“I wanted to arm myself with evidence based information and resources to set myself up for a positive birth. My intention to have a VBAC made education especially important.”

It was such a pleasure supporting Hannah during her third pregnancy. I was lucky to meet Hannah firstly for some Acuneedling, and then have both Hannah and her partner Adrian in my Birth Skills class. It’s a beautiful way to provide continuity of care in a different way, and I just loved the way Hannah really did everything she could to ensure she was in the most prepared position for a successful VBAC and supported postpartum.

There’s something about women going through their second or third pregnancies that allows them to really see perhaps where the gaps were first time around and how they can make their experience different the next time.

Hannah - it was such a pleasure and I feel very lucky to have been able to support you.

I hope you all enjoy reading her story and thank you Hannah for allowing me to share it. X

Story by Hannah:

The birth of Maeve

“I just wanted to get in touch to thank you for the incredible care and education that you provided to me during my pregnancy and postpartum.

After experiencing a previous traumatic forceps birth followed by a planned caesarean (that I didn't really want but knew would be the best decision for my mental health at the time) I knew I wanted the birth of my third child to be different.

I wanted to arm myself with evidence based information and resources to set myself up for a positive birth. My intention to have a VBAC made education especially important, and thanks to your birth skills workshop, podcasts, posts and online resources I took away lots of helpful tips and was filled with confidence that I could achieve the birth that I wanted.

The OMP stretches also gave me something positive and nourishing that I could do each day to work towards my goal.

Your warm and engaging personality made the workshop such a joy to attend and we took away so many ideas for our labour toolkit. You have been so generous with your time and knowledge - always happy to help and offer support.

The other thing I wanted to do for myself was prioritise self-care with nurturing and calming experiences and your acuneedling treatments were perfect.

I felt so deeply cared for during these treatments. It was a beautiful time to chat about birth and the chaos of parenting! And most importantly, time to relax and be still, all while gently treating some pregnancy complaints or assisting with birth prep.

As I waited for my baby and body to be ready to birth - your reassurance during that time was so valuable.

My labour (finally!) started spontaneously at 41+1 and I laboured at home until labour was well established. Once active labour started I found myself drawn to the floor - on all fours and leaning over the gym ball.

Once at hospital, my contractions were a bit stop/start and I had strong back pain. I just couldn't get comfortable so I kept changing position to try to find what would work to bring my bub down.

I used the shower and lots of forward leaning positions to work through contractions and all the time I had the pelvis opening tips from your workshop in my mind.

Finally I found that asymmetrical positions produced really effective contractions for me and before I knew it I was pushing involuntarily and my baby was crowning!

Two more contractions and our beautiful 4.2kg girl was born! She came out forehead first, which explained the inconsistent contractions - but I birthed her without assistance using positioning and techniques that we learnt in your workshop.

Your workshop was such an important investment towards a positive birth - it gave us the confidence, knowledge and trust that my body and my baby would know what to do in birth.

And that birth does not need to be scary. Lauretta, you have contributed so much to a truly beautiful birth, and for that we are so thankful.”

Hannah and Adrian

Thanks Hannah for sharing your story.

Much love -

*Information shared is of a general nature only and is not medical advice — please see your own care provider for specific and individualised information and advice. All personal strories & photos are shared with permission.

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