Giving birth in your bathroom can be a great adventure no matter what you may think! You just have to be prepared like Marie-André, whose story we tell you.
I made the pleasant acquaintance of Marie-Andrée Major, mother of two beautiful children and resident of Vaudreuil-Dorion. Accompanied by my little flower Marguerite, Marie-Andrée welcomed me into a calm and warm house to share her beautiful story with me.
Choosing hypnosis to prepare for childbirth
After hearing horror stories around her and on TV shows, Marie-Andrée found it very important not to lose control during childbirth. She was afraid of giving birth… So Marie-Andrée did some research and made the wonderful discovery of Hypno-vie. She thought it was a good way to keep calm during childbirth and avoid panic and despair. She wanted to welcome her baby calmly and lovingly. Her partner, Patrice, suggested that she try it since she had nothing to lose and everything to gain, so she would have one more tool to manage her pain on D-Day. So they decided to follow Hypno-life lessons with NathalieSéguin, owner of Maman Zen. Classes are very intimate and are given in the presence of the spouse, if he wishes.
What is the Hypno-life method?
Hypno-life is mental reprogramming. We train our brain to enter a state of hypnosis quickly, to be completely calm and relaxed. After each class, we have to listen to the CD five times before the next class and our body stores the programming even when we fall asleep during listening. Hypnosis is a way to relax, to get in touch with your body and therefore to secrete as many endorphins as possible to remain zen and in control during childbirth, while keeping adrenaline at its lowest level..
The goal of Hypno-vie is to go through contractions by entering a state of hypnosis. With each contraction, we enter a bubble to come out at the same time as this one. So between each contraction, we are conscious and we can exchange with the people present. The future mother is very aware of what is happening around her, but she is in her bubble. Every evening, Marie-Andrée listened to her record and did her relaxations in her bed before falling asleep. It had even become a need to find this state of well-being and calm.
First delivery in hospital
She must have been induced in her first delivery. The nurse assisting him was experiencing Hypno-life for the first time. Hypnosis helped her stay calm between contractions and get into a state ofserenity. Her lover was the guardian of her zenitude. He made sure that the atmosphere remained calm, that Hypno-vie music played in the background and that the nurses respected her bubble and waited for her to ask for the epidural instead of offering it to him, without insisting either. Marie-Andrée wanted to stay in her bubble to keep all her positive energy for the push. She gave birth to a beautiful, he althy baby, Laurent. She was satisfied with her delivery despite the use of forceps and a major episiotomy.
She followed up on her second pregnancy at Anna-Laberge Hospital in Châteauguay with Dre Nathalie Fiset, who is the instigator of the Hypno-vie program. She loved her obstetrician because she didn't feel rushed. She is a human woman filled with warmth. “She is an extraordinary woman! She also advised me to listen to my body and not the nurses,” Marie-Andrée told me. She was happy, because she was going to give birth with confidence! Myself a mother of five beautiful girls, I must admit that I always experienced a little anxiety each time, because it hurts to give birth! I must point out, however, that I have never done the Hypno-life training.
The story of a surprise birth
On March 30, 2014, Marie-Andrée and her spouse were hosting friends for dinner. At around 10:00 p.m., the tour left and the house became calm.
But at 10:40 p.m. the contractions started suddenly! Marie-Andrée then got up to goin the living room. Despite the goodwill of her husband who wanted to stay with her, she asked him to go back to bed in case it was false contractions. Marie-Andrée lay down on the sofa and played Zen music. It is important to note that if listening to Hypno-vie discs is done seriously during the training, afterwards we can put any calm music and our brain is able to bring the body and the mind in instant meditation.
Keeping calm during contractions
In the house, soft music was playing in the background, the lights were dimmed and Marie-Andrée was meditating while enjoying the silence of the house. The contractions were regular, every 6 minutes, but Marie-Andrée remained calm thanks to the teachings of Hypno-vie. After two hours of contractions every 6 minutes, she decided to go take a bath to make sure they weren't false contractions. So close to giving birth, she didn't want to spend a sleepless night for nothing! After each contraction, she wanted to have a bowel movement, so she went back and forth between the bath and the toilet.
She finally decided to wake her husband, who was sleeping on one ear, to call the hospital to inform them that she had been having regular contractions for two hours now. The nurse told her to call back in 45 minutes and get back into the bath. If she had listened to the advice of her obstetrician, shewould have listened to her body and she would have left for the hospital. But that evening, Marie-Andrée and Patrice listened to the nurse's advice and decided to wait. Anyway, Marie-Andrée felt in control and serene. Patrice phoned his mother-in-law, Lucie, to tell her that her daughter would be giving birth soon. Lucie hastened to come and take care of the oldest, Laurent, who was 2 years old.
Proof that the birth was near
When Marie-Andrée turned on the lights to quietly get her things ready, she saw that there was a lot of blood in the toilet. She hadn't flushed the toilet every time so as not to wake Laurent when she was shuttling between the bathroom and the living room. When she stood up to supposedly have a bowel movement, it was actually her contractions that were pumping blood out, and that's why she felt that strong urge.
When his lover called the nurse back to tell him that his wife was bleeding, the nurse reassured him that it was normal. But when he added that Marie-Andrée had strong urges to evacuate, the nurse asked them to come to the hospital right away. Marie-Andrée, who continued to apply the Hypno-life technique, felt no sense of urgency, stress or anxiety. Then, a few minutes later, those waters burst!
She got out of the bath with the intention of getting dressed, but she finally sat on the toilet. She was very aware of what was happening.was happening, but she was in her bubble, in a rapid and deep state of relaxation during her contractions. As soon as a contraction occurred, she went back into her bubble.
Quickly, she came to the conclusion that they would not have time to go to Châteauguay, so she asked Patrice to call the maternity ward to direct them elsewhere. The moment he got the line, she said to him in a soft but commanding voice: Pat, it's growing!
The Arrival of Elizabeth
When Patrice arrived in the bathroom, he indeed saw the baby's head. He therefore asked her to get up so that the baby did not fall into the bowl and so that he could catch it. Patrice listened carefully to his wife's requests and needs. They were and still are confident accomplices!
While Marie-Andrée's mother called 911 and Patrice was on the line with the hospital, the atmosphere remained calm since there was no distress or panic. Marie-Andrée was not experiencing anxiety, she was just excited at the idea of giving birth to her little sweetheart, Élisabeth.
On the phone, the nurse had suggested that they lay Marie-Andrée on the floor, but the mother-to-be wanted to remain standing with one leg on the toilet. And after a serious and deep ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, her lover had her beautiful little Elisabeth in her arms!
The only cry she uttered sounded like OM chants, an animal cry of strength and not of pain.
To themarrival, the paramedics were surprised by the serenity that reigned in the house!
On April 1, 2014, Elisabeth was born in her parents' bathroom!
Marie-Andrée believes that if she hadn't done the Hypno-vie training, the birth would have gone differently. She owes her calm, her confidence, her strength and her serenity to the mental reprogramming of hypnosis.
A note from Nathalie Séguin
“I've had the pleasure and privilege to see many babies come into the world, to see couples working in different ways, to see moms find incalculable strength, to see all kinds of ways to manage this beautiful day that will remain engraved in your memory all your life. I say it, it is truly a privilege for me when you make a small place for me with you during this day, but what impresses me even more is to see how the preparation for birth by the hypnosis has a positive influence on this day. As a doctor once told me right after a birth: you have to see it to believe it! »
For more information on the Hypno-Vie program and to know the next training dates, consult its website.
Nathalie Séguin is a birth companion, Hypno-Vie trainer, IBLC lactation consultant, gives birth preparation workshops and a prenatal and mom/baby yoga teacher.
