddles from her beautiful big sister

Caroline & Geoff came to me for a refresher course after having a previous positive experience with their 1st daughters birth & wanting to ensure this time was equally amazing. Every pregnancy & birth is unique & so important to prepare for. Many people might ask, why do a refresher if you have such a great 1st birth? It’s easy to forget information, tools & sometimes confidence. You also can’t take anything for granted as births can unfold in different ways.

We recapped on the physiology of birth, hormones, environment & suppprt. We worked through breathing & relaxation techniques to support through labour. Caroline & Geoff made the decision to have a home birth with the SASH home birth team supporting them Here’s what they had to say.

“Little Everly was born on Wednesday at home. Thank you so much for helping us make the right decision of having a home birth & helping us prepare for Everly’s birth. All the breathing & tools, helping us get into the right zone for it. It all went really well, so quick & felt brilliant to be able to get straight on the sofa being looked after”

Refresher Antenatal Course. Online Hypnobirthing Course

Baby girl born at home into the arms of her mummy & daddy

Following my emergency c section I began searching for answers as to why I had the experience that left me feeling like my body failed me & failed to perform as nature intended. Through this search I came across Laura & her account. I followed Laura for a couple years often discussing her content & recommended hypnobirthing to friends/family who fell pregnant.

March 2021 over 1/2 way in my pregnancy I reached out to Laura & completed her group course.

It is here & during the course I got all my answers. I understood the impact induction methods had on my previous labour & how that cascade of events (interventions) eventually led to a section. I also understood how this had the impact it did on my mental health with birth trauma that followed.

It was such a relief to finally have answers & know it wasn’t my body that failed. It was the sequence of events as a result of induction.

I came to Laura scared of labour, highly anxious & skeptical. I left the course informed, calm, ready & most importantly confident & at peace.

I jumped through all the hoops for a home birth & stood my ground when I was informed it’s not the preferred method. I met the amazing home birth team & had the most perfect dream home birth of my baby girl Leeya.

This experience could not have been even something I contemplated or considered if it wasn’t for Laura. Thank you. You don’t know what you have done for me & our family!

If anyone is considering a hypnobirthing course THIS is the one! I know there are cheaper versions out there however Laura’s USP is her knowledge AND she will support you all through labour.

I was texting Laura whilst in labour & in the early days after. Contact from Laura in labour was the part that ensured I stayed calm through my surges. I got up had a shower washed/dried my hair (nothing like a bit of self care during labour!) then went on to have the most amazing, calm &wonderful home birth

Thank you Laura & the amazing SASH home birth team!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! ♥️

Home Birth. Hypnobirthing Course Sussex. Online Hypnobirthing Class

1st Baby
8lb 8oz
Born at home

“Oh my god you’re brave!” Or “You’re mad”’ were just some of the reactions I received when telling people I was planning on a home birth. And yet it was the greatest decision I made when it came to birthing my beautiful little girl.

Like many first time Mums, when I found out I was pregnant the thought of a home birth hadn’t even occurred to me. I had initially thought I’d be in the birth centre ideally in a pool, and it wasn’t until I discovered Laura’s Instagram and some other wonderful accounts that the idea of a home birth really became a reality. It was so inspiring to see women sharing positive home birth stories, and a completely different narrative of birth than what we’re conditioned to see on TV etc.

Before I signed up to Laura’s hypnobirthing course I was in two minds about whether to opt for a home birth or not. However her course not only gave me the information I needed to help with my decision but also encouraged me to do a lot of research myself so I felt empowered and confident in making the right choices for me and my baby. And so after the first session, I officially transferred to the SASH homebirth team and they took over my care.

The day came when my surges began. It was the 11th June at 8pm and I felt the first surges beginning. At this point they were still irregular and not very long but it didn’t take long for them to hit around the 3 in 10 mark and my partner John was on the phone to the home birth team to let them know. I focussed on my breathing throughout this which really helped me stay calm and breathe through any discomfort. The midwives came out to me around midnight. Now initially I’d put on my birth preference sheet that I didn’t want vaginal examinations. However when the team came out and offered it to me to see how I was progressing I felt in that moment that I did want one. I think again that’s the beauty of hypnobirthing; it gave me the confidence to make the right choice for myself without feeling pressured to do something. Luckily for me the examination wasn’t uncomfortable thanks to my breathing, and it was at this point they told me I was already around 6 to 7cm dilated.

It was time to set up the magical space downstairs where I planned on birthing my baby. John filled up the pool and set up fairy lights and candles. It was a really special and relaxing space. I had a lovely birthing playlist and my electric diffuser going with lavender scent. I was in and out of the pool for several hours as my surges became more intense, however I found that they began to slow down a bit. At which point the midwives encouraged me to get out the pool and have a walk around. Another benefit of being at home is that I could just walk around the house naked and move about as much as I wanted! When I got out the pool the surges started to pick up again but the pool really did help with my relaxation so I’d move in and out.

By 8am on the 12th June another set of midwives joined me and they offered me another vaginal examination. I also accepted this one, and they told me I was fully dilated but my waters had not yet broken.

They told me if I felt an urge to push then to go with my body. After a couple of hours, I still wasn’t feeling the urge to push so they suggested breaking my waters. Again this was another thing on my birth preferences which I did not want and even though I said I would like to wait another hour (which I did), I then agreed to have them broken. After using BRAINS I decided this was the best decision for me. My waters were broken at around 11am (again not uncomfortable at all) and my surges started to ramp up in intensity after this but were still slowing down when I was in the pool for a while. I also have to add that throughout my home birth the midwives consistently checked my blood pressure and baby’s heart beat which was reassuring.

I came out of the pool and found my way to the upstairs bathroom and after several hours of various squatting, lunging and all sorts of positions, I found myself sat on the bathroom floor with my partner John sat on the edge of the bath while I wrapped my arms around his legs, and using my J breath I bared down and Aurelia was born and very wrapped up in her umbilical cord. At this point we didn’t know the sex, but after some unwinding of the cord from around their legs we could see it was a girl (with a full head of dark hair!) Aurelia Lisa Margaret Smart arrived on the 12th June at 2.40pm, weighing 8lb 8oz.

After she was born we waited for the cord to turn white and John cut it. I opted to have the injection to birth my placenta, and again this was thankfully pain free and came out easily. All the while I was having lovely skin to skin with Aurelia. After about an hour, I gave Aurelia to John and I hopped into the shower! Didn’t think I’d be doing that but Aurelia had pooped all over me and it felt so nice to just freshen up a bit and then get back into bed with her on me for more skin to skin and breast feeding. Me and John were left alone for a little while to bond with our little one and it was so relaxing to be in our own bedroom. The midwives at this point were setting up a few things in the spare room as I had a minor second degree tear which they stitched up a bit later and then after that they tidied everything away and left. I had a few close family arrive that evening and tucked into a Five Guys takeaway (another perk of a home birth!) Later that evening a midwife came to check on us and then the following morning we also had another check up.

The one thing I can honestly say when it came to the birth of Aurelia is that I didn’t feel scared at any point. I was completely free of fear and that was thanks to the incredible home birth team, my supportive partner John and the knowledge and confidence Laura gave me and him from her course. I was able to receive one to one care from the midwives throughout, had the comfort of my own home during labour and after and had John there the whole time to comfort me, which I know some women haven’t been able to have during the pandemic. I also felt completely in control of my choices and did what I felt was right for me throughout.

To anyone considering a home birth, do your research, look at the statistics and you’ll see it it’s not something to be frightened of. It can allow you to have the most empowering birth experience, as it did me and I have so much pride and happiness when I think about Aurelia’s birth.

Group Hypnobirthing course. Online Hypnobirthing Course

May baby 2020
Baby girl

 

‘We were fortunate enough to do our Hypnobirthing course with Laura at the start of 2020. A friend had recommended Hypnobirthing and I really liked the sound of the course that The Lemon Tree offered. We opted for the 1-on-1 course as we were both a little nervous and knew we would feel more comfortable and open not being with other couples.

I had read some books on hypnobirthing before attending the course, so knew what to expect, and I love how empowering the course was. I was about 25 week when we finished the course, and not long after this, the country went into lockdown. I was incredibly anxious, as during this time it was unknown what the impact would be on maternity services and there had been a number of big changes taking place, such as the change to birth partners and when they were allowed in. We were fortunate enough to have a private midwife, Lyndsey; making this choice after I realised how important continuity of care would be for me to be as relaxed as possible during the birth. Originally we had planned to go to the Birthing Unit at East Surrey, but due to the new restrictions, one of which meant our midwife could not be with us, we began to plan for a home birth with just a few weeks to go.

I felt confident after all the research that I had done, that this was just as safe an option as the birthing unit. In the lead up to my due time, and in a large part due to my business closing and being in lockdown, a big plus was that I was able to practice my hypnobirthing techniques every day. Every afternoon I would do a meditation, and ideally, have a nap too! Then every evening I would practice breathing techniques. Once to twice per week my husband and I would practice the tools and relaxations we planned to use together during the birth. We quickly were able to pick one or two visualisations that really worked to instantly relax me and get me back in the zone.

At 37 weeks, I started colostrum harvesting, after being told about this by Laura. Initially, I thought it sounded a bit weird and it was also strange to do, however, given the experience I had after birthing my baby I will be forever grateful that I persevered. By this stage, my day was revolving around preparing for the birth of my baby. Gentle walks and exercise, breathing preparation, good food, naps, epi-no use, colostrum harvesting, meditation and warm baths filled my days. One huge perk of lockdown, there was nothing else to do.
I think all of this is a major reason why, at 38+4 and at around 10pm, I was just getting into bed and felt a pop sensation. I think I was so full of oxytocin by this stage, after all my preparation, that baby was ready to come and my waters had broken.

I called Lyndsey who came over to do obs, but with no surges yet we agreed she would come back at 9am and we would see how things were progressing. I felt so incredibly excited, knowing that chances are that I would be meeting my baby in the next 24hrs or so, but also incredibly nervous. I practised my breathing techniques, put on my rainbow relaxation and tried to get some sleep, while my husband got the final bits prepared downstairs for the birth. Unfortunately, no sleep, as I felt my surges kick in around about midnight. I used the Freya app to time them, and was amazed that by around 2am I was in established labour. We called Lyndsey and she arrived around 2.45am. By this point Rich was filling up the birthing pool and I was already dying to get in. The intensity of the surges was increasing, and I was working hard to stay in the zone with my breathing techniques. I found it helpful not to look at the clock, and really retreated internally to listen to my body. Getting into the pool was such a relief and I used some gas and air at this point during surges. The feeling of my baby moving down to be born was one of the most incredible and intense experiences of my life. I felt an incredible pressure build-up and with a final effort, my baby was born at 5.40am. I was so overwhelmed, and full of relief and joy, that I didn’t even check their sex until Lyndsey reminded me and then we found out we had a perfect baby girl!
Following such an incredible birth, we had quite a challenging week or so. I had a large haemorrhage and my placenta didn’t come away fully so I had to be transferred to hospital for an operation and internal stitching. I am so thankful for the colostrum harvesting, as my husband was able to feed our daughter all morning. I also had no problems with milk supply, which was such a relief considering I wasn’t able to get her on the breast that first morning because I was so unwell. I was able to hand express and syringe feed her for a couple of days while I got stronger and will forever be grateful I equipped myself with those tools.

Hypnobirthing allowed me to be informed, proactive and educated ahead of my birth. I am sure that all the time and practice I devoted to preparing for the birth allowed me to have the positive birth I experienced and I feel incredibly thankful for this. A huge thank you to Laura for your part in helping us prepare for our babys arrival!”

Private Hypnobirthing Course

Albert (Bertie)
Baby Number 2

I have suffered with endometriosis since the age of 13 where I have had two operations and was told I would need support becoming pregnant: I now have two gorgeous boys and I didn’t require any help; have faith, believe in your body, it’s incredible!

As myself, my partner (David) and our Son Ted were getting glammed up for Ted’s christening and 2nd birthday celebration I decided to do a pregnancy test as that week I had been experiencing cramps (something I often do as having endometriosis means my cycles are very irregular and painful). We didn’t think there was a chance I was pregnant as you can imagine having a toddler and both working, well it doesn’t leave you much time to create babies. Anyway, five minutes before leaving we discovered that Ted was going to be a big brother! What an amazing way to start his birthday celebrations with our whole family. We were both in complete shock but of course VERY excited. The next 9 months flew by and as a family we throughly enjoyed watching baby Albert (bump) grow as we prepared our lives for his arrival. We ensured Ted was fully aware and included: he came to all of the scans, helped us choose his name, decorated his nursery and bought him some gifts. We were determined to make this the most enjoyable pregnancy and birthing experience after previously having a very long, painful and traumatic birth where I suffered physically and mentally for quite some time.

We decided to attend a full Hypnobirthing and Mindful Breastfeeding course which opened our eyes and made us realise we were in control of our birthing experience. We gained a full understanding of the science behind labour and how the woman’s body works. Trust and listen to your body- your body and baby know exactly what to do. (If you are wanting to breastfeed please attend this course I’m two weeks in, after hitting many barriers, but I feel I’ve smashed it and finally its getting easier. Attending this course made us realise how demanding and hard it will be but also how amazing it is for you and your baby. I didn’t feed for long with Ted and that was right for us. This time I was determined and its been very successful. Sophie Burrows (feeding consultant) is AMAZING! My milk came in and we were struggling! She came to visit me at my house on day 4 and supported me with my painful, engorged breasts- she didn’t leave until I was happy and confident to continue mine and Albert’s breastfeeding journey @theboobladyibclc on Instagram).

The course also meant that David and I got to spend a few hours a week relaxing and learning together which was lovely- date nights!

We took this very seriously and practised all the different tools we would need to get through our birth as naturally as possible. We decided to have a home birth with a pool which excited us both very much!

Our “due date” came and went and baby was still very toasty inside showing no signs of coming soon. I was offered a sweep and despite not wanting any examination I decided to accept considering we were now 41 plus 4 days, my bump was huge and my toddler was very demanding.

The sweep was successful as I was already 1-2 cm open and within half an hour of the midwife leaving my house the period type cramps started and I couldn’t of been happier.

I had the best day with my aunty and son walking around a local park with animals , we went to costa and got ourselves yummy rolls and sandwiches which we then ate at home. After a doctors appointment for my son (like you do in labour) we arrived home around 2:30 pm where my surges became stronger and more regular. I spent my time on my ball in the garden with my son and aunty timing each surge, at this point they were very regular coming every 4-5 minutes lasting around 30-60 seconds. I used my calm and surge breathing and felt I was managing very well.

I decided it was about time I rang the home birth team considering my app told me to leave for the hospital immediately! They were amazing, Debbie asked if I was managing okay and to ring back in an hour if anything changed. They suggested to get the pool up and ready so I decided this was a good time to ring David and my Mum- “ITTTTTSSSS TIME FAMILY”!

At this stage, by 5:30 pm the surges were anything between 3-5 minutes apart- we decided Ted would be best at Nanny’s for a sleep over (this is why we had preferences and not a plan – sometimes you just don’t know what’s going to happen or how you will feel at that time). Ted shouting “wakkkkkke up mummy” while I breathed through my surges was not ideal! This meant that me and David could focus on the calm birth we wanted and had practised for throughout my pregnancy.

As soon as it was just us I immediately relaxed, got in the zone and the labour started to progress quickly. The house was warm, the pool was up and slowly filling with water, my birthing playlist was gently playing, the fairy lights were on and the lantern was lit and at the end of the drive so the team could easily find us (call the midwife vibes)!

At 7pm the lovely Emma rang me as she had just started her shift! She was going to be the lady to deliver our son- very exciting! We had a chat and she decided it was time for her to make her way to ours, she advised that I didn’t get in the pool yet and just used my breathing and TENS machine which I did. In the meantime David’s mum dropped us over battered sausages and chips and between surges I ate my dinner in our calm, candle lit front room.

I was feeling so relaxed and in control that we both didn’t realise how far into labour I already was. Emma arrived shortly followed by Liz- they were both such lovely ladies and settled quickly into our home. A quick check of baby’s heart rate and a few wees later I decided to get in the warm pool which felt amazing! I’ve always dreamed of a water birth but unfortunately didn’t experience anything like it with my first so this was pure bliss.

David got me through the whole labour; He focused me on my breathing when things got intense, rubbed my back with massage oil, held my hand, fed me sweets and drinks. I couldn’t of been more relaxed and felt so lucky to have him with me. I didn’t think it was possible to fall even more in love with him- but I did!

I stayed in the pool for the next 4 hours where babies heart rate was checked every 15 minutes. I didn’t want any vaginal examinations. I believed in my body and I knew I would know when it was time to meet our son. The intensity grew over the next few hours. I kept active and regularly went to the toilet (this was the hardest part, getting in and out of the pool, as the surges were far more intense out of the water). But of course David and the ladies held my hands and told me how amazing I was doing. During each surge Emma rubbed my back as I was now feeling extreme pressure in my pelvis and lower back and this helped the surges to be more manageable. David held my hand the whole of the labour! I felt so lucky.

My waters broke at 11:48pm and the pool water then became cloudy which became difficult for Emma and Liz to see what was happening with their mirror and torch.

At this point Emma explained that the baby was ready to meet his mummy and daddy (she showed David the line on my lower back that glowed purple which meant baby was ready- no examinations needed ladies!) This gave me a boost of energy and motivation which is what I needed at this stage as I felt tired, calm and sleepy. A few sweets and surges later Emma suggested getting out the pool as she knew the surges would be more intense and it would encourage me to follow my body’s path and get baby out.

I made my way onto the sofa where I took the all fours/ leaning forward position (this was the only position that felt comfortable during every surge). During my pregnancy I practised calm, surge and J (birthing) breathing and I encouraged myself to believe that my baby and my body would work together to get the baby out which had worked very well up until the point of getting the head out.

At this stage I felt the urge to bare down calmly, whilst still using my breathing and within two surges the head appeared still in the sack with his arm and hand next to his head.

David was asked to deliver the baby (this meant letting go of my hand) this encouraged me to get the baby out even quicker as I wanted to be near him. On the next surge I gently pushed following Emma’s verbal lead and within seconds baby Albert was on our sofa at 12:30pm. He was passed under my legs , I turned around and just couldn’t believe that we had done it! My 9 pound 13 baby was finally in my arms. No damage done- amazing considering the size of my baby!

The surges started again which was the placenta trying to make its way out. I wanted a natural delivery of the placenta. I was very uncomfortable in a sitting position at this point so I passed baby to dad and got into a squat position and again after a few surges the Plascenta was out which felt amazing! This also meant I could feed my baby and sit down comfortably in the comfort of my own home.

The next few hours were a blur as I was totally in love all over again. Tea and toast was made for me, I fed baby and had skin to skin time. My placenta was collected by PlacentaPro to make into capsules. The midwifes and David tided up and my front room was spotless again.

After a couple of hours and the checks had been done I made my way upstairs got into my bed and Emma passed me my son where I stayed until the next morning staring at his perfect face (of course I didn’t sleep a wink).

This was honestly the most amazing experience of our lives. If you want to achieve something and you believe in yourself and practise daily you really can have the most amazing experience. I want to take this opportunity to thank Laura from LemonTree Hypnobirthing and mindful breastfeeding for changing our lives. Not only did you enable us to have the most perfect labour but myself and David are more calm and relaxed in general – we aim to enjoy every moment as life goes way too quickly.

Group Hypnobirthing Course Surrey

Baby Ezra
1st Baby

On the 5th of November 2018 I found out I was pregnant.
On announcing my due date to my parents my mum quickly did the calculations only to find that my due date coincided with our annual family holiday to Turkey – my due date was the 17th July and we had flights booked for the 2nd August. I was keen to go mainly because I would have the support of all my family whilst away and what better place to recover from birth than on holiday?

Throughout my pregnancy I had regular braxton hicks which I felt from around 17 weeks, some days I’d have as many as 30+! I was forever googling the difference between braxton hicks and contractions and asking people ‘will I actually know the difference between my first contraction and a braxton hick?’ Apparently I would just KNOW.

On Wednesday the 17th my due date came and went with not a single twinge, I was disappointed but knew I could still have a couple more weeks of waiting around. The following day I started to get some stronger braxton hicks but nothing regular or out of the ordinary, these continued into the early evening and then stopped. This happened every afternoon for 5/6 hours until Monday the 22nd. Much to my husbands delight, my midwife had encouraged us to have sex to ‘get things going’ so that’s exactly what we were doing!

On Monday the 22nd after spending the morning in Tunbridge Wells with my mum and sister, me and my husband had a little ‘mans intervention’ (as my dad so eloquently put it). At around 3:30pm, the usual braxton hicks came, only this time we decided to time them. They were coming every 4 minutes, but weren’t strong in any way, I didn’t really think much of it at this had been happening for a few days now. I made dinner as usual, hoovered the house and went to my parents house to pick up a parcel. At about 7pm we decided to go for a walk around the block. The braxton hicks were a bit stronger now and every so often we would have to stop walking and wait for the braxton hick to finish. We arrived home 30 mins later and settled down for the evening, I bounced on my ball and furiously rubbed clary sage into my stomach to keep the surges coming which worked a little too well. I decided to stop using the clary sage as I was content that this was the start of things now and didn’t need to encourage the already strong surges. We decided to go to bed about 10pm, my husband fell asleep straight away which is totally unlike him, while I tossed and turned most of the night. I managed to get a couple of hours sleep before waking up at 2:30am when I decided to get up for a bath. I sat in the bath for an hour doing my surge breathing and then had a shower. Everything was still very manageable at this point, I washed my hair, shaved my legs and even cleaned the shower! I went back to the bedroom at 4:30am and told my husband I think it was time he woke up. He hadn’t realised I had been awake most of the night as he’d had ‘the best nights sleep in years’!

For the past few days Brad had been doing cervicle checks for me; he offered to have a look when he got up and guessed I was around 4cm at this point. We went down stairs and Brad made me a bowl of cereal which quickly came back up. We put radio 1 on and I paced around the living room and kitchen, holding onto the fireplace, radiator or kitchen work top every time I could feel a surge coming. At 7:45am my husband decided to call the midwife who I spoke to. She stayed on the phone whilst I had a surge and told me how well I was doing. I remember crying on the phone to her because she was just so lovely and encouraging! She offered to send someone out but I decided that I was coping well at home and didn’t need anyone at this point. She suggested I took another bath and encouraged me to eat something bland like toast. Brad ran me a bath and fed me toast and water in between surges. The surges were intense at this point but still totally manageable. With each surge I closed my eyes, gripped onto the bath with one hand and held brads hand in the other and did my surge breathing. Brad offered to play the rainbow relaxation but I preferred to chat to him in between surges, it made me feel more in the moment and less zoned out.

My waters broke in the bath around 8am and Brad called the midwife again to keep her updated. She said there was a midwife coming on shift at 8:30am who they would send her straight out to us. At some point before the midwife arrived I started to feel an urge to push, it wasn’t a big, all consuming urge but enough for me to notice that feeling. The midwife arrived at 9:15am and offered to check how far dilated I was. I accepted and as I stood up out the bath, the strangest noise came out of me and I instantly knew this was that urge to push. She examined me on the bathroom floor in between surges and to both our surprise I was 10cm!

Before I gave birth EVERYONE said to me there would be a point where I would think ‘I just cant do this anymore’ and I hadn’t had that yet which made me think I was no where near 10cm! Everything up until this point was so manageable and I was still able to have a conversation in between each surge.

My husband offered to blow up our birthing pool but by this point I knew it was too late and I had thought our baby would be with us soon. I over heard our 1st midwife call for the 2nd midwife and I knew this was it. For some reason I decided that I didn’t want to give birth in the bath and wanted to stay on the bathroom floor, a choice we later would realise was a blessing in disguise.

I used my J breathing to breathe our baby down but he seemed to just stay crowing, we tried various different positions but the baby just stayed crowning. After about an hour the midwife asked if I was happy to be cut as I had started to tear by my anus and my vagina – something that wouldn’t have been picked on had I been in water. If I didn’t get cut, she feared I may tear straight through and end up with a 4th degree tear. The midwife asked if I would like some gas and air while they did the episiotomy to which I accepted. She told me how to use it and after a few puffs I completely freaked, I didn’t know what was going on! Brad grabbed my face, looked me in the eyes and said ‘do your breathing’, I completely relaxed again and was ‘back in the room’. They made the cut and with one final push our baby was here and put on my chest. At 10:34am our baby boy was born! We did delayed cord clamping and waited for my placenta to come out before I was taken to bed to enjoy some time with Brad and our baby boy. An ambulance was called so I could get taken to Haywards Heath to get properly stitched up and where I spent the next 2 nights recovering. 10 days later I was boarding a plane for a 2 week holiday in turkey which was the perfect place to recover with all my family around!

Although my labour took a couple of unexpected turns, each step of the way I was able to make conscious and thought out decisions. I can’t thank Laura enough for arming Brad and me with the knowledge and understanding to make these decisions and ultimately give us the birth we wanted.

I always thought it was really weird when people said they weren’t scared about labour but I can genuinely say I have no fear now and genuinely look forward to the next time.

Group Hypnobirthing Course East Grinstead

Baby Arthur
2nd Baby
Born at East Surrey Hospital
Story written by his mummy

My birth story…

In order for me to share this story I must give a small amount of history so that on reflection you can see my story as positive and empowering. Some people may read it and think that’s not positive but it was to me and that’s all that matters.

History
My first baby born in 2017 was 6 weeks early ( real shock) was under prepared for what to expect and new little about my options. Very managed delivery due to premature baby. Constant monitoring, drip for bringing on contractions, epidural due to lack of movement being aloud, forceps delivery ( no skin to skin immediately after) or delayed cord clamping. All in all I had no choice but I did not realise that I did have a voice and could have changed the outcome of this labour.

Following this experience I enlisted the help of Laura at The Lemon Tree to complete a 5 week hypno birthing (antenatal class) basically an education into birth and labour. You as an individual choose what to take/ get from that course depending on how hard you work. Laura gives you all the tools/ skills ready for the big day.

Laura helped me work through my fear from the previous birth ( move on) to not dwell on and blame myself for that birth.

I then realised a world of choices was at my disposal this was my baby my body and I was going to choose how to bring this baby into the world and that is exactly what we did.

Monday 9th September
My contractions started at 6:30pm while bathing my 2 year old. They were 10 minutes apart and managed with warm baths tens machine and headphones with my birth play list. Rested when I could and listened to rainbow relaxation when ever I felt I wasn’t Coping. Theses 10 minute contractions carried on into Tuesday evening until about 9pm when they were every 3 minutes. My husband and sister where my birth partners and were already supporting me through the last 24 hours. We called the home birth team and they arrived within the hour.

They asked to examine me I agreed too but declined the sweep they suggested as was only 3cm along. Now at this point I was a little upset, tired and showing signs of exhaustion due to lack of sleep. But I put my music on and my hypno head together. I can do this I’ve studied For months to ready myself for this day and at the end I will have a beautiful baby.

The home birth team received another call that another lady was in labour and further along than me. They asked if I minded if they went I said they should go if someone was in greater need than me at that point. I continued with hot baths and showers and tens machine to manage the surges.

By 5am Wednesday morning they were continuous and I needed further help to manage the pain I asked my husband to fill the birth pool with hot water so I could get in. And asked my sister to get in touch with the midwifes as I needed them to come back now.
I got in the pool and the relief was instant. Yes this slowed down the surges but I needed the break at this point to refocus and get some much needed rest for the next stage.

4 lovely midwife from east Surrey arrived 2 from the night shift and 2 for the new morning shift( lucky me) I stayed in the water from 6am till around 10am. At this point the midwifes wanted to check me to see what was going on.
I needed a wee so made my way to the toilet thankfully downstairs. I needed assistance as was struggling to put any weight on my left side. I did not think this was unusual at the time and just assumed this to be a normal part of labour when you can feel it. I was pushing at this point in various positions( standing, squatting, on the toilet, over the bath you name it I tried it) we walked into my lounge were I was asked to lie down so they could examine me. Babies head was there I just needed to push him down. I did this over and over baby head came down then went back up again. After nearly 2 hours of pushing I made a choice to call an ambulance for further help. I was exhausted and I’m sure baby sullivan was too. ( please don’t see this as negative) I feel empowered to have done my darnedest to get my baby out at home. It just was not meant to be and thank the lords we did and that is why we have an amazing nhs. I was able to choose to get additional help.

I was not scared or worried at this point I just wanted to get to the hospital and meet my baby. We arrived in record time at this point I was using the gas and air to try and not push. We arrived in the delivery suite I went over to the bed.
I began to push and was asked if I was happy to have my legs in stirrups I said yes anything that will help get the baby out and for me this was the best position for baby to come out.

Within 15 minutes of arriving I had birthed my baby boy ( Arthur) and what a knight he turned out to be.

The midwife did delayed cord clamping for a minuet and he was put straight on me. He had to be rushed over to the resussater as he was not breathing and a team of doctors and nurses got him breathing. I was given my baby for skin to skin and breast feeding straight afterwards which was amazing. My baby was here safe and loved.

I’m sure some people are thinking how is this positive but it is. I decided to have my baby at home and for the most part I did. I decided to go to hospital. I’m glad I did as he needed help when he arrived. Everything happens for a reason and every choice I made regarding the arrival of baby Arthur was mine and my husbands. I had the best support from my husband and sister and the amazing midwifes the 2 Emma’s. And none of this would have been possible had I not been in the right mindset which was all down to the knowledge and support I gained through laura at the lemon tree.

What an amazing course to have helped me release fear and worry from my first birth and to have been able to birth my second baby with out the need for intervention or an epidural.

I am amazed and what my mind and body was able to do.

Over 3 days and makes me realise that I can do anything I put my mind too.

Especially as the reason that I struggled with getting the baby out in both cases which I was not aware of until after I had the baby and told the midwifes that the same thing happened with my 34 week gestation baby. And that my mum had to have c sections as she had a small pelvis.

They confirmed that this and my pelvis not being aligned due to having a club foot and issues with my back from a young age is what caused the babies in both cases to struggle to make there way through the pelvis and into the world.

Thank you Laura at The Lemon Tree for freeing me from my fear of birth and giving me the knowledge and power to decide how to bring a baby into the world.

Hypno birthing prepares you for all eventualities and this is my positive story.

I couldn’t recommend laura at the lemon tree more a caring, passionate and very knowledgable person who will help you at every turn in your pregnancy labour and beyond.

Antenatal Class East Grinstead

Our Beautiful Sofia
Born at 3.35am
7th May 2019
8lbs 10
East Surrey Hospital

Written by Sofia’s lovely mumma…..

“A long overdue review on our hypnobirthing journey…

Our baby girl was a very long time coming. After 2 failed IVF attempts, we got 3rd time lucky and we fell pregnant with our little miracle girl. I was determined to have a perfect birth, but all I ever came across and heard about were negative birth stories. A friend and my sister in-law recommended hypnobirthing and I must say at first it sounded to me a bit hippie like, but I wanted to know more about it and then whilst waiting for our scan at ESH, we came across Laura’s Hypnobirthing leaflet on the notice board and booked the next hypnobirthing class. The best decision ever, we’ve learnt so much about birth and made an informed decision based on evidence and our beliefs. We were determined with Chris to have the perfect most amazing experience ever. The positive mindset and daily relaxation tracks helped to focus, relax and believe I can do it, I am made to do it. We’ve prepared a birth plan and were determined to stick to it as much as possible.

It started to get close to her arrival and I had few practice surge runs that did go away eventually, so when the third time I started getting mild surges, I didn’t think much of it and went to sleep. Around 5am on 6th May I woke up and noticed that surges are getting more intense and rhythmic. I woke Chris and he started recording them. We had a lovely breakfast at home whilst watching last episode of ‘Game of Thrones’ and I bounced on my ball. We went for a lovely walk to encourage surges, watched a comedy to release oxytocin. As surges started to get more intense a bath felt really nice. Around 2pm once surges were every 2 – 3 minutes and at least 60 sec long we got in the car and drove to ESH. I remember feeling very excited and a bit scared but in a positive way. I was doing my surge breathing and calm breathing as practiced prior to birth. It has really helped me to focus on me, the baby and every single surge, that brought my baby closer to me.

At the maternity triage, without examining me, I wouldn’t get admitted to birth unit, so I allowed them to do a vaginal examination even though I didn’t want it. I didn’t want to know the number so the midwife spoke to Chris and it wasn’t good news – 2cm, so we were sent home. It didn’t feel right as I could barely walk and the surges got even more intense. After coming home we tried few other tricks to bring on the birth- ‘hugs before drugs’, I had another bath as the surges got so intense. I didn’t even get a break sometimes in between. Surely it has progressed, but when we drove back to the hospital around 5pm, it was only 3cm, which has disappointed me loads hence I never wanted to know. My waters broke after second examination and we were sent home again, but I refused! I couldn’t walk at this stage much as surges got more intense and I was not going home. It can take only few minutes from few cm to 10 cm. Since we couldn’t stay at the triage any longer, I was admitted to the antenatal ward. I was GBS positive tested prior to that and NHS recommendation is IV antibiotics during birth, after doing my research I decided to decline antibiotics, so 2 paediatricians were sent in to change my mind. That was my breaking point as instead of concentrating on my surges, I had to explain myself in between the surges. I was strapped to a machine lying down, so couldn’t move much and felt very uncomfortable during the surges. My blood pressure was monitored all the time as was measured higher than normal. Of course, the paediatricians made me feel bad about my decision, surges were so close with very little breaks in between and inability to freely move, has stressed me out. I was told that with blood pressure higher than normal I will be unable to birth my baby in birthing unit and surely I want epidural as according to the machines my surges were particularly strong. I was even tested for preeclampsia. All it was – me being stressed due to all the pressure and nothing else. At this point I have given up and was ready to be admitted to the delivery suite with epidural as long as they all left me alone. That’s where having a birthing partner pays off. Chris didn’t let them take me to the delivery suite. He knew I would regret it and was pushing for birthing unit. He was in touch with our lovely Laura all this time who was encouraging and encouraged us to stick to whatever WE wanted to do and advised on what our rights are. I feel like we had to fight very hard for ourselves.

4 hours have passed and I measured 5cm and was allowed to have water birth in birthing unit! Yay, happy days. As soon as I got to the room, lights got dimmed, calming music and relaxation tracks on and I got in the water, pain disappeared and I felt calm and relaxed. It was around 10pm by then. Chris was feeding me and making me drink as due to nausea, I have vomited a lot and was dehydrated and running low on energy. Only used gas and air for little while. Then suddenly I experienced the urge to ‘push’. Wow, what a powerful force that is. You really know when the baby is about to arrive. Just tune in with your body and trust it, it’s doing everything that it needs to and working with baby in harmony. At this stage I was not fully dilated therefore was not allowed to do J breathing yet. It was hard to do calm breathing instead when my body wanted to push the baby out. An hour or so later I was given the green light and an hour after that Sofia arrived in to this world. This was one of the most beautiful and emotional moments of my life. My midwives were absolutely amazing, so encouraging and positive.

We had our water birth as we’ve dreamt, but almost ended up with epidural and God knows what else. Always always stay your ground, it’s your choice. Let your spokesperson deal with it whilst you concentrate on surges.

Our perfect baby girl arrived at 03:35 weighing 3.9kg with no need for antibiotics. Always do your research and make an informed decision, that’s what we did and avoided unnecessary antibiotics. Our lovely Laura was with us through it all. She was up all night and gave Chris the support and advice when needed. I only was told that afterwards. Chris was trying to keep me calm in a protective bubble so that I can focus on me and the baby.

Sofia is sooo perfect and we had the most beautiful natural delivery. Thank you Laura for preparing us for it and helping us along the way. We couldn’t recommend Laura and Lemon Tree Hypnobirthing classes strongly enough. Do it, you won’t regret it. Myself, Chris and Sofia are very grateful”

Group Hypnobirthing Course

Willow Mila Mcauliffe
6lb 3oz
26th Nov 2018

Because of my endometrioses, polycystic ovaries, arthritis in my spine and problems with my hips, we were told we may not ever be able to have children, if I get pregnant that I may not be able to reach full term, let alone labour without drugs, intervention…… but there we were, blessed & pregnant with our beautiful daughter….

I found you & The Lemon Tree through several amazing recommendations. So many other mums had recommended you so I booked straight away. You put me at ease straight away, especially as I was high risk and was told things could be tricky from the start due to some of my history. You reassured me that regardless of whether we had a vaginal birth or an abdominal birth (c section which was more likely), that I could still be in control of many aspects of my birth, feel empowered & let go of the things I couldn’t control.

From 20 weeks I was in and out of hospital for various reasons and from 30 weeks I was in hospital at least 3 times a week having various checks, monitoring and scans etc. I was under consultant led care as our baby kept showing signs of wanting to come early, with my body actually contracting and I also had a hyper stimulated uterus which meant throughout my pregnancy I kept having regular contractions – a result of my endometriosis. Hypnobirthing skills really really helped me with this and it could have been such a stressful time but we remained so calm. We practiced our breathing every day & our relaxation every night. My partner Lou had great sleeps from the relaxation ha ha. I have to say that Hypno for Dads is amazing 2.

The consultants thought it was safest to get willow out sooner rather than due to my uterus and medical history, so I had a sweep at 37 weeks to see if we could get things moving and I found out I was already 1cm dilated. After the sweep I didn’t sleep that well as I had quite intense back-ache but that was due to willow being back to back and not in the best position. The day after on the Saturday I went in for my induction & then had my show by 1pm. By this point I was having contractions varying from 1-5 minutes apart & they came think and fast. I felt that something wasn’t quite right, you know when you just tune in and know your body, which Hypno really helped me to do, so I used rainbow relaxation, my breathing, focussing and working with what my body was doing.

I then went on to have 2 baths and spent lots of time on my birth ball, remaining upright and moving. 11 hours later I was still only 1cm dilated so I had another bath to really relax. I was on all 4’s and once I got out of the water I really felt something was different, my instincts just said something more was happening, I was told I was probably wrong but I knew and within half an hour I had gone from 1cm to 5cm! Then within the next half hour I suddenly felt the urge that she was coming and I had gone to 5cm almost to 10cm!!!!! They zoomed me across to delivery suite, no drugs so far can I add, no pain relief, nothing, purely working through just using my Hypno tools alone even though things were challenging and ramped up. All I remember through every surge “breathe in slowly to 10 count to 10”.

There were a lot of doctors around and it felt a bit chaotic at this point, her head was there and I just felt something wasn’t right, they said willow was in an awkward position so we tried moving around and tried various positions to birth her. She was back to back and her heartbeat was fluctuating, I expect due to my surges being a bit erratic & my uterus function, so I was quickly prepped for a c section. Because I had done the hypnobirthing course I was really aware that these things could happen but still felt calm for every eventuality especially as I was high risk and Laura had helped prepare me & what I might want to do in every type of situation. Because I hadn’t had an epidural and wasn’t prepped for a section I got taken into surgery for a crash section as it was the quickest, safest way to ensure Willow was ok. It seemed a bit surreal at the time but I remained so calm, kept my eyes closed & used still used my breathing. I really focussed on my baby girl and knew that if I remained calm, breathing well, staying focussed that she would be calm, happy & get all the oxygen she needed. I was put to sleep and they began……

Before we knew it she was born at 4am, although I didn’t get to see her until 9.30am. We didn’t get skin to skin or many of our preferences but we knew afterwards that my placenta had started to stop functioning as well as it should have been, which is why my body was doing what it was doing. My instincts had told me something felt different. I just knew and had tuned into my body and baby through Hypno. Mothers instinct.

Even though most of my preferences went out the window and everyone kept saying “oh my god how traumatic that must have been for you” ……. but I just really didn’t feel that way at ANY point because I had my beautiful girl and I totally believe that doing Hypno and learning all those wonderful tools prior to birth and being in control as much as possible had made ALL the difference. I don’t feel traumatised from a birth that could have made me feel so different had I not done HpnoBirthing. It wasn’t negative. I feel so blessed and so lucky to have Willow and that she was ok.

I was also told that my milk may not come in due to a ‘traumatic birth’ and that I may not be able to breastfeed. By 5pm the following day I was successfully breastfeeding and we have never looked back. Willow is now almost 8 months and we LOVE our breastfeeding journey. I truly believe that’s down to everything we learnt from our Mindful Breastfeeding Workshop with Laura @ The Lemon Tree. I learnt so much and knew that I could trust my body and baby knew what to do. I’m forever grateful for everything you taught me and I still use everything I learnt now. If willow is having a fussy day I use the skills and relaxation. I have taken the tools into parenthood and so many people comment on how chilled Willow is and I swear it’s because of Hypno. HypnoBirthing is also so wonderful for dads/birth partners. To learn, know what to do, have tools to use & help them feel calm & relaxed as well. Lou was my rock & so calm throughout becuause of the course. A huge thank you Laura we know things could have been a lot different. Our beautiful baby is chilled, healthy, happy and breastfeeding. Eternally grateful xXx

Sophia & Lou

1-2-1 Hypnobirthing Course

Baby Boy
7lb 13oz
East Surrey Hospital
1st Baby

Leading up to my due date I was feeling surprising calm, which is a testament to the course as I have always had a HUGE fear of birth. I am not sure where it came from, but it has always been there since I was a child, to the point where I considered never having children.

The surges started at 10pm on Wednesday evening; I decided to stay in bed and listen to the rainbow relaxation to stay calm. They gradually increased in frequency and intensity over the next few hours, but I always felt completely in control. I woke my husband at midnight who helped me to time the surges and to fit the TENS machine. By 2am they were 3 in 10 so we called the hospital and were advised to come in. Before the birth I was concerned that I would lose focus in the car but I managed to keep going with the breathing and was still calm when we arrived.

We went through to triage and were offered an internal examination to establish how far along I was, but I chose to decline this as I wanted minimal medical intervention. I was also worried that it would interrupt my focus. Even though my surges were 3 in 10 the midwife thought I was too calm to be far along and advised we went home until things advanced further. This was really disappointing as I felt confident the labour was progressing, but because we refused the exam we had no choice but to return home.

We got home around 5am; I went back upstairs to bed, using the breathing techniques and the TENS machine to manage the surges. By 8.30am I felt that I needed to go back to the hospital. The surges were still manageable but they were increasing in frequency and intensity and we didn’t want to leave it too late to make the journey.

Back at the hospital we were offered another examination, which I initially refused but it was looking like they might send us home again so I decided to go ahead this time. I was still very calm and could speak normally between contractions. When I was examined the midwife (and my husband!) were surprised to find that I was 8cm dilated. I had hoped to use the birthing unit, but there weren’t any available so we were taken through to the delivery suite. The hospital was great though and managed to find me a room with a pool as they knew this was an important part of our birth preferences.

I got into the room around 10am and moved into the pool, which was lovely. In hindsight I probably should have waited longer before getting in as I was managing well with the TENS machine and the pool slowed things down. I was so relaxed that I was falling asleep between surges. I felt completely calm and in control and was able to chat with my husband and the midwife between surges.

After a couple of hours I was encouraged to push, but I chose to try the J breathing instead. Unfortunately, shortly afterwards the midwife found meconium in the waters so I was asked to get out of the pool so that they could monitor the baby’s heartbeat more closely. I was asked to lie on the bed, but I felt strongly that I wanted to try and birth standing up after what I had learned in the course. The midwife was great and tried her best to accommodate this. I wasn’t able to continue with the J breathing as the baby’s heart rate was slightly accelerated, so he needed to be born more quickly. I gave a couple of big pushes and he was born just before 5pm. He was very calm and hardly cried at all. Immediately after the birth we had lots of lovely skin to skin time (mum and dad) and he fed straight away which was a relief.

Looking back on the birth, it was exactly what we hoped for and much of the reason it went so smoothly is down to the valuable lessons we learned on Laura’s hypnobirthing course. I am so pleased that we did it and can’t believe I spent so many years fearing birth!

Antenatal Course Lingfield

As a mother to 4 children and having been a birthing partner to both my sisters, I thought I knew pretty much everything I needed to know about pregnancy and birth. I couldn’t have been more wrong!

My hypnobirthing experience started when my daughter Darcy and her partner James invited me along to their classes.

We would go every week, with other couples and really have positive experiences. We would learn how to relax, support, bond, change our language and outlook on birth (whilst eating some very nice biscuits).
I really enjoyed the classes, I’m open to learning and trying new things, but I’m going to be honest, although it sounded really good in theory, I wondered if this would really work?

Well all my doubts were answered on Christmas Eve 2018.

After receiving a call after 2am I rushed to Darcy’s house to find her having regular surges, but breathing and smiling. We got into the car and set off.

The journey was a little uncomfortable for Darcy but she listened to her affirmations through her headphones.

When we reached the hospital, we set about making the room as Darcy wished it to be, putting up affirmations and the opening rose picture, dimming the lights.

Darcy let the midwife do the first and only examination and she was 3 cm.

After being told we could go home, Darcy decided we would stay. She was listening to her body and the surges were coming close together. We went for a walk, up and down the halls of the hospital. It was dark and quite at that time, so perfect for walking.

After a while and some surges later, Darcy said it’s time mum, I feel pressure….. I was a little confused as it had barely been an hour after being 3cm.

But we returned to the room. Darcy sat on the toilet and I informed the midwife that she had pressure.

The midwife looked at me as if to say, no, not yet! Until she looked down and saw the babies head was actually coming!

Darcy got into a comfortable position ready to breathe baby down.

At this point, I remember just standing there saying over and over “ the head is there? It’s so quick, she hardly had any strong surges?”
I was honestly shocked, when we were walking she was so calm and in control I thought that she was in the first stages!
Darcy was on the bed, James and I either side and she began to breathe her baby down with every surge. She was focused and calm and smiling.

I remember thinking do you even know your giving birth?

After a while they called in a team as a precaution, but Darcy ignored the fuss and kept focused.

They said that if he didn’t come with the next one, they would have to intervene.

I whispered in Darcys ear, come on, beat them to it. She smiled and relaxed then breathed, my grandson was born. She had him put straight on her chest and waited for the cord to turn white before James cut it.
I left the room to call my husband and the midwifes were all talking about this amazing young lady and her quick calm first birth!
One midwife looked at me and said “ how did that happen?”

I just smiled and said Hypnobirthing!
Welcome to the world – Zachary John Farrow, the most content happy baby I’ve ever known.

Hypnobirthing Course

Zachary John Farrow
Born at 5.25am
Weighing 7lb 9oz

I woke up at 1:30am with a sensation in my back, it felt different to anything I had felt before. I sat on the edge of the bed and closed my eyes. I feel like I really got in tune with my body and woke James up adamant I was having a surge. I put my lamp on a dim setting, James got my birthing ball and I put my affirmations track on whilst doing some calm breathing. I felt another one come and started surge breathing, they were coming every 5 minutes which makes me think I must have slept through the first half of them possibly (thanks to having a calm evening the night before listening to my Stephen Halpern music and cuddling up with James).They were quite strong but the breathing techniques made them go from uncomfortable to a pressure. I sat on the toilet waiting for my mum to get here and James was getting things ready.

The car journey wasn’t that great as I felt confined and got a bit stressed which admittedly made me lose my focus for a bit. I was listening to my affirmations in the car with my headphones on in the end, breathing through each surge. When I got to the hospital they were only 2-3 minutes apart and very strong. The feeling and pressure was in my back. I gave the midwife my birth preferences and James stuck the picture of the opening rose on the wall in front of me with my affirmations and asked the midwife to dim the lights after she checked me over. I felt most comfortable on the floor on all fours leaning on the bed. I asked the midwife to do only 1 check to see how far along I was and that I didn’t want an examination after that. I was 3 cm and she insisted we went home again as it was “going to be a while yet” but I refused and said I wanted to stay as I knew my body was more ahead than she said.

We went for a walk up and down the halls, stopping every couple of steps as I knelt on the floor on all fours, breathing through the surges. My mum and James were really praising me after each surge encouraging me to be calm for our son. I wasn’t all that calm sometimes because I did ocassionally tell them to shhh so that I could focus. I spoke out loud to myself “I can do this, we’re doing this together” and the affirmation “each surge of my baby brings me closer to me” was ringing in my head. I then started getting the feeling of needing to “push”. I told mum and she said ok, don’t push, just breathe. I stayed absoloutely silent somehow through the last few surges and just breathed with them, edging him down.

I said to mum that I need to go back to the room now I can feel him coming. Mum and James looked really confused as the midwife had just said to us I was only 3cm dilated, but they helped me walk back to the room and I went and sat on the toilet. I J breathed with my next surge and James and mum seemed a bit confused. Mum called the midwife in and she came into me, I told her “he’s coming” and she just replied “are you sure? Let me have a look”. I opened my legs and she said “yes his head is coming”. I got up and moved to the bed. I sat all the way up and had midwives hold my legs. With each surge I breathed down and controlled the oxygen because I knew that whatever I did affected him also. They told me he was crowning and the biggest smile plastered across my face and I kept saying “he’s coming my baby is coming”. That honestly made all feelings of any pain go away, I literally felt pressure on my front. Unfortunately I am quite small down there and it took a lot to get him to start moving. His head would start to come out and then go back in, which made his heartbeat slow as he was getting tired. James and my mum held my hands and arms, and encouraged me to really get into my body. My mum was watching him and was telling me what was happening because I had my eyes closed. I didn’t want to see all the midwives (soon found out they had called the ressus team in for him as a precaution because his heart rate slowed and there were about 7 people in the room). “His head is coming hes got beautiful hair, keep going keep going” and “you’ve almost done it Darcy” is all I heard. I heard a midwife say she was going to cut me and my mum bent down to my ear and told me to beat her to it. With that I did it with the next surge…… he was out and put straight on to me. The cord stopped pulsating and James cut the cord, his heart was ok and he was perfect!
I spent only 10 minutes in actual active labour!

By Darcy (Zachary’s proud mummy)

Hypnobirthing Course

Baby John
Born 29/09/2018
11.48am
6lb 15oz

We found out we were having our gorgeous little bubba and my husband (knowing I am a worrier and full of anxiety – all you see is films full of horror and hell labours)…… introduced me to Laura and her magical HypnoBirthing. If I knew what I was going to learn would change my world and give me the most magical birth I would have given her my house! Not only have the techniques helped me, they have given me the most healthy, calm and smiley baby.

Laura taught us SO much – to trust our instincts and to know that doing nothing was an option too. We 100% automatically felt confident walking in to the birthing centre.

Our story:
4 days earlier, late on Friday night at 11.30pm it all began. I reached the hospital at 4.30am (4cm dilated). The nurse struggled to tell I was having contractions and had to ask me to raise my finger as she could not tell how far apart they were or if I was uncomfortable. 7 and a half hours and many repeats of my hypnobirthing tracks, with a touch of gas & air, in a warm birth pool out came my little boy, calm and happy. I managed to cut my own umbilical cord and we left 4 hours later on the same day.

We could not thank you enough Laura and constantly recommend you. Than you for changing our lives with your work. You are a blessing.

Group Antenatal Hypnobirthing Course Surrey

01/09/18
3.40am
7lbs 12oz
Born in the water
East Surrey Hospital Birthing Unit

After having a very long labour with lots of medical intervention with my first son, we decided that we would like to try the hypnobirthing course with Laura and The Lemon Tree as I was keen to have a calmer labour and drug-free birth. The course was absolutely fantastic and not only taught techniques to help achieve the birth I was longing for but I also learnt a great deal about how our incredible bodies work during pregnancy, birth and beyond. I hugely recommend this course for all expectant couples but especially those who are feeling anxious or are keen to have a calm and natural birth.

It was 11am on Sunday and I was on the way back from the park with my 2 year old. I was sitting at some traffic lights and felt a little twinge much like a period pain. I was 40+2 so knew he could come at any moment so I clocked the time and continued to drive home. As I arrived home, I felt a few more light serges so told my husband and he suggested we start timing them. At this point they were 10 minutes apart and nothing more than period pains. We had lunch, had family round for afternoon tea etc and after we put our toddler to bed at 7, they were 6 minutes apart, getting stronger and I knew things were progressing. I started to feel excited that I was going to meet my baby soon and was using the serge breathing techniques which helped me to focus and remain calm and relaxed. At 10 pm my husband called the hospital to tell them we would be coming in. Unfortunately we were told that the ward was shut due to there being no special care cots and we would need to travel to Chichester. Knowing I wouldn’t make it and didn’t want to travel that far (almost 2 hours away), I explained that I would rather have the baby at home. We arranged for my son to get picked up as I decided I would prefer him not to be in the house whilst I was giving birth but no sooner had he gone, we received a call back from the hospital to say we could go in. Although this slight shake up to our plans had slowed my serges slightly, my husband reminded me about the breathing techniques Laura had taught us and I started to feel more relaxed again. We made our way into hospital and arrived at 12am. As soon as we arrived, I put on the rainbow relaxation and got comfortable on the bed on all fours. The serges were only 2 minutes apart at this point but I was only 3cm dilated so I went for a short walk down the corridor. I almost immediately needed to return to the ward as I felt like the baby was bearing down. I was examined again and was 8cm dilated and felt the urge to push. The midwives frantically filled the pool and I was in the water by 2.30am. At 3.40am on Monday morning our perfect baby boy was born in the water. He was absolutely gorgeous and incredibly calm. No sooner had I stepped out of the water he wanted a feed and latched on beautifully. We were home 8 hours later to introduce him to his big brother who couldn’t have been more excited with our new addition.

A huge thank you, Laura- you are so knowledgeable, kind and understanding. I never would have been able to achieve the birth I was desperate for this time without you. X

Group Hypnobirthing Course Redhill

1st Baby
7lbs 15oz East Surrey Hospital

Around 6am I woke with some pelvic pain along with slight period pain but didn’t think anything of it. I had suffered from pelvic pain in my pregnancy anyway and I was convinced this baby would be late. I wasn’t due for another couple of days at this point. After a cup of tea and breakfast I had more period like pains varying in strength and times in between. Convinced this was false labour I told my partner to go back to sleep. After a couple of hours I wondered if this was it so I applied the 4/8 breathing technique which kept me really content and pretty comfortable.

After a shower and a few more hours I knew these were definitely real surges as they became much bigger and more frequent. After ringing the hospital at 1pm they assured me I was in the very early stages of labour and it was pointless coming in, to just take a couple of paracetamol and stay at home. I would advise any Hypno mums to strongly express they are hypnobirthing as when using the techniques you are calm and relaxed so it appears you aren’t very far along.

I found walking round the garden and staying active a huge help. This helped me focus and relax. I used my arms and hands to imagine the actions of the cervix with the 20/20 breathing along with the 4/8 breathing in between surges. By 2.30pm my legs were tired from walking around and it felt too uncomfortable to sit down so I decided to run a bath. Whilst it was running I relaxed on the bed closing my eyes which then made the surges come stronger and faster. This proved to me that by relaxing as much as possible my body would do more which was encouraging. At this point, 3.30pm I then had a small show so knew my body was doing what it was supposed to. I rang the hospital at this point but I was still advised to stay at home as I was “coping” well.

For the next couple of hours in the bath the surges ranged from 2-4 minutes apart and became bigger. I found this harder but remained focused and knew I had to stay as relaxed as possible or I would just prolong things. By breathing correctly my body was really progressing as I then had more of a show followed by my waters going. That was amazing to see. Things were moving along nicely, I felt more in control and so excited. I struggled a little after another hour or so to keep focused so my partner suggested a little extra help by perhaps listening to the Rainbow Relaxation. I had been listening to it most evenings to help me sleep and relax. I truly believe this was a huge key to things progressing. Just don’t ever listen to it when you are driving. It still relaxes me now!

He said I looked like I was falling asleep, totally in the zone in the bath. I guess I had trained my brain through this relaxation and the breathing.

I don’t really remember this bit as I had totally switched off when all of a sudden I felt this HUGE surge and an overwhelming urge for the baby to come down. I could feel the baby on its way and quickly. This feeling took over and my body was pushing my baby down. I wasn’t expecting this as I was so calm and thought I had a long way to go for some reason, despite my partner continuing to tell me “your contractions are 1 or 2 minutes apart shouldn’t we go to hospital”. I think I was still unsure if I could do this as people perceive birth as a horrific experience when actually if you allow your body to do what it needs to and to work WITH it you can have to most beautiful experience of your life. Fear and drugs work AGAINST your body. I had a panic and we rang an ambulance, who took me to east Surrey. Through getting in the ambulance and the journey there the baby had moved back up which proved to me being tense does the exact opposite to what you want. Prevents and restricts!

After a little gas and air in the ambulance I was transferred into a beautiful dark calm birthing room where I relaxed and therefore the baby came down again. With the next big surge I found it hard to relax with the J breathing and felt a burning sensation so on the second surge I really focused. Using the J breathing technique on that second surge and by staying in control my baby’s head was born. My mum said she opened her eyes and looked around at her new world. Very content and my midwife said her heartbeat was perfect and that she was very happy. On the 3rd surge the rest of my baby was born, with my partner holding my hand by my side my mum told us we were the new parents to a perfect baby girl.

We had 40 minutes lovely skin to skin contact, delayed cord clamping, a calm baby and tiny face looking at us, totally chilled. After delivering the placenta naturally we began feeding and enjoyed those precious moments as a family. Magical. She had her first feed within the first hour and was happy, alert and looking for the breast.

The course was fantastic. I am SUCH a fearful person, I always panic and worry so thought birth would be horrific. Instead it was the most empowering and euphoric day of my life! I can honestly say I cannot wait to give birth again. It was amazing to actually feel like we worked as a team to bring our baby into the world calmly. The course and practice allowed us to do this as he was able to support me, totally understand what was happening and to be a great birthing partner. For any pregnant mum just totally believe in yourself, believe in your amazing body and your amazing baby. You CAN have a beautiful birth.

Hypnobirthing Course

1st Baby
Weighing 7lb
27/04/18
East Surrey Hospital

Before approaching Laura about the hypnobirthing course, I was concerned it may be more about meditation and that as I had struggled in the past with meditating/yoga etc, this course wouldn’t be for me and the cost/effort would not be justified.

After speaking with Laura at length she really reassured me and helped me to have confidence that I would be able to really enjoy the course and it would help me achieve the drug free relaxed birth experience that I really wanted.

The course itself was really amazing. My husband and I learnt so much about how labour actually happens and the different stages. Also how clever our bodies really are and how they work. Week on week I began to really get further into the relaxation side, practice at home was so much easier than I thought and I was feeling more and more prepared for labour. All my previous concerns were put to bed and I felt really confident in everything we had learnt.
The course was also really helpful for my husband. Laura was so knowledgable with all her tips and print outs, I think it really helped my husband to undersrand his role as my birthing partner.

Originally for my labour I wanted a water birth in the hospital and no pain relief as I hoped the hypno tools and the water would help me overcome any pain.

Due to my sons growth I was induced at 38 weeks with a days notice so it felt very rushed and bit scary. I was unable to have a water birth and there was a lot of monitoring and interference such as the breaking of my waters. Despite all the worry, hypnobirthing really helped me to stay really calm through the surges which were quite extreme after my waters were artificially broken, but it also gave me the confidence to power through and know that although the labour was not bought on naturally my body could really do this and there was no need to panic. I was able to keep myself together.

I delivered a lovely healthy boy in 19 hours without any further intervention or drugs and just a little gas and air. I really do wish my labour had been the way I first wanted but it really does show that even if everything doesn’t go to plan you can apply everything you learn in the course to any situation to still have a positive birth.

I am so pleased we went to The Lemon Tree and I will definitely be utilising everything we have learnt for my next pregnancy, however it turns out.

Thank you
Anna & Al

Private Hypnobirthing Course

Baby Felix
2nd Baby
7lb 10
Born at home

Leading up to Felix’s due date, I was feeling incredibly excited, yet still had a little anxiety about whether the birth would go the same way as my daughter three years prior – it had been a very medicalised birth where I felt decisions were taken out of my hands, and it was all just a huge blur.

As a result of my difficult first birth, I decided to try hypnobirthing and change the way I went into the birth – being more positive and taking out the ‘medical’ aspect of birthing! I wanted to take the anxiety out around ‘when should we leave to go into the hospital’ and instead just remain relaxed, where numbers and times don’t matter – basically that it will happen when it happens. With this in mind, I decided to go for a home birth – that way I could be comfortable at home, not worrying whether I was 1cm or 10cm (I’d been sent home at 2cm with my previous birth and she was born 2 hours later!).

I also decided to have Adam as my main birth partner, but also my mum to be there as well. I thought that Having a woman there to coach me would be so important, especially as there were things I probably wouldn’t listen to Adam about!

The day before my due date, I was feeling really positive with loads of energy. My midwife came And let me know that baby’s head was engaged. About an hour after she left, I started getting surges. They weren’t particularly strong, but they were regular. Adam came home from work, and put our daughter to bed. I had a bath and the surges stopped. We went to bed knowing that things were likely to start soon.

The next day At 5am, I began to feel the surges again. They were coming regularly – every 4 minutes and lasting around 40 seconds. It was incredibly similar to how my first birth had begun, so we knew that things were progressing and labour had started.

Unlike my first birth, I wasn’t worried about when we should leave to go to the hospital. Instead, we called our midwife, Adams parents and my Mum, letting them know that things had begun. Adam and I were both incredibly relaxed – he made breakfast for our daughter whilst I focused on my calm breathing, and listened to rainbow relaxation with all the background noise going on around me.

At 8am, the troops showed up – midwives, Adams parents to take lily over to theirs, and my mum. It was so relaxed, we were all chatting. I was doing surge breathing every time I felt one, and everyone just let me focus. and doing my surge breathing. I gave lily a huge kiss goodbye and she went off with Adams parents to their house.

At this point, we were all in the front room chatting. I was able to get into relaxation even with the noise, and continued to focus on my breathing whilst the midwife team ate snacks and drank tea! We were listening to baby intermittently, with me being able to use my birthing ball to open up my pelvis. There was lots of tea, flapjacks, laughing – it was brilliant. I was examined upstairs but asked the midwives not to tell me how open my cervix was – it was important for me to not focus on numbers or time in case it disheartened me.

As my surges began getting more intense, I went up to my bedroom where I put on rainbow relaxation, and lay down in bed. I was so relaxed – the midwives were quietly coming in every 10 minutes to check on me, and listen to baby. All whilst this was going on, I remained in a relaxed state. Adam came in and lay next to me, and we just cuddled as each surge came .

The midwife team were able to tell that my surges were closer together and decided it was about time to get the birth pool filled up (20 mins). I came downstairs at 10.30 and got into the water.

It felt so relaxing – we had music, candles, aromatherapy and dim lighting. Everyone spoke very quietly, and Adam stayed behind me rubbing my shoulders and counting my breathing. We were listening to rainbow relaxation, birth affirmations, and some of our favourite music as well – all of which continued to keep me calm.

At about 12.20 my waters broke in the pool, and I used my J breaths to breathe Felix down. It was very calm, and everyone continued to whisper. One of the midwives guided me into some positions which would help baby move down, and continued to check whether I was comfortable. There was no talk of any pain, or pain relief.

After about 20 minutes of j breathing, and a lot of encouragement from my birth partners and the midwife team, I remember looking at Adam and asking ‘is he really coming?’, as I felt like I was beginning to get tired. I had a moment where I worried things weren’t progressing – Adam kept encouraging me and putting his hand on my shoulder, looking at me int he eyes reminding me I could do it. The midwives encouraged me to check whether baby was on the way: so I reached down and could actually feel the head. suddenly that was all I needed to remind myself he was only a few breaths away.

He was born at 12.42 in the water, and was immediately put on to my chest where my first words were ‘we did it!’. He had arrived, safely and calmly into the world, and I had managed to birth my baby just how I had imagined. It was so empowering – the student midwife even delivered Felix, as her first birth. She started crying with us, and there was this hugely magical moment in the room. Felix Peter Rowan Amos was born 7lb 10. Despite an incredibly calm birth, he did decide to do a poo in my waters – so unfortunately we took a trip to east surrey hospital anyway – but we went there very calmly, with big smiles on our faces, and an incredible team with us. Felix’s pooey antics didn’t take away that the birth had been such a positive experience.

In terms of post birth – recovery has been so quick! I was up, walking around the labour ward whilst Felix was being observed. I had tons more energy, no tears and I felt so much more positive! I genuinely had that rush of emotion when Felix was born, and couldn’t stop smiling like a proud Mum on what we had just achieved

Thank you Laura – hypnobirthing has meant the world to us xx

Private Hypnobirthing Course

Reuban
1st Baby
20/09/2018 – 7.25am
East Surrey Hospital

“HypnoBirthing allowed me to remain calm and relaxed throughout the induction process and despite the labour taking turns we had nor expected it remained a calm and happy experience. When the decision to go to emergency c section was made it was one that we accepted and were significantly less anxious about. Even the c section was a really calm experience, with the majority of our preferences being, such as delayed cord clamping, immediate skin to skin, delayed first checks etc. Overall HypnoBirthing allowed me to meet every new element of labour without fear”
By Charley (Baby Reuben’s Mummy)

Group Hypnobirthing Course Surrey

For any Dads out there that might be sceptical………
By 2nd time Dad Martin

“If you are a parent to be and would like advice on HypnoBirthing (without reading the following essay) then simply do not miss out!

It’s fair to say I am often cynical (and sarcastic) about ideas such as HypnoBirthing which may be dismissed as ‘crazes’ or ‘fads’. When I first discussed the idea with my wife I wondered if I could keep a straight face if we actually went along to the class and I thought it was ‘all a bit hippy’. None the less I was intrigued.

A few minutes into researching it seemed that anyone who had participated in or witnessed Hypnobirthing was amazed by the outcome. Although I didn’t want to admit it I had heard many horror stories surrounding birth and labour and was of course scared by potential turns the event could take. Hypnobirthing parents on the other hand were relaxed and positive about the whole experience. With doing some research it was easy to see why.

The lessons taught in hypnobirthing followed some wonderfully simple ideas:

• Birthing is a normal, natural experience which women have done for millions of years
• With a little reassurance and information mothers could be properly prepared for a peaceful birth & even enjoy the experience
• Techniques were taught weekly to naturally relax and for a mothers body to open during labour instead of tensing and closing, leading to easier birth.

Having read further I realised the idea was to keep happy, positive, relaxed and use the bodies natural impulses to help birth along. It dawned on me what a great idea this was. You could go into labour full of fear and worry or armed with confidence and positivity. It was easy to see which would have the better outcome.

When we arrived for the lessons with The Lemon Tree it was better than we had hoped for. We were vastly informed about what to expect and knew the more relaxed we were (my wife) stayed, the easier and quicker our baby would be born. Laura was there to answer questions and give us reassurance at all times – far more than could be expected given the goo value of the course. We felt we had an expert on hand at all times.

The birth then…… our son was born in water without any pain relief or medical intervention at all! It fulfilled all our hopes and more. Our baby was born in 9 hours and we were able to leave the hospital just 4 hours later. This could have been a fearful experience but was a happy and meaningful birth which brought our whole family closer. The nurses and midwives were full of praise about how my wife who usually suffers from anxiety had handled the birth.

I am 100% sure that this is entirely due to the skills learnt with The Lemon Tree HypnoBirthing and the knowledge we gained from Laura. We would recommend hypnobirthing to anyone and everyone who is having a baby. The course not only helped our baby to be born peacefully but has helped us in all aspects of our life.

Please give hypnobirthing a go if you are expectant parents and recommend it to anyone you know that you wish to have a peaceful loving birth”

Group Hypnobirthing Course Kent

Laura
2nd Baby
Ethan
Born at East Surrey Hospital Redhill

“I didn’t realise that I was in labour at first as I was in the garden helping Andy in the garden planting. I put the back pain down to bending down so much with a heavy bump. I had been having plenty of practice surges throughout the day and these were now a daily occurrence by this point. With every surge I practiced the breathing technique. At about 7pm we stopped gardening and I noticed a stronger surge that had me leaning over my kitchen counter. I was breathing through the pressure.

I started timing the surges and told my hubby I thought this was it. Our daughter Lena, aged 9, also my birth companion was getting ready for bed. I didn’t want to tell her I thought I was in labour as I wanted her to get some rest. Expecting my labour to take a while I told Andy to go off to the gym. I called my mum who was planning to be at the hospital to support Lena whilst I labored. She had a huge bag of activities packed provided by her Nanny to keep her occupied if labour was long.

I then started creating a labour space in my living room where I could settle. At this point my surges were inconsistent but roughly 5 mins apart and lasting about 90 seconds. I called the birthing unit and let them know. I was told to stay at home and take paracetamol. Like that would help ha ha.

During each surge the pressure in my back started around 20 seconds in. I was focusing hard on my breathing and thankfully the pressure didn’t last long. I started playing my rainbow relaxation track but repeatedly had to go to the bathroom as I felt my waters close to breaking. No water yet, but I had a slight birth show so felt excited inbetween surges that things were happening.

It was at this point that I noticed my surges had suddenly switched to 2 minutes apart and the pressure had me on tip toes as I tried to escape it. Unable to talk, focusing, I sent a message to Andy to come home. Luckily he checked his phone and he came straight home. He found me on the living room floor like a turtle. He packed the car and got Lena out of bed. She burst into tears, which was a mixture of being excited and anxious. She said she had never seen a baby be born before. Andy consoled her whilst he drove and said neither had he so they would do it together for the first time. Whilst driving Andy was rubbing my leg intermittently helping me focus and reaching behind to Lena’s leg to check she was ok. Thankfully the car journey was not too distracting as I had worried it would be. We listened to my Rainbow Relaxation and continued breathing through each surge.

My mum met us at the hospital entrance it was 9.30pm and the door was locked. I have a vivid memory of my mum banging on the glass door and angrily pointing at the poor man telling him to open it immediately. He must have been terrified. I couldn’t walk easily at this point so got to ride in a wheelchair. It was faster but by no means more comfortable. We arrived upstairs to the midwifery let birthing unit. It was quiet, dark and really calm.

I immediately relaxed as the midwife led us into a room with the birthing pool. My worst fear was c section due to previous back surgery, I could only have a general anaesthetic and would miss the birth. I stayed in the chair whilst the pool filed and our midwife Maddie reviewed our notes and preferences. At this point intensity of the pressure increased and was familiar but manageable. Maddie asked if she could examine me to see how dilated I was. I was happy for her to do this. Lena and my mum went out of the room so I had some privacy. As I lowered myself onto the mattress I felt my waters release. Between surges Maddie told me I would meet my baby very soon, I was so thrilled. She asked if I wanted to use the pool and suggested I get straight in. Andy helped me but as I stood another surge came. I gripped around Andy’s neck and made a guttural noise as I could feel my babys head was about to be born. At this point I realised I hadn’t had to push my baby at all, I would have to apologise to Laura my hypno teacher for doubting I could breathe my baby out and that it could be done.

With Andy’s help I lowered into the pool and with another surge our baby’s head was born. I reached down to feel the head, I couldn’t believe our baby was nearly here without me needing to push. I started panting as I felt I was losing control. Andy stroked my hair and reminded me to use my J breathing. Immediately I refocused myself and began breathing slowly. Maddie then tried to listen to baby’s heartbeat as I was in the squatting frog position. Through the haze we couldn’t hear the heartbeat and I asked if baby was ok, whilst Maddie assured me baby was fine I didn’t like we couldn’t hear. I used my J breathing and bared down. Maddie said she could pick baby up but I had waited so long for our baby that I reached down and pulled baby up as he was born. My elation was short lived as the cord was around his neck twice. Between us we freed him, I had to stand to do this and after that I scooped him up, holding him against my body. I could feel he was a boy. I looked at Andy and said “we have a boy”. Andy was watching with tears in his eyes. As I cradled him he squawked and settled back against my body. Maddie said he was perfect.

I heard my mum and Lena asking if they could come back in. They thought I was still being examined! I lifted my arms and showed them – I think I said “it’s a boy”. I couldn’t believe our luck. Lena ran up to Andy and he pulled her onto his knee and gave her a cuddle whilst we all stared at our little miracle.

It was then we discussed his name. I love than Lena was involved in this. We agreed on Ethan and David as his middle name. It suited him well. Perfect, Ethan David Shaw.

1-2-1 Hypnobirthing

Our beautiful third baby arrived earth side on 29/12/23 at 19:54 weighing 8Ibs 8oz. Estimated due 18/12/23. Here is our free birth story.

On our son’s 5th birthday I found out I was pregnant with our third child! A little shocked but completely over the moon, we began planning very early for our dream birth.

After having my first son in 2018, I trained as a Hypnobirthing teacher which enabled me to have a really healing birth at home with my daughter in 2021. Although the birth itself was very positive, the lead up to the birth was stressful with lots of pressure for induction due to a suspected small baby and for being “overdue”. She arrived 16 days past her due date at a not so little weight of 8Ibs! I’m so glad I trusted my gut and let her arrive when she was ready.

There was no doubt in my mind where I wanted to have my third baby – at home!! But sadly home births in my area were constantly being suspended. I registered under two trusts to increase my chances but decided we would research and explore the idea of a free birth as going in to hospital to birth was not an option for us. My husband was a little unsure on a free birth, so this alongside the stress in the lead up to our second birth, was when we decided having 1-2-1 support with a birth worker would be beneficial. We contacted Laura to book her as our doula but she was already on call for another couple around our due date so we worked together to find a solution! We signed up for a 1-2-1 course to get fully prepared and then if everything worked out time wise then she would attend in the capacity of a doula. Im a firm believer of “what’s meant to be, will be” so I was comfortable giving birth alone but we were keeping everything crossed that the stars would align and she would be available to support us.

I had a fantastic pregnancy and really threw everything in to our birth prep. I joined a fantastic free birth group which was recommended by Laura, read positive birth stories and watched birth videos every day. Really worked on my mindset and practised breath work and relaxation.

My due date came and went but I honestly didn’t give it much thought this time round. I was just very content being pregnant and trusted baby would come when baby was ready. I did absolutely nothing to chase or encourage labour but instead concentrated on enjoying my last weeks/days being pregnant.

On 28th December (10 days past my EDD) I began to experience surges that were irregular and perfectly comfortable. I text Laura to say I thought things were starting and that I had had a bath, relaxed and was going to get an early night, anticipating that things would ramp up in the night. To my surprise, I woke in the morning after the best sleep I’ve had in months, still pregnant.

My surges continued throughout the day on the 29th and I began to lose my mucus plug. The surges were beginning to intensify but were still very sporadic. We took our children to the park to get some fresh air and once we returned we decided we might like some time to ourselves to get our birth space set up, so we asked my Mum to collect our children (15:30). Laura suggested that my husband and I may like to try some biomechanic exercises as we felt baby may be trying to get into a better position for birth and the exercises would help this. After the exercises we tried to get some sleep but I couldn’t switch off and I could feel the surges intensifying. I asked Tom to put my tens machine on and I went downstairs to watch Pretty Woman whilst rocking on my ball. I was really excited that things were ramping up and asked Tom to start getting the pool ready.

It wasn’t long before I could no longer focus on anything other than my breath and I started panicking that the pool wasn’t going to be ready in time (17:30).

Tom was amazing – rushing round getting things set up whilst supporting me with each surge and rubbing my back. I was so cold and shivery so Tom wrapped me in blankets and gave me a cuddle – we rocked and swayed and having him near really helped with my comfort levels.

At 18:20 we text Laura asking her to join us – I could really feel that things were progressing and I was really having to concentrate on my breathing. I could feel myself tensing up with each surge so I consciously tried to relax all my muscles and just breathe.

Laura arrived at 7pm and we instantly felt calmer knowing she was with us. Laura got me some lavender on a flannel and started offering some homeopathic remedies which really helped.

The pool was finally ready so I decided to go for a quick wee before getting in and as I got off the loo I could feel that baby was coming – my surges changed and I could feel downward pressure. I started to say “baby is coming” and “I don’t think I can do this any more” but I was reminded “you are doing this Chloe, your body knows what it is doing”. Laura and Tom supported me in getting stripped off and in the pool (about 19:45).

The moment I got in the pool I felt my body completely take over and start to bear down and push my baby out. The surges were pretty much back to back at this point and it was very intense but Laura was giving me homeopathy and both my husband and Laura offered supportive words and encouragement. I was freaking out that I was going to poo in the pool but Laura reminded me that this was a really good sign and that we would be meeting baby very soon.

I really tried to slow the delivery of his head down, allowing myself to stretch as I really wanted to avoid tearing like I had in my previous births. I tried to just breathe through the sensation and not overcome to the strong sensation of wanting to push him out. I used my hand to feel between my legs and could feel him bobbing in and out and this definitely helped me control and slow down his delivery. Next surge his head was born (Laura could see him staring up at her) followed by his body with the next surge (19:54). The most amazing feeling ever!! It took me a few moments to compose myself and take in what had just happened! I was in a bit of shock – we had the free birth we had dreamed of!! Our Christmas tree twinkling in the background and a song that I get my other two children to sleep to playing in the background. It was just magic!

The midwives joined us after birth whilst we waited for the placenta to release and to give me a check over. Our other children joined us just after I birthed the placenta in the pool and it was so magical witnessing them meet their little brother for the first time. The midwives were so respectful of our wishes, there was zero time pressure for the placenta, which I think arrived just over an hour after birth. We decided to do some placenta prints which I watched Laura and the midwives do as I snuggled our beautiful boy.

I breastfed our baby and had skin to skin. I was examined and had a tiny 1st degree tear that didn’t need any suturing and a couple of grazes but that is it.

The most incredible experience and a birth I will cherish forever. I have never felt so in tune with my body – it instinctively knew what to do each step of the way and I will be forever grateful to have been able to experience a completely natural, physiological birth – just allowing the body to do what it is made to do.

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