18 June 2014

First true Isle of Wight hypno-baby born 

 

Rufus Ronald Ballingall, born 19 May at 8lb 14oz is the first true Isle of Wight hypnobirthing baby. He was not only born at St Mary's hospital in Newport, but his parents learnt their hypnobirthing skills on the island too; the first couple to ever do so, with island based instructor, Helen Wheller from Birth Wight.

 

New mummy, Emma Porter and daddy, Stuart Ballingall, attended private hypnobirthing classes with Birth Wight in March 2014. Emma said: "I was looking forward to giving birth this time but The Wise Hippo Birthing Programme made me more excited and confident in my body's innate ability. The relaxation practice was blissful and useful in other areas of life too."

 

Emma had been advised to consider hypnobirthing as an option to help her achieve her desired VBAC [vaginal birth after caesarean], due to a medical concern that would not allow her body to undertake a drawn out, stressful or sustained period of 'pushing'. She had already purchased a textbook and CD to teach herself at home, when she spotted a message on Facebook advertising impending classes from Birth Wight. Having contacted Helen about it, Emma and Stuart became the 'case study' that enabled Helen to achieve full accreditation to teach the programme.

 

''It was like fate,'' says Helen. ''I needed a case study couple to teach, and Emma and Stu needed to learn. It all fell very nicely into place; I'm so glad we met when we did, because now we have a perfect hypno-baby, delivered in a calm, gentle manner befitting the dreams that Emma and Stuart had.'' Emma added: ''It has been a pleasure to be taught The Wise Hippo Birthing Programme by Helen and we feel very fortunate that she came along at just the right time for us!''

 

Emma breathed her baby out using the techniques she learnt during her classes, with a little added impetus due to some medical time constraints imposed upon her; only some added pressure rather than forced 'pushing' involved. This meant that she achieved the birth that she had envisaged, albeit with a number of unexpected obstacles along the way.

 

At 41 weeks due to reduced baby movements and higher than preferable blood pressure, Emma and Stuart visited St Mary's where they were advised to consider induction. Having asked the right questions to ascertain the medical need for intervention, the couple decided that this was the right path for them and their baby. Even with the intervention, which they had not planned for or foreseen, Emma said: ''The experience went from something completely unexpected and looking like I could cross off almost everything on my birth plan, to the most empowering, wonderful experience ever! The skills that I learnt helped me to remain completely calm throughout my labour, even though I'd never experienced one before, and our birth took a few turns along the way. Stuart and I both felt ready to birth. We had no fear, and had been looking forward to the birth for weeks. Four weeks on and people still comment on what a contented and calm baby Rufus is.''

 

Of the birth, Stuart said: "We knew we wanted to have as natural a birth as possible, but due to the factors involved in Emma having had a caesarean with our first son, we knew there was a chance that it wouldn't happen as we had hoped. We did have to make some changes from our 'ideal' delivery, but I think The Wise Hippo Birthing Programme gave us the confidence to stay calm, ask the right questions and to know the changes were happening for the right reasons, and not just because that was the way the labour ward handled every 'potentially difficult' delivery.

"You build up preconceived ideas about how labour is going to be from watching all these TV programmes and they obviously go for the shock factor, but I was amazed at how calm Emma was throughout the whole day. She had been given a time limit to the active labour stage so it was really important she was as relaxed and focused as possible. In the end Emma and Rufus were so relaxed, the doctor allowed us to extend the active labour stage as they knew we wanted to avoid intervention unless it was absolutely necessary. I think the relaxation techniques we were taught really enabled her to get to that point and still have energy and determination to bring our little one into the world without any intervention.

"When he finally arrived, Rufus was a lovely pink colour, really alert and was feeding quickly. I'm so proud of Emma, neither of our sons births went exactly as we had wished for, but I think that the fact that Emma managed to give birth naturally the second time around has made up for some of the distress that we went through with our first son; and Helen at Birth Wight definitely played a big part in making that happen.
 
"St Mary's has a really good record of VBACs and we found all the doctors and midwives really supportive of the fact we had been studying hypnobirthing. I would definitely recommend hypnobirthing to anyone that has anxieties about giving birth or is expecting complications during labour, as it really helped Emma and me. In fact I hope one day it becomes a standard part of the prenatal classes delivered by the NHS, as I think anyone who is pregnant can benefit from it. Also, importantly from a fathers perspective, it let me feel that I was a part of the day, and not a just helpless bystander!"
 

''A positive birth experience can fill you with joy for many years to come, '' added Helen. ''I can still very clearly remember the exhilaration and pride from my own births. However, I also know from friends, that a bad experience can be very damaging to a woman, and that too, can last for a long time. I want to help women to hold onto a memory of a positive arrival of their new baby, to cherish for a lifetime. I couldn't be prouder of Emma and Stuart for how they handled the unexpected nature of their labour and birth, and the fabulous attitude they've maintained throughout. And their son is just the cutest baby.''

 

Birth Wight group classes operate in Freshwater and Wootton on a monthly basis, from the first week of the month, from 7.30-10pm. Private and fast track [post 36-weeks of pregnancy] classes are also available. The four week course is a complete antenatal programme, which includes hypnobirthing skills and techniques that cover; physiology of birth, the background to hypnotherapy and hypnosis, the birth partner's role and preparation for birth, including hypnosis sessions, practical information and skills that can be used in every day life.

 

Couples not only receive the taught classes, but also six MP3s to support their practice at home, a workbook with all the course content and more, as well as support and guidance from Birth Wight leading up to their birth-day.

 

More information is available on the Birth Wight website, www.birthwight.co.uk or by emailing contactus@birthwight.co.uk. Alternatively, please call Helen Wheller on 07793 544565 to find out more. 

 

ENDS