Wai Hun's Wonderful HypnoBirthing Story!

by Wai Hun (HypnoBirthing Practitioner)
(Malaysia)

I gave birth to my daughter (#3) last wed (24 Feb, 2010). At 9:15pm, at home, in the toilet, the same venue where I gave birth to my son (#2). This was my 2nd unassisted birth because there's no independent midwife practising in Malaysia. Also, because I'm kind of addicted to receiving my own baby :P

Before this birth, I had some doubts. I wonder if my son's unassisted homebirth was pure luck. I checked out Laura Shanley's website Unassisted Childbirth & it seems that she got 'lucky' 4 times! Trish (Patricia Cumming, HBCE) said, "don't think of it as luck, think of it as your body's normal function."

I had the show on 24 Feb morning, with barely noticeable surges. Gave consultation to a pregnant mum in the afternoon, and finally settled down for birthing at 7pm. This was the 1st time I laboured during 'normal' hours (my previous 2 births were at midnight, which I preferred) because I wanted my husband and children to welcome baby. It was more distracting but Marie Mongan's Rainbow was a saver.

Around 8:22pm, I started to have the urge to bear down. I found it quite unbelievable to feel it so soon. After a few very frequent surges, I decided to try toilet sitting for comfort. When I sat there, I felt something bulging & quickly got on fours on the floor. The surges took a pause. When they came back, I was ready. Just when I felt the head on the perineum, I stilled myself & just sensed baby's soft warm body passing thru... I didn't feel the membrane release but my hubby said he heard dripping sound.

I reached down with 1 hand but not sure which part of baby I caught :P I think half of her landed on the floor, which caused her to protest a little. When I scoped her up with both hands, the 1st thing I saw was her lovely face half covered with membrane & the cord beautifully wrapped around her neck. No crying. She opened her eyes and looked at her siblings who were excitedly asking 1001 questions.

The placenta came 1 hour 45 mins later. I breastfed baby, changed positions but nothing seemed to work. Getting bored waiting in the toilet which was starting to get stuffy, I finally asked baby for help. She suddenly went still & silent, staring at me... and slowly, I could feel the placenta coming out... I should have asked earlier & saved all the sweating.

The birth was fast (2+hours) & easy. Baby was 3.25kg. Hubby didn't capture any video and didn't even ask the children to witness the birth (arghhh!!!) even though I have called out for him. If there's a next time, I'll change birth companion.

We did lotus birth. The cord and placenta were 'marinated' with rosemary powder. The cord finally detached itself last night, 5 days after birth. Now I'm not quite sure what to do with the placenta... not sure if I should continue drying it or just bury it... The placenta is still damp, coated with rosemary powder. If anyone has suggestions, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you once again to Marie Mongan. HypnoBirthing is life-changing.

Wai Han

Malaysia
www.hypnobirthing.com.my