A HypnoBirthing birth from a Dad’s perspective.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a very practical old-fashioned kind of guy, who believes in facts and tangibles. Thus, when my beautiful wife Trish told me that the birth of our third child was going to be done “as a HypnoBirthing birth under the Mongan Method”, and that there would also be a “Doula” involved, I didn’t really give it much thought other than some sort of pie in the sky idea of hers. What I did know was that the births of our two other children were not particularly ideal, and had caused discomfort and pain to my wife.
Trish was not put off at all by my initial lack of interest in HypnoBirthing and continued to read endless articles, books, websites, videos etc on the subject matter. Eventually she became so confident in the subject that she started to share some of the information with me in a more structured manner than when HypnoBirthing was first spoken about to me. You will recall from my opening sentence, I need “facts”. Trish was now learned enough in the subject matter to show me these “facts”. It was also an education for our Doula too, as she was as new to HypnoBirthing as I was
HypnoBirthing brings a lot more engagement into the birthing process for the father. Rather than just being a spare part as in traditional births or C-sections, with HypnoBirthing you take the journey together. Coupled with a Doula and the confidence of Trish’s plans, I really began to feel that this birth may be a better experience for us all.
When Trish called me at work to say she was in labour, there was no panic or negative excitement, only a sea of calm in her voice. We rocked up to the hospital, and Trish and our Doula more or less ran the show for us – rather than the Doctor which is how it was for the previous two births. Basically there was this air of confidence and relaxation – which was really quite impressive to witness given that a baby was about to be born from her.
We ran a hot soothing bath, had some scented candles, quiet music, and she started to relax even more – if such a stage was possible! My job was easy enough, talking, massaging her shoulders & neck, gentle rubs of the tummy (and baby). After perhaps an hour of this, she said it was now time for our baby to arrive. Without any fuss and after only a few minutes of surges and pushes – without the pain and screams of the past, wee William made his appearance, and was gently placed onto Mother’s chest.
A perfect birth. Had we known about HypnoBirthing earlier in our lives, we might have considered a fourth child.
Gordon Cumming
