Toronto HypnoBirthing News

Toronto, ON June 2008

Toronto
HypnoBirthing News

published by Jennifer Elliott, HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator
www.lifesjourney.ca 416-462-1938

HYPNOBIRTHING CELEBRATION
held May 4

We had a well attended gathering of HypnoBirthing parents, babies, parents-to-be and a few doulas on Sunday May 4 in the Withrow Park Clubhouse.

There were two babies less than 2 weeks old, there were families attending their third and fourth gathering, walking babies, and babies in carriers and strollers.

There were expectant parents who had recently finished or were currently taking HypnoBirthing classes, those waiting for theirs to begin, and some considering enrolling.

Following the sharing of stories in a formal fashion the room broke into smaller groups as classmates reunited and introduced their babies. Expectant parents had more personal discussions with new parents. And a few of us even had a demonstration of an Elimination Communication technique or going "diaper free" from a couple committed to paying attention to their baby's cues and using fewer diapers!

Many thanks to all the parents who shared their HypnoBirthing stories and
introduced their babies. It is you who are a testament to the powerful philosophy and techniques of HypnoBirthing.
The parents who come after you are grateful for your inspiration!

I look forward to seeing many of you and many more parents in the fall at our next event.

2008 HypnoBirthing Stats

births: 31

unmedicated:22

home births: 14

Congratulations to all!

Please send in your

Birth Reports so that your birth is included in these stats!

And remember to
announce your births
to your classmates.

They are waiting to hear your news!

Toronto HypnoBirthing News would like to
share your birth story. Please send it to jen.elliott@rogers.com

Acupressure for Birth
Workshop

Presented by
Acupuncturist
Dawn Aarons,
BA DAC, OAATCM

Monday July 21st 6-8:30pm

Midwife Alliance Clinic
27 Roncesvalles, Suite 301 (just north of Queen)

Cost: $45 per couple
Pre-registration required

Learn and practise acupressure points and techniques that have been used very successfully in labour. Couples will have time to practice point locations, massage techniques and ask questions. Dawn Aarons, once office manager and prenatal instructor at Midwife Alliance, works as an acupuncturist with pregnant women and has studied with Debra Betts. Many couples have found this material both inspirational and useful in labour.

For more information or to register:
647-209-8259
dawn@dawnaarons.com
www.dawnaarons.com

Next 5 week series begin:

Thurs Aug. 7
Tues. Aug 12
Mon. Sept. 8

Thurs Spet. 18

Learn more:

www.lifesjourney.ca

Having another baby?

Take your second HypnoBirthing class for half price! Attend as many classes as you like!

A HypnoBirthing� Support Techniques
For Doulas
workshop held

Sat. May 31

I taught this one day workshop in Toronto. Doulas received the information and tools enthusiastically and several doulas have asked when the next one will be. (Probably in the fall.)

There are now 8 more doulas familiar with the HypnoBirthing philosophy and techniques, making a total of 16, in the Toronto area.

Please contact me for names if you would like to interview a doula familiar with the HypnoBirthing philosophy and techniques.

HYPNOSIS HELPS!

CDs and
Private hypnosis sessions to
enhance fertility

cope with medical conditions,
connect with baby,
turn a breech baby,
release fears, and
let go of disappointing birth memories.

To book an appointment
contact Jennifer at 416-462-1938 or jennifer@lifesjourney.ca

Purchase a CD for yourself or a friend:

Birth with Calm and Confidence

Calm and Confidence for the New Mother

Relax and Refocus
Make the shift from
negative, stressful thinking to an optimistic outlook

Destination Graduation

a great gift for your favourite university student.

The Birth and New Mother CDs are available to purchase individually, or to purchase in bulk by doulas, childbirth educators, massage therapists, midwives, naturopaths, etc.

These CDs are written

and recorded by Certified Hypnotist Jennifer Elliott

at Zoo Music

in Toronto

Available from
www.lifesjourney.ca

Greetings!

Where there's a will, there's a wall

That's right, a wall. Let me repeat: Where there's a will, there's a wall.

I love this phrase for its contrariness. It questions the more common saying: Where there's a will, there's a way.

Giuditta Tornetta, hypnotist, doula and author, writes insightfully about this phrase in her new book, Painless Childbirth in the chapter titled, 'The Right to Act.' She credits the phrase to Reverend Michael Beckwith, leader of a spiritual centre in California and made famous in the motivational movie The Secret.

Tornetta describes the concept this way. "If I, or a client, stand firm in our will to have a certain outcome during the birth, a wall gets thrown up. Whether it comes from the nurses, doctors, or even the client's unconscious, ego begets ego and resistance is usually the outcome. On the other hand, when having formed a clear vision of the birth and having set our intentions, we enter the birth setting with love in our hearts and the willingness to be open and receptive, the outcome is a natural childbirth."

Think about 'will' for a moment. What comes to mind? Determination, inflexibility, gritted teeth, tension, force, pushing through, pushing others out of the way. Perhaps an image of the iron will of a strict father or a dictator. It implies an expectation of opposition to one's desires, even an expectation of a fight. Tension in us. Tension in others. Not the atmosphere we want in the birthing room. The possibility of a wall. An impasse.

HypnoBirthing encourages a woman not to engage in debate but rather to deeply commit to her way of birthing. And to share her plans and commitments in writing in her Birth Plan. To fully envision a calm birth. To relax, soften and welcome the sensations in her body. To go inward and follow her body. In this state there is no room to debate because she has quieted her analytical left brain. She has developed a deep trust in her body and allows nothing to distract or derail her. It is her deep conviction that her body is perfectly designed to birth that carries her through birth, not will. She is not fighting or willing it to be so. She knows that it will be so. She requires little of others. Instead she is surrendering to her body's innate wisdom. And she has no need to convince others. The work is all hers and she knows she can do it. Others will be convinced by her accomplishment.

Because she is so deeply committed no one can distract her. She is not open to unhelpful suggestions from others. She hears only what assists and supports her, turning inward for the information she needs.

Where there's a will there's a wall. Sounds like good advice for parents too. When dealing with a determined toddler or teen the least successful technique may be to be equally intransigent.

Tornetta suggests that we must let go of willing the hospital staff to be different from who they are and instead infuse the room with love and gratitude. She concludes, "It is willingness (not will) that we are after, the willingness to pour love into every situation, and then accept and welcome the perfection that comes our way. With this state of mind the universe almost always responds."

Wishing you willingness, openess and love in your upcoming birth and in your future endeavors,

Jennifer

HypnoBirthing Childbirth Educator

View past newsletters in our archives through the HypnoBirthing page of Life's Journey

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Stacey and Matt's daughter surprised them in her hurry to be born

The Birth of Madelaine

I had enjoyed a fabulous pregnancy aside from some exhaustion and aversions to certain chemical scents in my first trimester. Thanks to my chiropractic care, I couldn't relate to other women's complaints of heartburn, back pain and sciatica. I loved the way by body grew to accommodate the little being inside me and I even loved my extra curves. My husband Matt, and I live very holistically and it was a given for us that we would work with midwives and have a home birth.

I am a chiropractor and spend most of my days on my feet. I had planned on taking at least 7-10 days off for a little R&R but my daughter had different plans. My last day of work was Friday morning and as busy as they come. I woke up Saturday after a little sleep-in, feeling great and happened to notice after using the washroom that my vagina was a little more engorged than usual. I proceeded to clean the house and have a shower as my parents were coming over to take us to look at houses.

The four of us headed out and after looking at one of the homes around the corner on Roncesvalles and while standing on the driveway my membranes released! This was at 4:15pm. I felt an instant rush of energy, excitement and possibly a little anxiety as I looked down at my wet flip flops. Seeing as we thought we had several more days to get organize the apartment we were living in was not prepared.

We all zipped home and with eagerness called our midwife to let her know what was going on. I was not yet feeling anything and she said she'd contact us by 9:30pm if she hadn't heard from us. My parents were already invited to join our birth 'crew' and my mom started vacuuming as Matt slugged a mattress downstairs to be on the same floor as the bathroom. I decided to go upstairs to relax and prepare mentally for what was to come.

At 5:15pm I experienced my first surge. I was on my own and timed it. It lasted for 1 minute and was fairly intense. The next one came 5 minutes later and also lasted 1 minute. This was when I called Matt to join me. Again, 5 minutes later and lasting for 1 minute. I moved downstairs and now my dear friend Stephanie had arrived. Matt started videotaping and by 6:30pm my surges were lasting 1 � minutes and were only 3 minutes apart. Matt decided to call the midwives to make sure they were close and it turned out that they were only a couple of blocks away.

My main midwife Manavi decided to check me because of the duration and frequency of my surges. As it turned out, I was already 7-8 cm's dilated! What an awesome feeling. I next transitioned out of one outfit and into my 'birthing nighty' for the next 2 surges on my hands and knees using a ball for assistance.

Off came the 'nighty' and into the tub I went. Heavenly I must say!! Matt drizzled water over me and I just loved every minute. My midwife checked me again and now I was 9-10 cm's dilated. We all moved back to the dining room (the birthing room) and onto the birthing stool.
I must say that up until this point, I found that the entire experience was very manageable with my visualization, breathing techniques and support. By this point, my sister and aunt had joined the 'crew'. I will say that I did not like the birthing stool. I felt I should have been lying down and perhaps with the next birth I will trust even more greatly in my innate intuition and wisdom. I think that it's possible that I may not have had to push in that position. That being said, with tremendous support, gentle reminders from the midwives to make deep, low sounds, and vocal toning together (everyone was around me in a semi-circle), I ended up pushing for 30 minutes and at 9:19pm, with a full moon outside, out came our beautiful little girl.

What an intensely enriching experience for Matt and I and our loved ones. I think I was in a little shock when she was born that I was the only one not crying. Apparently my mom cried for 4 hours! I heard her sniffle from time to time but she disguised her tears. My eyes were closed for the better part of the entire experience as it helped me stay focused. At all times I was holding onto hands. Most of the time they were Matt's but throughout the evening they changed and I knew I was being supported by everyone involved.

The labour experience was everything we wanted and expected. We went into the labour confident that everything would unfold as it should. The confidence emanated from the deep belief that natural birth was as nature intended it. I did everything within my power to make sure I had the healthiest pregnancy I could. This included weekly yoga, regular walks and bike rides, excellent nutrition, monthly massages and most importantly, weekly or bi-weekly chiropractic care which I know ensured a balanced nervous system for optimal balance and expression of life.

As important as all of that was, a clear vision of what I wanted and expected was paramount. I knew that my labour would be less than 6 hours total. The HypnoBirthing helped reinforce our beliefs and helped us eliminate any lasting fears so we could focus on what we wanted. I share all of this because I believe that everyone can create the birth story of their dreams. Ten months into parenthood, we are in love, slightly sleep deprived, yet excited to use these principles while parenting and growing as a family.

Dr. Stacey Farquhar and Dr. Matt Garofolo run a chiropractic practice in the west end emphasizing care during pregnancy, beyond and for the entire family. They are both certified in the Webster Technique for assisting breech babies to turn. You can contact them at
Hands On Health Family Chiropractic
4939 Dundas St. West
Toronto, Ontario, M9A 1B6
416-237-0069
www.handsonhealthchiro.com
info@handsonhealthchiro.com

Little Zeph, Stacey and Colin's son, was in an even bigger hurry.

The Birth of Lumahai Zephyr

Our beloved son Lumahai Zephyr was born on March 6, 2008, at home, at 6:31 pm, healthy, whole, 21 inches long, weighing in at 7 pounds. That is more or less the end of the chapter, so I will take you back to the start.

March 6th started out as many other days had during this pregnancy. I woke up and did yoga and pilates, breathing down to my baby, feeling fine, but starting to feel -- as many women do at this point in the pregnancy -- antsy. I spoke to my baby, telling him how eager we were to meet him, and how much we wanted him to join us on the outside. Receiving no answer, I went about my business.

We had a ten a.m. appointment at the midwife clinic. My blood pressure was low and the baby's heart rate was perfect. Jenn (our primary midwife) said she thought the baby was 7 pounds by the feel of him. His head was low and engaged, and he was in the perfect position. As we left the clinic, Lynn (the reception-goddess) said: "I can tell by your eyes that you are having your baby today."

Just in case Lynn was right, I thought it wise to get some things done, like bread baking and house cleaning.

At about 3:30 pm, I was pretty sure I had started having surges. I called Colin up from his office, and the two of us lay down on the bed, timing surges. They were 4, 5, or 6 minutes apart, lasting a minute or two. After about an hour of this, I paged Sarilyn (our secondary midwife) who told me that I should call her back if things got interesting. As soon as I hung up the phone, I felt a *pop* inside me. I knew instinctively that my membranes had just released. I felt at that moment a lessening of the tremendous pressure that had been building in my lower back, and an incredible increase in the intensity of the surges. Suddenly the surges were too strong to do anything but focus on my breathing. I breathed up, expanding my balloon, while my husband phoned back Sarilyn.

Jenn and Sarilyn arrived - early, we thought - to begin administering IV antibiotics as I had tested positive for Group B Strep. My mother and sister had both had relatively short first labours - 7 hours for my mother, 5 hours for my sister - so we had all agreed it might be wise to start the IV early just in case my labour was also on the short side. When she checked me at 5:30, Jenn found that I was 3 centimeters dilated. I remember that I was lying on my left side, that I wanted to get up and empty my bladder, but the surges were intense enough that I couldn't do anything but expand my balloon. The interval between surges seemed too short to accomplish anything else.

After about 20 minutes, my body started spontaneously to try to move my baby out, and I heard strange animal sounds that could only have been coming from me. My instincts told me to continue expanding my balloon, breathing breathing breathing, keeping my body as relaxed as possible. It was probably 10 minutes later that the intensity of my body's urges to bring our baby out into the world were overwhelming and undeniable. I managed to find enough seconds between surges that I could make it into the other room to tell the midwives. Upon seeing me, Jenn smiled and said "Look who's up!" I responded with something like: "I think the baby's coming". It had been about 30 minutes since they had pronounced me '3 centimetres', so you can imagine this was not what they had expected me to say.

Jenn checked and found that not only was I completely dilated, the baby was in the right position to be urged out of his nest. Jenn wanted to monitor his heart rate through a few surges before I started to breathe our baby down.

The interval between surges decreased to about 10 seconds and the baby's heart rate no longer recovered to the normal range. "The baby doesn't like that position", Jenn said. She'd had me lie on my back so she could monitor his heart rate before breathing him down. She had me lie on my side, but his heart rate stayed at 90, regardless of the changes I made.

Jenn's expression changed from relaxed to serious, and her tone became very firm. "I'm sorry, but you're going to have to push. We have to get that baby out now." She handed Colin her cell phone and told him to call 911, and tell them we had a baby in distress.

I began to push, and in the presence of EMTs, firefighters, 3 midwives, and my husband, our son came into the world. Fortunately he wasn't in need of resuscitation. As soon as he emerged, his heart rate recovered, and he was able to cry and breathe. And then Colin and I held him, and we wept too. Our son was born.

It was a far cry from the serene scene I had longed for. I had hoped for a 24-hour labour and a 2-hour birth. Such was not in the cards. What I had taken away from the hypnobirthing practice we had doggedly engaged in in the months leading up to the birth was the necessity of letting go. I feel that in the true spirit of hypnobirthing, I had managed to do that.

It wasn't the birth we had imagined, but in the end we were extremely grateful for all the variables that came into play. There is no way we could have anticipated such a precipitous labour and birth - a 20 minute active labour, and 20 minute birth -- but everything we had set into motion made the difference between emergency and calamity. Although I had originally bemoaned my GBS positive status, I am grateful for it now, because the midwives wouldn't have been there in time otherwise. I am grateful we had planned a homebirth, or else we would have been there all alone, because we wouldn't have had time to get to the hospital before the birth. I am grateful we had chosen midwives, because the single-minded attention we got from them made all the difference. I am glad we practiced hypnobirthing - Jenn said that she believes my state of relaxation prevented our son from going into distress sooner. And I am fortunate I had practiced yoga and pilates every day of the pregnancy, because it meant that I was strong enough to push our son out into the world quickly enough. All the variables meant that our son was born in perfect health, and for that we are truly grateful.