This week we have not one, but two positive induction stories from Michelle, this is a great podcast for tips for birth partners and making a decision about getting induced. You can listen below or find it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Michelle is now a hypnobirthing teacher too, you can find her website here: https://www.michellerensler.co.uk/
Transcript
And this episode, I’m joined by Michelle, who she two positive induction stories with us, both in England. I really loved hearing about Michelle’s experiences, how hypnobirthing helped. And she also shares lots of tips, including how breath partners can help out and making the decision when to be induced, which is always a popular topic. So get us confused. You can and enjoy You are listening to the positive induction podcast,
a podcast for those who have chosen to have an induction or for those interested and how they can make induction a more positive experience. I’m your host, Jade Gordon clinical hypnotherapist hypnobirthing teacher, and positive adduction coach. As always, I want to remind you positive birth. It means different things to different people. It might be feeling empowered, respected, and control and formed.
It does not mean perfect. My aim here is to bring you tips, inspiration and real life experiences. So let’s get started. I’m excited to welcome Michelle today. Partly I guess like two for one today, because Michelle has two positive induction studies. She she’s quite exciting. Tell us how long ago were your induction as Michelle? Hi, so my inductions were 10 years ago or nine years ago.
It’s almost 11. Isn’t it? Holly’s 10 now. And Sophie’s nine. So I did, I always have to add like about a tablet. Oh, wait. It’s quite, Yeah. You’ve said to me that these are both positive inductions, just as a quick overview, as it stands out for you, when you think back to that team that made those positive.
I think it was definitely using the hypnobirthing techniques. I train, I did hypnobirthing with me Scotland. Yes. And we did the Murray Morgan method and it was definitely being able to relax myself and being present in the moment really important for me. They were the kind of takeaways from that hypnobirth in technique that really, really worked for me. And I,
and I think really worked for me in those early days of motherhood as well. Yes. It’s just so important. Yeah. I think that, that were the things that kind of were important to me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Great. So tell us which one do you want to talk about first At the beginning? Yeah. Why did you decide to have an induction then?
Was there some reason for your induction? So with both of them, I had to have inductions while I had to have inductions with sort of within conditions of each of the pregnancies. So with Holly, I had gone three days over my, what was my due date. And I, my waters broke obviously the first time everything does feel very well. It is very new.
So I fully took the advice of the hospital. My waters broke retrospectively. We realized it was my hind waters. So, so it was a check hole. Yes. Yeah. It was definitely a trickle. It wasn’t the kind of film star I went to the hospital and the hospital kind of took over really. And obviously it was the first, so I wasn’t kind of overly educated in that because I’d kind of gone down the Hypnoparenting route and hoping that everything was going to be sort of perfect and natural.
So they kept me, they kept me in retrospectively. It felt like they weren’t going to let me go home. Anyway, they started me with the pessary. They gave me sort of, I think I was there for probably about eight hours to see if anything happened naturally yes. A degree to a suite, but nothing was started. So they started off with the pessary and nothing was moving.
And again, they tried another sweep and then they brought me onto the drip and still very much nothing was happening. I ended up on quite a high dose of the drip to get labor going. And I was in labor with Holly for about 37 hours, had a few changes of midwives, but I think it was the breathing techniques and the relaxation techniques and the being able to let go and let my birth partner take over was definitely,
definitely a contributed to that really positive experience with Holly. Yeah. It makes a difference. So are you in the room yourself during that time? Did you have your own room? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Even from the, yeah, from, from when I went and I think that was probably one of the reasons they encouraged me to stay in Ms.
That they had the room for me at the time. One of the always interesting memories that I have is that I had a student doctor with me and the student doctor came in. I think she came in on the sort of Wednesday morning, just, just observing to start with. And it did feel that she was very kind of like sat in the corner of the room.
I just have this image of sight in the corner of the room. And she, she finished her shift on the Wednesday, but then she came back to see me on the Thursday morning. She wasn’t working by the end. We were having a conversation around what had happened and the process and everything. And she’d never seen a hypnobirth before. So she was kind of totally at first she was quite unsure of what,
what everything was going on by the end. She, she wanted to know what was going on. And she was quite intrigued because I didn’t have any pain relief throughout that whole period of time. I was just using bassinet, which she was obviously from a medical brain was thinking, you’ve got, you’ve got this much chemical in you now you’ve got this.
Why, why are you not needing something else? Why, why are you so calm? Why are you so Say, yeah, it was a very slow process. There was, there was never any conversations around failing to progress. What, obviously those conversations didn’t happen with me that happened with my husband. Yeah. There’s never any conversations around me failing to progress or potentially,
you know, taking it any further with there was never any mention of Syrian or sort of forceps being used. Yeah. Just, just a really positive and happy experience with Holly. So you give breath in the same room then. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think I just, I just got to the, you know, I’ve been there. We’ve been,
we’ve been birth in for yeah. A long, Yeah. I just remember just having Holly laying on me. Yeah. As, as, as I was birthed in the placenta. Yeah. I just remember just being in, on sort of almost like an ecstasy feeling and that, that sort of golden hour, that time, the skin to skin that we had.
And did you eat and drink anything to labor? I mean, that’s a long time, love energy. I remember drinking. I remember I was drinking water quite a lot. Yeah. And I, I only rarely crave toast during that whole time. There was, there was kind of nothing else that I wanted to eat, but yeah. It just,
I think the hypnobirthing techniques just prepared me for that duration, that, that stuff. And it’s, it’s one of the things when I’m teaching him at, in hours, I talk about the, you know, preparing for the marathon Yes. Being in it for the long haul and preparing yourself for different ways that birth may lead you. So, yeah,
I think it’s especially important with induction. Induction can be quick, like anywhere there’s variations, but you know, you hear often if people having longer breath experiences, especially like with induction, somethings your body’s not ready and it’s taking longer to go through the processes. So yeah. I think like preparing for that, it’s really important. Like if you expect your labor,
you know, to go for your induction at night, in the morning and to have your baby by midday is harder when it gets in longer, we were, like I said, it would be here by now. So yeah, I think, yeah, that makes complete sense. Like mentally preparing for, for a longer experience and if it’s not longer than supported.
Yeah. Yeah, definitely. So after you had your first day, how did that impact you as you prepared to have your second baby? So I, I met Mia after my first birth and we did a birth debrief, which was really useful and really positive and some of the kinds of gaps that I thought I had, my husband was able to sort of fill those in and give me the bigger picture again.
So that was really useful. So if it was a total surprise baby, she wasn’t planned, I fell pregnant at three months completely against all the odds that she should have been born. I’d had a coil fitted. I was breastfeeding at the time. Yeah. I, I found out I was pregnant with Sophie when I was about, I think I was about five months pregnant.
Yeah. So yeah, complete surprise baby. But I was still in that kind of head space of relaxation was important. The breath breathwork was important. I wasn’t listening to the hypnobirthing guided meditations, but they were, that was things I’d started to sort of build into my life a little bit more. And I, I had a refresh with Mia over hypnobirthing cause obviously it wasn’t that long ago I’d done it.
So it’s all still fresh. I think one of the things I was more kind of clued upon this time is when I needed to have an induction that was some work that I did around for myself to make sure I was comfortable with that process. Cause that was one of the things in the debrief that came out with me is that hadn’t necessarily needed to have an induction at the point that the hospital had told me I’d had an injection.
And that’s true here. When you look back where you feel like it wasn’t a choice or an option, but actually it was, but you weren’t supported and understanding that. Yeah. So, so that was one of the really important things to me that I felt, not that I didn’t feel empowered in the first birth and it was positive because it was,
but I felt like I wanted to be informed and controlled be able to control that decision this time. So, yeah. So with Sophie, obviously we weren’t a hundred percent confident with the due date because we weren’t sure about the conception date. So weirdly Sophie’s due date was the same as Hollis. So they were both on the 5th of November in the preparation, as it was sort of getting towards the end.
I was quite keen to talk to my midwife about inductions and when I wanted to have an induction and the way it works well, the way it works when I had the girls 2011, 2012, and the community midwives in Nottingham didn’t work at the hospital. Okay. So I had the same community midwife in the vulnerable to birth, both girls and the hope was that we were going to have home births with both of them.
And then the community midwife would have come out and support me with that, which she was really excited about. She was, she was very supportive of making sure I knew my choices and my decisions. So when sofas due date came, I was quite happy again, to have a sweep, which we did. I then went to the hospital and we talked about monitoring and I was,
I was prepared to go almost 10 days over my due date. In fact, I went 13 days and it was about feeling empowered when I was having the conversations. I remember distinctly one conversation with a male doctor who told me I was making the wrong choices. Yes. And, and I, because I’ve done the research because I’ve got the facts and I could talk about how due dates were calculated in other countries and scientific research behind medical research,
behind inductions and birth and due dates. And he, he basically said to me that my baby would die if we didn’t do it within that timeframe. But I felt really confident, Shocking how often that does set. Yeah. Yeah. And I, and I just, I don’t know what it was. I don’t know whether it was quite a young male doctor and I don’t know whether that kind of jarred or made me feel,
made me remember the conversation more because it’s, you know, it’s like, you know, I know it’s not right to say you need to have a lived experience, but it, it felt like he was just coming from a very factual place. Very kind of, I need to give, I need to do this so that we can tick this box.
So I, I spoke to one of the senior midwives at the maternity ward at night state hospital. And she was totally in support of me going in for monitoring. She’d sat down with me. And she, she had to, I felt it was a more real conversation about what potentially could happen and couldn’t happen. So she’s, she was like, as long as you’re happy to come in and have the monitoring,
you understand that the monitoring is a snapshot, you know, we can’t go and see outside of that. If something happens with her, we’ve not monitored that she talked about monitoring my movements, feeling baby. So, yeah. So yeah, I went in, I think I went most days in between the fifth on the 18th of November when Sophie was born monitored,
everything was happy. Yeah. Me and my husband decided that it was actually, I think it was the 17th was the date that we were, you know, that’s it, that’s our cut off point that we feel comfortable as parents you’ve Given us every chance to be born. Yeah. So yeah, that was that, you know, it was our decision.
It was up, it was our thoughts and feelings behind. And for me, I was getting quite big as well, by this point, you know, I’ve got a one year old toddling around the house. So yeah. I felt that it was the right time for me. And I went into the hospital and they gave me, they gave me the pessary to get me going.
I was on a ward. I was quite comfortable on the ward. I remember going in about three o’clock on the Saturday afternoon. We came home on the Sunday morning Boiler and there is a shorter bird. I remember being on the ward. I remember passing up, going down to a maternity suite three times because I was super comfortable and happy. I didn’t have any monitoring.
I didn’t have any internal examinations that time. I was just happy, chilled. Every time the midwife came to see me, she was comfortable with the progress I was making. Again, there was no pain relief with Sophie, just gas and air. I think it was about 11 o’clock that Saturday evening that they kind of came to me and said to me,
right, you’re going down to sweet. Now we’ve passed you over. You need to get settled. You need to get comfortable in a room. And you know, we need to give you a bit more sort of maybe one-to-one looking after. So I remember going down there, I remember being quite upset that they made me go on the bed. I wanted to walk down because I felt quite fine.
I was getting Searchie S there was a routine, there was a rhythm things felt like they were progressing. Well, I remember getting into the room and the midwife who sort of said, can we do an internal examination? We just want to see how far along you are. And at that point, I remember feeling that I needed to poop. Yep.
So with, with Holly being born, I, I didn’t have any sensation to push because the dose of the drip was so high. I didn’t have any sensation to push. So she just, she just came. So I remember needing, needing, feeling like I needed to pee. And I remember getting quite aggressive towards the midwife. I need to go to toilet.
I need to go to the toilet. So we’d, we’d agreed that she could examine me and then she’d let me go to the toilet, but I didn’t actually need that, Which is my alarm, the colon’s phrase, isn’t it. And she was like two more surgeries and your baby’s going to be here. And yeah, it was just, it was just such a magical experience because it had that sensation this time,
not necessarily to push, but to breather out it was, you know, the, the urges were instinctual at that point. Right. It doesn’t need a jeopardy. Anything second, No. Second time. Often people will ask or there’s the past, is that it’s not ever enough when somebody says yes, it was nice to hear like the different, different scenario was an option.
Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, it was just, yeah, it just had the past way that time. Yeah. Yeah. It was never offered that time and yeah, no other suggestions of anything else that were needed. And then, yeah, just remember. So for being born, and again, it was that kind of ecstasy and happiness.
I left the hospital. I think it was about seven o’clock on Sunday morning. I just remember feeling very well and very happy. And the first thing that I wanted to do was to go and pick Holly up. So we, she was at my mom’s at the time, so we just had his straight round to my mom’s and then just remember going home and just thinking,
wow, now I have two babies. So yeah. And I think, again, it was the breathing techniques. It was the preparation for labor that got me through, gave me the experiences that I had. Nice. In terms of breast partner support. One of the most common questions people ask is how can my breast partner helped me in induction? I think one thing you mentioned was answering calls some of the questions.
What else would you say that it was helpful to you? So he was guiding me through the breath work some times when I needed a little bit, especially with Holly, when things were a little bit longer and I was stopped, I was starting to feel tired. Kate he’d kind of get me back on track. He had guided me through the breathing exercises in the Marine Morgan method.
There’s a sort of a guided visualization hypnotherapy script where I remember placing handle The shorter Squeeze. And he did that a lot for me. And I remember that one That was really uncommon for me to bring me back to where I was, what kind of birth partner do they can do everything. And I felt that that’s what he did in both births. He did everything so that I could just focus on breathing and focus on baby clean.
Yeah. But it was important that he done the work to know about induction processes as well. So he was part of those conversations. And after Holly, the experience with Holly, it was important that he knew the steps for me in case we needed to take anything further. Yeah. Yeah. That communication beforehand is so important. Yeah. Brilliant. So in terms of like positive induction for you yeah.
It sounds like it’s like Hypnoparenting is a big part of it. How do you, was it in terms of how you feel around induction? What were the words that come up when I say positive induction? I think for me, it’s, I’m feeling empowered. Yeah. And I think, I think my second birthday is, but I might not have been so confident if maybe I hadn’t had a second induction.
Yes. But I felt very empowered to make the choices and to stick by my choice options as I was going through the process the second time, the first time I felt maybe it was, the choices were kind of taken away from me a little bit, but in retrospect, I’m happy. I’m at peace with those decisions. I don’t feel so if anything that I was angry about or I felt maybe I couldn’t,
if I really felt strong enough to stand up and say what I wanted, if that makes sense. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah. Definitely feel, feel empowered by having the birth that I had both induced. Yeah. Brilliant. Super. So yeah. Empowered is such a wonderful word for burst. And especially with induction, I think having the confidence to actually find your voice and to use your voice,
not to find it, but to use your voice is easier second time. Right. But it should also be encouraged for using that voice. And I think like, I definitely understand that, like, Hey, I remember that feeling as well. I think I’m well, can I can really see this note? I really feel like they should have say something and yeah.
Like having that confidence is a huge difference. So yeah. The only other thing I really wanted to ask you was what tips or suggestions do you have for someone who’s listening, who is going in for an induction tomorrow? Let’s see so much time later that later next week, Trust your instincts. Listen, listen to what your body is telling you. Listen to maybe how babies responded.
Like I mentioned, I kind of got my cut off point because I was starting to get tired. I was big. I was, I’ve got, you know, another daughter to look after that was, you know, it’s make it work for what you and your family need. And as much as you can talk to other people that have been through inductions and people that have the experience to,
to give you both sides, give you a balanced view. I was really lucky that I had midwives that were, did do that. So, yeah. And don’t be afraid to ask questions and then ask the questions of the questions, because I think medical professionals are very good at doesn’t mean those were facts and figures, but it’s, it’s digging into those facts and figures and what they actually mean to you.
Yes. Really important. Yeah. Nice. And I think like, it’s really nice that you shared your experience with that conversation with that doctor and that, you know, you didn’t just leave it there, that you went on to have a conversation with a midwife. And I think, I mean, that experience you’ve had is not a one off, like I hear that regularly people are told these things and we have,
our hormones are a certain level, right. That we are like already on the brake. Like there’s so much going on to be told that kind of thing really as massively emotional as well. And then it’s hard to make decisions like informed logical decisions from that place, or always taking time and stepping away and seeing, right. Like I need to, I’m not going to make a decision right here right now,
based on this. I need to have a conversation with someone who can have some kind of empathy and compassion and having a conversation with me over that I think is really important. You shared that. Thank you so much. Yeah. It’s great. I love here in Barstow is, and I know it’s still helpful for people who are going to happen induction sooner,
or we sort of pregnancy. Thank you so much for sharing Thank you, Michelle, for sharing both of your breasts with us today, here are three things that stood out for me in this conversation that just wants to remind you of one thing we touched on, they wanted to expand on was the idea of preparing for a Hypnoparenting and imagined some air quotes around the word birth.
As I see that focusing on things being perfect or natural or whoever else to be a hypnobirth hypnobirthing has evolved over the years and is know a lot more inclusive to different kinds of breath. However, if you feel you’re only really prepared for a natural straightforward birth, do get in touch, hit, new pricing is really very flexible and I can definitely help you with that.
Secondly, I loved that. Michelle said about the importance of preparing with your partner and a 11 them to take care of as much as possible of those bits and pieces here and there, the logistics, et cetera, so that you can focus on birth on your breathing and whatever else you need to focus on to go inwards and concentrate on breath. And baby,
finally, I want you to take away how important it is to ask all of the questions, whether it’s before labor, during or after, and then to ask if you have further questions about the answers you’re given, if you’re not sure, ask and ask again, and remember, you can also ask for a second opinion, it’s your birth take back control by asking when you need more information,
you have a right to do this. Thanks for listening. Head over to the show notes for this episode@positiveinduction.com forward slash episode four, where you’ll find links to additional resources. And of course the positive induction course, a Hypnoparenting course specially created for induction. That is again for being here with us today and do guys in touch. If you have any questions,
you can email me cheat@positiveinduction.com or Fabian Instagram at positive induction. I hope you have a lovely week.