Gentlebirth - A review

Greetings from the 12 week mark. I survived!!

As many of my friends and followers know, we welcomed a beautiful little girl into our family, 12 weeks ago (almost). I've wanted to write a post on the Gentlebirth program for a couple of weeks but as you can imagine with a newborn, there isn't time to pee never mind write blog posts. I want to get straight into it but before I do can i just say, I'm not an expert on labour and certainly don't claim to be. I'm not proclaiming to have found the answer to a pain free delivery nor do I want this to be a platform for negativity. I've come across articles on labour and 'coping' methods before and have found a lot of criticism directed at new mums. EVERYONES experience of labour is unique to them and EVERYONE deals with labour differently. I wanted to share some of my pregnancy/labour journey with you as I feel it might be beneficial. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say!

Gentlebirth:

Gentlebirth is a positive birth program that teaches you easy self hypnosis techniques that allow you to relax easily and to feel calm and in control throughout your pregnancy and labour. 

There are a number of different programs you can choose from, between pre pregnancy, pregnancy and birth. The complete box set, which includes a 200 page guide plus 8 cd's is the one I used but you could take a look at the website and choose which one suits your needs. The cost of the complete box set is €70.

My Gentlebirth experience:

DONT WORRY!! It's ok to keep reading, I'm not going to divulge all the in's and outs of my labour. I just want to give you an overview and explain how the gentle birth program played its part in my recent birthing experience. 

So, scan back 7 years to my first childbirth experience. Nothing out of the ordinary, it was your typical first birth experience.  Waters (hind waters) broke at 1pm ish. Headed into the hospital, nothing much happening but I was brought up to the labour ward and started on a drip to get things moving as there was meconium in my waters. I vaguely remember the next 14 hours. I know at about 3-4cm I was rolling around the bed, begging my hubby to get me an epidural. Obviously swearing blind that I was never having children again.! When the epidural kicked in life was sweeeeet . . . until it wore off and the pushing started. I pushed for 2.5 hours, stirrups outs, vacuum attached and out into the world came Saian. That's it in a nut shell. When I got home, unless there was 5 cushions under me, I didn't even attempt to sit down. Ouch!

From the negative to the positive . . . 

I had heard people refer to 'alternative' methods used to relieve pain and distress during labour and honestly, thought they were mad. No epidural, are these people for real...Why would you do that to yourself? 

My friend introduced me to the gentle birth program. It started with the Irish Better Birth Book. I read this book in super quick time. It was full of stories of 'gentle', 'relaxed', 'happy', births and I didn't believe a word of it. In fact, I found them so annoying. Total bullish*t, I thought. I simply could not get my head around anyone being anyway 'relaxed; during labour.

The positives are coming, bear with me...I'm just trying to get the point across to you that I was a total non believer in this stuff. I know many of you wondering about the program are probably in the same boat.

The reason I looked into the gentle birth program was because it offered calm, and I needed calm. I was in and out of hospital in the first 3 months of the pregnancy with bleeding and my nerves were shattered. I had unfortunatly experienced a miscarriage just before this pregnancy so I was extremely on edge. My friend referred to the gentle birth cd's as her sleeping tablet and I wanted some of what she was taking!!

I bought the complete box set and without reading the book or following the instructions, I started listening to random tracks. I got myself all set up, quiet room, headphones on and lay down on the bed. The particular track I first listened to was one where you visualise yourself floating out to a boat in the distance. Things started off well until my mind started doing overtime. Before I knew it, I was wondering if the waters I was now floating in were shark infested. No joke, what was supposed to be relaxing turned out to be the opposite. I got up, put the program away and almost wrote it off. 

About 1 week later, sitting watching t.v; I picked up the manual that comes with the program and it's then that I realised, there is a listening guide. Ooops... (Listening instructions)

Ok, so let's try this again.

I started using the program at 25 weeks and following the instructions, it became my single most favourite tool in pregnancy. I was sleeping, I was chilled out, and most importantly for me, it made me believe that things could be different this time around and that I could cope with labour. I had not made a definitive decision not to ask for the epidural but I had decided that I would use the gentle birth program for as long as it worked for me. 

I felt positive and ready, going up to the labour ward...Until those double doors opened and I heard some stomach churning screams. (She obviously wasn't using the gentle birth program, ha ha). Gone was the calm exterior, I was in full blown panic. I didn't think I could make it back. I was desperately trying to come up with ways to get out of there. "See you later doc, I think I'll come back another time". We all know it doesn't work like that unfortunately, so I stuck my earphones in and blasted out some of my favourite Boyz II Men tracks. It took me almost an hour but I began feeling relaxed again. Gentle birth had taught me how to calm myself down even when not using the program itself. 

Labour in a nut shell

At 4pm my waters were broke. (ARM). No progress followed so I was induced using a drip at 6pm. I chose to stand bedside and gently rock side to side. I used earphones to block out external noises and went into my little zone. I worked my way through the now familiar tracks and once I felt like I had reached the calm hypnotic state I had hoped for, I felt comfortable to switch to other music albums. Now, I'm not suggesting that you stick on any old album. I had already planned what I would listen to. Choose something that takes you to a 'happy place'. Pour moi, that is none other than the amazing Sam Cooke, of course.

Things progressed well. At one point between contractions I was side stepping to Sam Cooke's 'Twistin the night away'. (This is around the 6-8cm mark). Reflecting back to my first labour, I assumed I had a long way to go, especially since I had not started climbing the walls yet or screaming profanities at my husband! lol Boy was I wrong, two contractions later, things changed, the intensity of the contractions revved up a gear and I knew my little one was on the way. The midwife checked and I was 8cm! I could not believe it. That alone gave me the motivation to keep going. 

The next fifteen minutes consisted of sharp contractions followed by an innate urge to bear down. The pushing down seemed to take the pain out of the contraction and give me something to focus on. I'm absolutely an advocate for the gentle birth program but I am not about to tell you that my labour was pain free. There was pain...a lot...of pain, but the difference this time was that I could manage and cope with it. For that, I am grateful that I used the program. At 10 past 9 I hit the 10cm mark and at 9:16pm my beautiful baby girl was born. I felt like I was present. That's the best way I can think to describe it. After my first labour, I would ask my husband to tell me the story of what happened, as if I wasn't even there. It was such a blur of pain and misery. This time, I had control over my body and what was happening to some degree. I felt the pushes, I felt her little body move through the birth canal and watched wide eyed as she entered the world. 

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't the proudest I've ever been of myself at that moment.

To end this enormous post!, what I would really like to get across is that I tried this program not believing it would be any help at all, only to discover it brings out the miracle within, literally. You have nothing to lose by trying it, and everything to gain!

Happy ever after

Just a few words on the recovery after birth. Following the birth of my first, I was very sore for a long time. My recovery this time around was much smoother, not only physically but mentally too. 

Have you used, or do you plan to use the gentle birth program?

Kel x