When I was pregnant, I felt the need to do all as natural as possible which brought me to hypnobirthing. My husband and me decided to follow the hypnobirthing course with Kasia in the comfort of our own home. The course had a clear structure and Kasia has a special power to explain everything in such a way that you will remember it because of her enthusiasm and the nice stories she tells. We learnt a lot from her; all phases of birth with corresponding breathing techniques, relaxation/visualization/massage techniques, different postures to relief discomfort during pregnancy and birth and to develop confidence in ourselves. It was very nice that my husband was involved in every session so we could share this exciting adventure even more and he acquired enough tools so he could play an active role during the big day/night.

 

We planned our birth to be as natural and intimate as possible at the comfort of our own home in a big bath that we rented with only 4 of us (our midwife, maternity nurse, my husband and me). But unfortunately, everything went completely different; I gave birth in the hospital, had many interventions and different people around us (as they work in 8 hour shifts), I was given oxytocin and an epidural. Thanks to the hypnobirthing course and my husband I could stay calm, optimistic, motivated and accept the situation as it was and work with the surges with help of the breathing techniques and affirmations that we learnt from Kasia.

 

My husband supported me in many great ways; put beautiful music on alternated with the hypnobirthing affirmations and rainbow relaxation, he used very positive words that motivated me, he gave me little snacks and drinks, he told me to relax when he noticed I was tense, he used light touch massage and gave pressure against my lower back when a big surge was coming. We asked for a birth ball and most of the surges I caught on this ball with my husband sitting behind me giving some pressure against my back. I still remember when the doctor and nurse entered our room for a check, my husband and me were receiving a big surge and the doctor and nurse waited until it was gone. They told us that it looked so beautiful how we did that together that they were afraid to disturb and wanted to walk away. And I was told that I was breathing so well which made me proud and motivated to continue. Working together with my husband was a beautiful experience!

 

The most interesting lesson I learnt that gave me a feeling of ease is that you don't have to do anything at all as your body is made for this and together with your baby it knows exactly what to do and when, so just follow the signs of your body and stay calm. Looking back at my birth, I see how resilient I was and I am sure that this is thanks to the course with Kasia! As one of my friends said to me; 'It's much more brave to be so resilient when things go completely different than expected than to follow your original plan' and I think she is right so although my birth went completely different than I dreamt it to be, I am proud of how I dealt with the situation.     

​

April 2019, Amsterdam

​