I was 3 days past EDD. I visited the doctor in the morning and was told I was only 1cm dilated. A bit disappointed but decided to let baby set her own birth date. I asked doctor, “What would help me to get into labour sooner?” He told me a story about how in the past, when Africans were near EDD, they would make love, and let the husbands ejaculate inside to induce labour. I kept asking more questions and shared with him that I read about that in my HypnoBirthing book. Husband was so shy there. After the meeting with doctor was over, I excitedly told husband that we got big project to do that night. We made love around 6pm.

Later at midnight, at 1am, we said good night to each other. Husband fell fast asleep. As I was lying on my right, still awake, suddenly I heard a ‘pop’ sound. I instinctively reached down and felt liquid. Then I realized my membrane has released. I woke up husband, he was blur. I told him that my water bag has broken, he was very shocked. Both of us were anxious, I was already wetting the bedsheet and mattress. He asked me what to do. I told him to call our doctor. He did that and I slowly got myself into a standing position. Liquid kept rolling down my legs and wet the floor too. The only thing on my mind that time was - will there be enough amniotic fluid for my baby inside? After a change of clothes, we rushed into the car, forgetting to bring my registration card, handphone and handbag. Luckily the hospital bag was prepared earlier and was already in husband’s car.

By 2am, we reached the hospital. Husband helped me onto a wheel chair and the hospital guard wheeled me upstairs while husband parked his car. How I wished husband would accompany me up. Once up there, a young lady doctor attended to me. She checked that I was 3cm dilated with very mild surges. After I changed into hospital gown, my doctor arrived and assured me that everything will be alright. I asked him if the amniotic fluid will be enough for my baby, since it kept coming out every time they performed vaginal examination. He assured me that baby was alright inside. I was then wheeled to the labour room. They put on those devices for fetal monitoring. It was around 2am+. He told me he would be back at 5.30am, and if my surges did not get stronger and closer by then, they would have to induce me, which I didn’t want. Secretly, I knew deep inside me that I would not need an induction!

Husband was by my side. We chatted about how lovemaking worked wonders. Husband kept checking out the fetal monitoring devices. Very soon, I started to have stronger and more frequent surges. The nurses and the lady doctor came to check on me once a while. They told me at its peak, I was having 3 surges in 5 minutes, that’s very frequent and strong. Around 3am+, I was having such strong surges that I could hardly bear. Husband kept reminding me to breathe deeply. That was what I told him to do when I read the HypnoBirthing book, afraid I might forget during labour. He kept assuring me that everything will be alright and our baby would be out real soon.

At one point, I couldn’t stand and asked the doctor for epidural. After reminding me of my birthplan, in which I had strongly stated I do not want epidural or any painkiller, he then went to arrange for it. He came back later and advised me not to have it, as the only specialist available at that time was a trainee, saying, “You wouldn’t want a trainee specialist to poke your back.” I agreed and went without it, only took pethidine. My surges kept getting stronger and at another point, I even asked for c-section. The lady doctor encouraged me that I was doing perfectly fine and progressing so well in such a short time, I didn’t need a c-section. Now that I think back, it was quite funny. I remembered reading Choy Pheng’s birth story and the sentence in the HypnoBirthing book, stating that when you feel you cannot take it anymore and wants something to relieve the pressure, that’s when the baby is coming.

I remembered my husband kept wiping sweat from my forehead. His hands were so cold! I found his hands so irritating that later on, I told him not to touch me, hahahaha. However, he continued to show affection but not knowing what else to do, he continued to remind me to stay calm and breathe deeply.

Later on, when there were only the 2 of us in the labour room, I suddenly told husband, “Ask the doctor to come, the baby is coming out!” Husband was stoned. I guess he wondered if I knew what I was saying. But he went ahead to call the doctor. A nurse came and kept saying, “It’s not possible so fast la, not yet la, …” etc. When the lady doctor did a vaginal examination, I was already 9cm dilated!!

At first I thought the lady doctor was a trainee, but she wasn’t at all. She was the biggest help in terms of encouragement during my childbirth. When baby was crowning, they all asked me to push. But I wasn’t sure how. The lady doctor said, “Push just like you had been having constipation for 3 days!” I suddenly realized that in order to end all these, I had to push the baby out. And I must work diligently through it. Then I started to push and I started to hear good feedbacks from them, indicating my baby must be coming out real nicely. What was husband doing at this moment? He was busy kissing my face and lips, hahaha. After I birthed, I asked him why he did that. I guessed he probably didn’t know what else to do and he didn’t know how else to show me love and encouragement. I told him that I was already trying to breathe well and push well and there he was, blocking my face… hahaha.

At 4.35am, suddenly my baby was out and she was right in front of me. WOW, that was such an amazing moment. She was crying so loudly, all wet and slimy. The doctors and nurses were putting a tube into baby’s throat, I was a bit drowsy but I kept trying to console my crying baby while holding her little frail fingers… oh, my baby! My baby was on my bare chest for some time and then taken for cleaning. Then she was back to me again, and I held her in my arms for so long. It was such a sweet moment. When I checked the clock after that, I realized I had breastfed her for 2 whole hours right there in the labour room.

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I found out about HypnoBirthing when I was 32 weeks pregnant, recommended by Choy Pheng (thanks to her!) I didn’t manage to go for Wai Han’s course as husband is a very busy man and didn’t have time to go for the course with me. I self-studied. Actually when I first got pregnant, I made husband signed a piece of paper stating that he’ll allow me to go for c-section, because all along before that, I couldn’t accept how a baby’s big head can come through such a small opening. But after reading the book, I changed my mind and determine to trust my body and go through vaginal birth. Through the HypnoBirthing book and Wai Han’s answers to my lots of questions, I learnt a lot. Husband never read the book, but I kept explaining and reminding him what to do to support me and what to do when I am in labour. I also showed him pictures of how to support me in labour. Husband was indeed very helpful and supportive.

I think I showed my birthplan to my doctor when I was about 35 weeks pregnant. Imagine trying to convince a 61-year-old doctor with 30-40 years of experience ‘delivering’ babies about Hypnobirthing. He was even reluctant to look at some of the things I want to show him on my book (when I told him I want to birth on all-four position), stating that he already knew everything. But in the end, he was very co-operative and tried to fulfill my wishes.

I started to do nipple stimulation about 1-2 weeks before my EDD. At home, I did a lot of pelvic exercises and stretches. The book mentioned a lot about how squatting would help. So I did a lot of it. The toilet at my house is the old, squatting type. So I had a lot of practice. Due to that, I found it easy to squat although my stomach was so huge at the final weeks. Even while in bedroom, I did a lot of the other exercises shown in the book. I strongly recommend squatting to my pregnant friends. Every day I told my baby that she was going to come out real easily, and that we would both work well together through labour. And we DID!

I am very thankful to Wai Han. She has been so helpful and patient. HypnoBirthing is so amazing! I was very pleased with our natural induction method (i.e. lovemaking.) Many people commented I had an amazingly short labour for a first-time mum, about 2 hours. Thinking back, I could have done it without pethidine at all. It didn’t help much except making me drowsy in between surges. Actually, the surges weren’t painful, just uncomfortable. But due to its intensity, I didn’t have much time to rest in between surges. If I have my next baby, I think I will go for Wai Han’s course for a much better understanding and gain more knowledge regarding HypnoBirthing.

— Belle Tan (Nov 08)

Baby Chien RouSleeping baby