My first birth was very
traumatic, with my labour lasting more than 20 hours. I was given
epidural but it did not work. I still felt pain during the
contractions. Whenever I had contractions, I panicked, held my
breath and tensed my muscles. I went to a private hospital in Petaling Jaya. However,
I was
not even allowed to drink water although I felt thirsty. The nurse,
who was rather young and inexperienced, kept instructing me to push
continuously. I pushed with all my might for 45 minutes until I was
exhausted. My cervix was now dilated to 10 cm, but the baby would still not
come out. The doctor then said that my baby had fetal distress and I
ended up with an emergency Caesarean section. I needed
a lot of rest and could not breastfeed or bond with my baby immediately
after childbirth. By the time I wanted to breastfeed my baby on the
third day, my baby was unable to do so because the nurses had already given
my baby formula milk and my baby would not take to breastfeeding.
Due to my first
traumatic childbirth, when I got pregnant the second time around, I
sought for a better alternative for my childbirth. I did not want to
repeat my first experience. My husband and I signed up for birth
hypnosis classes with Selina Chew when I was 31 weeks pregnant. I practiced the exercises
everyday and
listened to the Birth Affirmations to condition my mind and body. I also
rehearsed my birth in my mind, by visualizing a smooth birth,
using the Birth Preparation CD. My husband and I decided to
select another hospital for the birth.
When my contractions
started, I did not panic or rush to the hospital. Instead, I tuned
inwards, focused on my breathing and followed its wavelike movements.
I visualized my perineum opening like a rose to help my cervix
dilate. The contractions were manageable because I was so relaxed. Listening to the Birth Affirmations and sitting on the birth
ball during contractions helped tremendously to keep me comfortable and
relaxed. I was very calm, relaxed and had total confidence in my
body’s abilities. I also visualized my baby coming out gently into
the world. I reached the hospital when my contractions were 5 minutes
apart. ln a very short time, I was fully dilated and the baby was crowning.
To the amazement of the
medical staff, I still managed to walk around, watch television and
joke with my husband. This time, I was allowed to drink water. My
total length of labour was only 2 hours, and my active labour lasted
only 1 hour. My baby came out after 3 surges at 6.45 pm weighing 2.79
kg. My baby was very calm and only cried a little upon birth. The nurse
wiped the baby and passed the baby to me immediately after the birth
for bonding. The baby immediately latched on and started nursing. I
felt energetic and empowered after giving birth. I can clearly see the difference in both
my children. My second
baby is very different in temperament from my first child. He
breastfeeds easily, is not fussy, easily contented and cries less,
compared to my first child. I am ecstatic that I had achieved the
birth that I wanted.
