ASHLEY'S BIRTH

My husband and I went to Treese Morford-DeBoer for our HypnoBirthing classes. We used it during my pregnancy with our first (and only) child, Elizabeth. The classes were very informational and helped relieve a lot of worry that was normally associated with labor and delivery. We did one-on-one classes and found it very easy to communicate and relax during class.  Labor and delivery was very quick and what I 

ellie newbornwould consider easy compared to what we went in expecting. The classes helped keep me calm and relaxed during contractions and during the delivery of our daughter. We were able to keep with our plan to have a natural delivery and had a beautiful healthy8lb 13oz baby girl.  I was induced at about 9:00 am and delivered around 9:30 pm. Numerous times the nurses had to come in and adjust our Pitocin drip because my contractions were stronger than they should be but due to our classes and my ability to keep calm and relaxed I didn’t notice any contractions until about 7:00pm when it was time to deliver baby. The class expectations were very true to what I experienced during my labor and delivery. If we have any more children hypnobirthing will be our go to class again.

Ashley Lauing, CCA, CRT

JESSICA'S BIRTH
My husband and I used HypnoBirthing for our third child Tanner. We couldn't have been happier with our experience. Our son came into this world the way we wanted him to, and I had complete control over my birthing process. Rainbow relaxation, an aspect of hypnobirthing, allowed me to channel my body's awareness and work together with my son to give birth. I had never felt more connected to him or myself than when I took those three final deep breaths and saw him for the first time. I wept tears of joy to know that I was able to bring a child into this world without epidurals, pitocin, or the words "pain" and "contractions." My birth was positive physically and spiritually and was a life changing experience for my husband and I. We are currently expecting our fourth child and I am thrilled to relive this enlightening and enriching experience again. Thank you again Treese for exposing us to a beautiful and memorable birthing experience, and for making me feel empowered during one of the most special moments of our lives.
Jessica Koupal, RN

CHRISTINA’S BIRTH STORY

I have been fortunate to give birth to two beautiful little girls in my life. When I was pregnant with my first, I met another woman who told me about hypnobirthing and her wonderful birth experience while utilizing techniques taught at Treese’s class.  So, my husband and I decided to attend Treese’s hypnobirthing class. The techniques we learned helped so much while birthing both of our daughters.

My first delivery was a natural birth in a hospital setting.  I listened to Rainbow Relaxation frequently, while working through Treese’s materials, which both helped me to stay calm through my labor.  I found it difficult to fully relax while being in the hospital, l with the frequent visits from the nurses, the continual false alarm beeping from the fetal monitor every time I moved, and because of the nurses yelling for me to “push” during my delivery.  Despite this, with help from what I had learned, I focused on my breath and listened for guidance from my amazing midwife, as well as the main nurse who acted as a doula, and brought our first little girl into our world.

For the second birth I was determined to stay as relaxed as possible to have an overall calmer experience.  So, I reread the hypnobirthing book, reviewed the materials, again semi-regularly listed to the provided CD, and instead arranged for a home birth.   I started to have irregular contractions a few days before my daughter came. They occurred for 2 days off and on until the third day where they stayed consistent. My parents had flown in from Chicago during one of these days when I was convinced she was coming, however, the contractions soon stopped. With my parents being in our presence, I was determined to get my labor going on the third day when the contractions started again.

To help this along, I went and walked a steep road I now call “Labor Hill Road” time over and again. This process jumpstarted my labor. We went to our final midwife appointment, went to the store, and then came home.  My husband and I were starting to get very excited. Our 2-year-old daughter began to have her 3rd fever of her life, but I was lucky enough to have my mom and husband to be able to care for her while I focused on breathing and staying relaxed. Around 3 am my contractions became even more frequent and intense, occurring every 4-6 minutes lasting around 1 minute long, so the midwives came to our house. Upon arrival, they assessed my cervix and I was 5cm dilated.  It was still dark out, so we turned on dim lights and all sat around the living room and talked. During each surge, I would get into quadruped or if standing put my hands on my knees and my midwife or husband would rub my back to help distract me from any discomfort.

I finally started to occasionally get the urge to push, so my midwife suggested to me to get into the birthing pool if I felt ready. Once in the pool at least 50% of the discomfort went away.  I was able to relax so much that my body started to further open.  I intently focused on my breath and my body started to naturally contract and push the baby out without me having to actually push at all. Within 5 minutes of getting into the water, our 2nd daughter, came into the world at 7:28am.

Both births were wonderful, but the home births calming environment, my knowledge of labor from being a second time mom, and the wisdom HypnoBirthing provided me, made my second labor especially amazing.

-Christina M.

DANIELLE'S BIRTH STORY

On March 29th I had worked an entire nursing shift and was just finishing up for the day when my membranes released right in the middle of the PACU. My obstetrician gave me instructions to go directly to the labor and delivery department if that were to happen, but I wanted to finish up my work duties, as I knew it would be 3 months before I would return to them! Surges had not started yet. I called Zack and he excitedly started driving towards Rapid City (in near blizzard conditions) to meet me at the hospital. I had to remind him to take it slow and not to worry, as nothing had really started to progress as far as surges. I remember feeling excited and nervous. I had been listening to hypnobirthing affirmations for many weeks leading up to this moment and remember going through my favorite ones in my head. The OB on call wanted to start me on pitocen right away. Recalling what I had learned in our classes, I knew that it was not entirely necessary to start it right away. I wanted as natural of a birthing experience as possible, with the safety of my child and myself in mind. Since the baby was in no distress whatsoever,  I was able to persuade them to allow me at least 12 hours for the birthing to begin spontaneously.  Seemed like a good compromise. I was confident in my body's ability to birth life without pharmaceutical assistance. Throughout the evening Zack and I enjoyed a nice dinner, I did some bouncing on the therapy ball, and moved around our room freely trying to get things started. I decided to lay down and allow my body the much needed rest that it would required before the amazing miracle it was about to perform. I put on headphones and listened to the rainbow relaxation and other guided meditation throughout the night. I felt completely relaxed and confident. Around 3am surges started. They were gentle but regular and consistent. I thought to myself,  this is it! My body is doing it! All was going beautifully according to plan! When the nurse came in at 5 and told me it was time to start the pitocen now, my heart sank. Wasn't my body doing what it was designed to do? Couldn't I have a few more hours? She explained the increases risk of uterine infections since my membranes had released so long ago, and the increasing distress that the baby was beginning to show. The last thing I wanted was to have my baby require a NICU stay. In the end, I agreed but requested that it be started at the very minimum dose possible. This moment broke my confidence somewhat. Looking back I would have fought harder for them to respect my wishes, but I recall one affirmation that helped me to cope with the change of plan. "I'm prepared to meet whatever turn my birthing takes." I reminded myself to keep calm and relaxed. Zack was by my side advocating for me every step of the way. When I needed someone to lean on (literally and figuratively) he was my sturdy place. I remembered my breathing and met each wave with my breath, visualizing the baby working her way down with each surge. The next several hours of the birthing process could be described as nothing less than an out-of-body experience for me. I recall feeling the waves and surges, breathing them down, and relishing the periods of rest in between. When the birthing was nearly complete I focused on surge breathing, which went on for maybe 4 or 5 cycles. When it was over, I received the baby in my arms on my bare chest. She was bright eyed and beautiful. Any discomfort I had felt suddenly was gone and forgotten. She was perfectly healthy and I experienced minimal tearing or trauma to my perineum, which I attribute completely to hypnobirthing techniques and working with my body rather than against it during the surges (no purple pushes, haha). I can't thank you enough for the techniques learned throughout the classes and for helping me understand and feel confident in my ability to birth naturally.
With love,
Dani, Zack and Charli