Unusual BirthsYP09

8/6/2019 Unusual BirthsYP09

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The birthing tub, that is, Findwhy four mums chose unusualmethods in their bid to have aposit ive labour experience.By BRTDGETTESEE

on't know about you. But during my pregnanchad no lack of enthusiasr ic fr iends plyi. ,g"_. * ithe i r "horl i f ic" bir th stor ies whether I wantedhear them or not. Always, as hey summed up tmost noble houls of motherhood ini t iat ion, they wouadvise, "Remember, just go for th e epidur_al. l .he painot worth it ."I was piqued. S"rdl f , chi ldbir th, which rs a natulalprocess, can't be that scary. r ig l , r t? In my quest to seek a

fore posi t ive exper ience. I fbund a whole ne w ,,wor ld, , oO.f T",h: . . ,

wh o had sornething ver.ydi f f 'e lent to sa y aboutf t l ' re ir labours.These women usecl words l ike "relaxed, , , , ,dr.ug free. . .


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IT'S ABOUT VISUALISATTON XIopted for hypnobirthing classes coupleof months before my baby was due.Developed by Marie Mongan in the198os n the United States, his methodfocuseson bringing babies calmly into'--.:*'orld. Its philosophy is to allow women to birth at their

"-:r pace, without unnecessary medical:-:en'ention and drugs, as long as the

:;cr 's heal th is no t compromised.it :men are taught to relax. ::n self-hypnosis, using: :eathing techniquesan d, .--ral isat ions. ypnobirthing-: . inspired by Dr Grant lyl :ck-Read, who wrote th e: - tk Childbirth Without Fear: . :he IgJos. Dr Read ha d

.: :nessedseveralwomen give::rth easi lywithout painki l lers,. . -. ich ed him to study about

during chi ldbirth. He::,ncluded hat fear causeshe

eading to the uterust contract an d become ense,

pain.\ \ -hen women are relaxed,

cervix thins ou t natural ly, whi le the bodyrhythrnical ly and expels the babyease."

During a hypnobirthing session, Ginnymy doula from Fourtrimesters, asked

there was anything "in the way" of rnyI revealed hat I was scaredof my

tearing, thanks to an aunt'spersistentofher scary abour stories n th e past.Ginny askedrne to visualise those thoughts and putbal loons. We then released hem, one by one,the imaginary sky. This wasan exercise hat I wouldon my own, to "let go" of those fearful thoughts thatbecome mental blocks to mv childblrth.

ON YOUR SIDE +Another useful ski l l waspower of self-af f i rrnat ion. Just as athletesvisual isewinning f inishes, mothers can also visual isecornfortable births. Twice a day, fo r tw o months,to a hypnobirthing CD that helped me to

work in complete harmony to make birthing easier", a"each surge brings my baby closer to me."This frame of mind led me to welcorne my contractlonswhen they came. I felt that the contractions were ,,on myside", helping to bring my baby to me. I didn't feel pain,just an intense urge to use the toilet when the surges camMy labour progressed very quickly. 'When we got tothe hospital, I wa s already 8c m dilated, an d I deliveredwithin the hour, using a birth stool. Unlike what

have seen on television, I was never in a tranceor asleepduring self-hypnosis, but rernainealert and calm while talking to my doula.Finally, when my baby was ready to arrivemy doctor knelt on the floor to receive hashe sl ipped out of me.

While there rnay be no scientific waysmeasure if hypnobirthing mums actually

feel pain, Diann Bustamante, who runscourses fo r Parentlink, says that medical

professionals here are becoming increasinglyreceptive to the idea.

"Several doctors have referred mums tous for hypnobirthing classes," ai d

Diann, who is also a doula. Shehas taught over IOo couplesand attended the births of

gO . About /o per cent ofthese mums ar e local.

SandraSchallerfeelsherwabirthwasagentler ransitioninto heworldfor herbab1,

Julius. She emained elaxed eawhen the contractions came.

A WARM WELCOME',. I f self_hypnosis is not your cup of tea, youcould also try a water birth, where

you labour in a tub ofwarm water anddeliver baby while immersed in it . Thewater soothes, relaxes and comforts labouring mothers;it also reduces body weight, allowing the woman to movemore freely and iabour in various positions. This is said topromote blood circulation, and is hence less painful.

Only

BridgetteSee hoseIgpnobirthing utremainedlert ndclamduring er abour.


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PRF:G${Ar*C T

"In the warm water, I felt protected,carr ied an d just comfortable. An dwhen th e surges came, I fe l t relaxed.,,Although Sandra felt some painduring childbirth, she said i t wa s

determined to have a drug_free birth."I think too few women understandthe_effects ofdrugs on their babies,,,said the kindergarten teacher. , ,J

wanted to go without drugs, thus both

while he used to attend to betweenon e an d three such casesa vear.the average is now four. Mostof the mums who opt fo r a waterb i r th ar e expats."I would say at least +o percent of my patients have birth planswith alternative delivery options,,,said Dr Tseng. ,'My numbers areskewed towards this because they arereferred to me by word of mouth. Butanecdotally, other gynaecolosists are

Sport psychologist TrudiBannister, 36 , had beenal l set for a natural, drug_free water birth at home rnSeptember last year. Butbaby Marcus remained ina breechposit ion, despiteal l her efforts to turn himaround."Our breech baby wasborn

naturally. After quite an emotional

at-home mo m Vanessa TStaY-

sh e would never have ,to 't t' wa s sure that

upistening,".. _ l"'.1J,T:::1ljchildbirth experience. It was onlywhen sheread Superna tural Childbi"rf Uy.Ju.t l. l.li".that she found the courage to do so. Thebook talks about placing faith in God to havea fearless delivery.i " - births. In fact, her secondchi ld.

Vanessa, who did not ta i,. lu:.:.,,u,,*,r..""0l',llJ.T;tj#eek, we surrendered to th e idea of a breechbirth at the hospital,, 'Trudi recalled. Afterreading up and speaking to a woman witha similar experience, the couple decidedto try a natural breech birth ."Our doctor wa s ver.having" d.,s_f*." ;;j:::,..-, :l.l:"breech birth, as ong ashe could see hatI could handle it an d that th e baby,s ealthwould not be compromised,, ,said Trudi. Fo r

G" Naomi Nguyen, wasborn inJulytI Zoog at home because t al l"1a X "happened so quickly.,,. - . I rt

the Bannisters, beingweli informed gulr. ,tr.- ,tr.conf idence to attempt

- . -_ ,-sr \ .uy/ aes a an d trust in God, an d I didn,tbreechbab2 but mum panic so there was no fear or pain.rudi Bannistergaue A doctor


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also seeing rnore ofsuch patientsand they are learning how to

cope with their needs."

REVIVING ATRADITION* Somecouples are

even bringingthe experience of

childbirth right intotheir homes. Dr Lai Fon-

Min, who is probably theonly gynaecologist who

attends to home births, saysthat he sees about I2 cases

every year.The rnajority of hi s clients

::e expatriate rnums who cornej: r:n countries where midwife-lead- . : re births are common. Due to the::1cunt of t ime the doctor spends at:: :h house cal l , the labour fees (whichi: : no t covered by Medisave) are much- -iher, about double that of a normal- -rpital del ivery.

\I y philosophy is to empower:::1en o make decisions on their::hs that they are comfortable withrrder to achieve a positive birth

r ' . :er ience," said Dr Lai .Horne births represent a

:-rle option for coupleswho are:-;omfortable with the hospital. i ronment." Dr Lai explained that-:,ng as the pregnancy, Iabour and-:.'ery are uncornplicated, rnothers:: opt for home births. "N o special

-: : :^ ir ies are needed," said Dr Lai.' ,' , ,men have been delivering at home- :-.e t ime irnrnemorial."

Srngaporean Shireen. :---umihardja, 3{ , del ivered her bo y- .: :: i at horne in early August last:: , : She and husband Henky had

.--:: :ded a hypnobirthing course, and

.:: : rhen inspired to have a home: :',r. "We thought, what better and- - :: natural way to welcome ou r chi ld

HOW DO I GET A NATURAL LABOUR?MAKE A BIRTH PLAN A birth plan is a couple's way of communicatingwith medical staff on the sort of labour they would like to have, for instance,stating clearly that you want a drug-free birth, or that they want to walk andlabour in various positions instead of being strapped down to the bed.Thereare plenty of resources online to help you draft your birth plan. Draftingthe plan is an empowering ac t as it requires a couple to actively plan andparticipate in the childbirth process.CHOOSE TH E RIGHT GYNAE Do your homework before deciding on adoctor. Remember you can switch to a doctor who is supportive of your birthplan.Whatever your choice, always keep your doctor informed if you ar e takingnatural birth classesand would prefer a natural birth.HIRE A DOULA A doula is trained to give mothers physical,emotional an dinformational support before, during and just after birth. She does not deliverthe baby, but helps the couple prepare and carry out their birth ptan, stayingwith the mother throughout the labour. Most hospitals now allow doulas toattend births, while some doctors may even request that you hire one if youare planning a water or home birth.TRY A COURSE Both Fourtrimesters and Parentlink offer hypnobirthingclasses and doula support services.The classes range from 9450 to $500 forgroup classes,with discounts available. Both companies also offer doula supportfrom $ | ,300 to $ I ,700,which includes antenatal visits, a doula on-call two weeksbefore your due date, a written record of your birth story, postnatal visits andbreastfeeding support.

than in our ow n home," said Shireen.'AIso, being spir i tual people, webelieve that the energies of a placeare very important to the receptionof a new soul." They engaged DrLa i and doula Ginny Phang whoworked together to help the coupleachieve the "safe, natural, huppy,short and healthy birth" that theyhad envisioned. To be extra safe, theyrented an oxygen tank in case theirbaby needed initial resuscitation.

THE BEAUTY OF BIRTH ' ' .Whether it is a hypnobirth, waterbirth, homebirth or anyother kindofbirthing experience, the key to apositive encounter is when wornenhave a say in what they want.

"I think the most imporrant thingthat mums want is the opportunity tohave a labour that they want and notbe rnanaged in just one specific way,"

saysDr Tseng, who is now writinga book on ho* to support mothersdur ing their chi ldbi r ths.

He has observed that women whopted for "alternative" birthingmethods were less ikely to suffer frpostnatal depression. "Even if theyno t succeed n their quest, the act otrying alone wasa triurnph in itselfhe explained.

This I can vouch for, as I was ona "high" fo r days, recounting myhypnobirthing experience to friendwhose first questions had been "soyou succumb to the epidural?"

Al l the women I have spokento share the same elation andernpowerment. I believe that if morwomen start listening to such positichildbirth stories, they will have a lless ear about the most natural andbeautiful thing that their bodies wecreated o do. EE

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Unusual BirthsYP09