“I shifted to a few different positions: I alternated between standing up then squatting down and getting on all fours and repeated this a few more times, feeling the baby moving lower down each time. Towards the end, I instinctively laid inclined on my back against the tub, legs opened and within a couple of pushes I could feel heat building up by my vagina – I knew she was near. With perfect guidance from my husband, he told me he could see the head and was updating me on my progress. It all happened so fast but I remember the heat quickly turned into a ‘sharp stretch’ which I believe was a tear but without hesitation, I gave a warrior grunt and pushed her completely out. I had delivered our baby at 7.37am on a Sunday morning. From the time the doctor suggested for a C-section to the time I delivered, it was 1.5 hours.”

– Steph Goh, informed first-time mother

“When I heard Dr. Paul’s voice again and the flurry of commotion surrounding his presence, I knew the time was close… and when I heard the nurse say to Kishore, “Sir, these are your gloves, for when you cut the baby’s cord”, it was music to my ears…
I’m very, VERY grateful Kiaen slid out after maybe the 4th of those involuntary pushes… the wave of RELIEF when he came out so quickly… it still boggles my mind that my mother was essentially right and as his birth time was 12.02pm, it was *only* about 1.5 hours between our arrival at the hospital and his arrival into the world. Kiaen was placed on my chest for skin to skin bonding and remained there for a considerable time.”

– Michelle Iking, ecstatic mother of 2

“The best way I can think of to describe what I felt, was that it seemed like the surges were like my climbing a hill, or surfing a tall wave.. and the midwife was asking me to push when I was halfway up the hill/wave, and I would tire out before I reached the peak…
Intuitively it felt to me that what I SHOULD be doing was to only push when I reached the peak of the surge, and fully leverage on the ‘momentum of gravity’ from the top of the peak by pushing at THAT point….To her credit, Angie the midwife was very good, telling me, “OK, you go ahead, do what you are comfortable with…” and as she saw I henceforth made MUCH more progress timing the pushes myself, she seemed very impressed and pleased, telling Kishore, “Oh your wife knows what she is doing! She must have had a very good Hypnobirthing coach!”

– Michelle Iking, mother to two HypnoBirthed, consciously conceived babies

“The labour was 2 hours… During the process I reminded myself to breath, visualize crowning and opening like a rose, I relaxed my lips and jaws and smiled to make sure the vaginal opening is not tensed.. I was moaning and groaning throughout the entire process which helped me to release tension. The baby came… after what felt like forever, I was thrilled that the process is over, that I managed to do it without any drugs and the baby is fine. There was no tear of the perineum and no stitches required, I was given the green light to go back home later on the same day.”

– Yin Yin, elated first time mother

“Trust me, bila tengah struggle nak manage the surge pain, 100% focus and being calm tu sangat penting in order to ensure surge breathing tu properly executed, kalau tak memang fail and akan rasa sakit. Husband memang focus buat light touch massage while Yuyue buat alternate position sitting on the gymball or squat on the floor while hugging the ball….Lain sangat feeling beranak kali ini. Satisfaction and all, super new level for us. No words can describe. Alhamdulillah”

– Yuyue, happy second time mom

“As we hit the road, I could feel the surge became stronger. At this stage, I remembered Nadine’s advice, “Don’t look at the clock, just keep yourself busy” And yes I basically enjoying chit chatting with my husband in the car while my other two girls were asleep at the back. When the surge came in between our conversation, I would just show a “shhhh” signal to my husband and focus on my surge breathing. It worked magically! Then I continued the conversation, “Ok the surge is gone. Where did we stop just now?” Haha. Totally ignoring the surge.”

-Aisya, happy third time mom

“This second delivery had not only changed my perspective about birth, but also trusting that our body, which Allah the All Mighty had created, is much more capable than what we (or medical professionals) think.”

– Yiang Lim, happy second time mom

“I will never forget this moment when me and husband were laughing and talking about what just happened while baby was breastfeeding calmly. A few minutes later with another surge, placenta came out naturally. After almost 1 hour, doctor came back to check my condition and my husband had the chance to cut the cord. No stitches required as only minor outer skin tear! Despite being sleepless throughout the day & night, I was full of energy and couldn’t believe I got to experience the birth I wanted!! Alhamdulillah I am so grateful that everything went well for me and my baby…”

– Anis, mother of two

“My body and baby just worked together and I could feel baby rotating and coming out with each surge. Doctor said “When the baby’s legs are out I need you to be on your back, is that OK?” I asked him to give baby a few minutes to do it on her own and he allowed me to. So I stayed on my hands and knees… Right after baby’s legs cleared, her arms came out along with her head! Just slipped out so easily! Totally hands off!”

– Serene, proud HypnoBirthing mama of two

“I waited at home as much as I could (not like the first time when I rushed to the hospital with my first surges). I texted Nadine a lot and she was always on the line. When I arrived to the hospital, she helped me to stand up for my decisions and we only let them do the vaginal exam once! … Even though it was my second birth, natural, non complicated, I still needed that reassuring professional help and Nadine was super helpful. I cannot thank her enough for being there for me, my baby and my family.”

– Renata, empowered second-time mom