I just wanted to say thank you for all of the information in class - I had my baby on 11/5 and things went so beautifully!

I woke up Tuesday morning 11/5 around 2am with light contractions but made myself have a snack and went back to sleep. I had a midwife apt in the morning and then went grocery shopping. I had lunch at home and started doing some body ready method movements in my living room when things started to pick up around 4pm. Around 5pm, the midwife suggested I try getting in the shower to help relax. I took my birth ball in the shower, which was amazing, and things continued to pick up (also may have had the ball on the drain and flooded the bathroom because the lights were off and we had a candle lit so we didn’t notice the shower wasn’t draining - oops).

We went to Willow Birth Center at 6:30pm - I spent about 30 minutes on my hands and knees with my husband doing pelvic jiggles and counter pressure until my doula Nicole Bengtson arrived around 7pm. I moved to a standing and swaying position for about 30 minutes before going to the bathroom and sitting on the toilet “dilation station” for about 30 minuntes, and boy was that intense! I got in the birth tub just after 8pm, and our baby boy Brooks was born at 8:44pm.

I am so grateful for the positive affirmations that kept me calm and peaceful through my 41 weeks of pregnancy. I truly believed that my baby and my body would know when the time was right for the baby to come. I also loved the breathing exercises that helped to me relax during pregnancy and while birthing. Although I practiced “down breathing”, it truly didn’t make a lot of sense until I was in the tub, reached down, and felt my baby’s head. At that point, my body remembered what I had practiced and understood how to down breathe through the contraction to get my baby out.  
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I had such a positive natural birth experience and want to say thank you for your class which helped prepare me. 

- Christy

Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing classes for expectant families. Erin Stertz-Follett, Flutterby's Owner, is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist, Certified Hypnobirthing Educator, and Certified Birth Doula who has taught and assisted hundreds of families. Email her at [email protected] with any questions. Sharing is caring!

​I was feeling nervous that I had not “mastered” Hypnobirthing leading up to the guess date, but on Thursday (the night before our 39 week appointment), I had an amazing session listening to 'Birth Horizon,' and had such a profound realization that I actually could have an unmedicated and beautiful birth.

At the appointment, I was concerned I was leaking amniotic fluid... and the test came back positive. By my estimation, it has started three days prior, so the recommendation was induction.

​I felt at that moment all hope would be lost, that I would be too overtaken by the Pitocin, and that interventions would start to add up. Thankfully, we had amazing care with the midwife team at Methodist, and they were so supportive of our birth plan.

We started cervical ripening at 5pm Friday, Pitocin at 3am Saturday, by 1pm my water broke officially on its own, at 3:15 I started pushing, and he was born at 5pm!

I used a few hypnosis tracks throughout, but mainly had the Affirmations repeating the entire time! My husband was an amazing partner, and I know it’s because of your class and our rehearsals! The funny thing is, the first few nights when the room was quiet, I still could hear the intro music to the Affirmations playing in my head.

I wanted to thank you for empowering me to have a beautiful unmedicated birth despite induction! I also signed up for the Body Ready Method program, per your recommendation, and that was also a huge help in my mental/physical preparation... As well as the techniques and movements I brought into my birth!

Sincerely,
K, S, and A
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​​Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing as well as other classes and services for expectant families. Erin Stertz-Follett, Flutterby's Owner, is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist, Certified Hypnobirthing Educator, and Certified Birth Doula who has taught and assisted hundreds of families. Email her at [email protected] with any questions. Sharing is caring!

Leading up to the birth, I was still very active with resistance training, yoga and stretching; and all within reason, and designed to support the birth experience and not to over do things.

My water broke at 6pm, and by 1am we were at the hospital. Contractions seemed to go from none straight to every 5 minutes for 1 minute. 

We had always planned to have a hospital birth and implement the tools we had learned with Flutterby. I was always open-minded to possibilities, and wanted to be close to any interventions, should I need them for medical reasons. We approached the labor with non-medicated in mind. and all the nurses at Methodist were extremely supportive of our wishes. 

I labored in the tub ( I had tested positive for covid two days prior which risked me out of birthing in the tub), and the water felt amazing. I stayed there for a while before wanting to get out and dry. I switched up positions when I felt necessary, but the balls were uncomfortable for me. All fours felt good and my husband could massage my back.

Breathing through, and using affirmations in my head, I was able to stay calm and relaxed. I imagined that my baby was needing my help to stay focused on them, and so much of everything else around me is a blur. Time seemed to go fast.
There was a point were I inquired about pain medication. I was really not making progress, and there had been some dips in the baby’s heart rate that suggested she might be having difficulties. I think this threw me off from my affirmations and my focus dwindled. I opted to have medication, and I was at peace with it.

I continued my breathing and stayed calm, but baby’s heart rate continued to show dips. All the medical team explained with grace and transparency what was happening and what they thought would be best for the health of me and baby. She may not have enough reserves to make it through delivery, and we agreed a c-section was the best choice. 

Skipping ahead, I was able to implement a lot of the other wishes I’d had… delayed cord clamping, not wiping the vernix or bathing, immediate skin-to-skin. A lot did go how we wanted, and ultimately we have a happy and healthy baby girl and mum. 

I do believe the breathing techniques and affirmations really got me through the labor and helped me to stay in the zone. The classes also taught me how to set boundaries and ask for what I needed in the labor room and post delivery. Thank you Erin!

​​Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing as well as other classes and services for expectant families. Erin Stertz-Follett, Flutterby's Owner, is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist, Certified Hypnobirthing Educator, and Certified Birth Doula who has taught and assisted hundreds of families. Email her at [email protected] with any questions. Sharing is caring!

Hypnobirthing class helped me gain confidence in myself and my body. It was while I was taking the course that I decided to transfer my care at 32 weeks to a birthing center for my VBAC (vaginal birth after previous cesarean).

My labor came spontaneously at 41 weeks. We arrived at Roots Birth Center in active labor, and it was a very peaceful environment with little intervention. My doula, husband and midwife supported me through my surges, and they never felt overwhelming. I played my daily affirmations Hypnobirthing playlist at the birth center.

We ended up transferring to the hospital during pushing due to a long pushing phase, meconium (baby's first bowel movement being present in the waters) and heart decelerations. Yet, I never felt panicked and remained calm through the transfer.

Baby Jack was born less than an hour after arriving at the hospital! I couldn't believe I achieved my unmedicated VBAC! Thank you, Erin!

​Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing as well as other classes and services for expectant families. Erin Stertz-Follett, Flutterby's Owner, is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist, Certified Hypnobirthing Educator, and Certified Birth Doula who has taught and assisted hundreds of families. Email her at [email protected] with any questions. Sharing is caring!

I had a few signs of early labor on the days leading up to my first wave (on Wednesday). I contacted my Doula on Tuesday morning and she agreed it could be early labor but it could be a while before it progresses. I felt good enough to go into work on Wednesday and even did a workout, with very few additional signs of the impending labor throughout the day. After work, my husband and I went on a walk. I was feeling some pressure and back pain, but that was pretty normal after our walks at this point. I decided to try some raspberry leaf tea I had been given and take a bath to calm my back muscles.

Within an hour of drinking the tea, I had started having waves. I thought they were braxton-hicks, but started to monitor them because they felt really long and close together. I drank cold water and tried to lay down, but the waves kept coming, and were already lasting a minute long. Soon my app was telling me to go. I called the birth center, and the midwife said to give it another hour, and if things don't calm down, we could call her because I was worried about being sent home.

An hour later, nothing had changed, so we called the midwife and met her at the birth center around 1:30am. I had a cervical exam to see where I was at. and decide if I should stay and start the antibiotics (for GBS) or go home. We found out I was 5cm already and decided to start the antibiotics. Our doula met us at the birth center, but soon things slowed down. My waves were further and further apart, and by 10:30am (Thursday), we were headed home to get some rest and hope things would start moving along.

The day progressed with no change, so our doula said she was coming over. At that point I was going on very little sleep from the last 3 nights and starting to become exhausted. Our doula arrived at 8:00pm that night to try some positions, but within an hour, it was clear that I just needed to try to sleep. She put me to bed at 9:00pm, but it didn’t last long because lying down made the waves stronger. I actually told my husband I didn’t know how much longer I could do this and seriously considered the hospital. Luckily, very soon after that, at 10:00pm, my water finally broke and we headed back to the birth center.

At my 11:45pm cervical check I was still only 6cm, but they started my next IV for the antibiotics. Baby’s head was not tucked and we think that is why I stalled for so long. We did some more positions and things started to pick up again. After about an hour, I felt baby move and started to feel the need to push. I got another cervical check and I was 10cm, so they started the bath for my water birth. Once in the water, I pushed for about an hour and a half, and finally met my baby girl at 2:31am! I had a very minimal tear and didn’t need stitches, which was my biggest motivation for having a natural birth. I was so happy that I got the birth that I wanted and I could not have done it without my doula and husband. I am so proud my first birth experience was a success. I can’t wait to do it again!

My husband and I both felt it was a good choice to do the Hypnobirthing class a little earlier in pregnancy. It gave me enough time to put everything I learned into practice. Thank you, Erin, for giving us the knowledge and tools to have a successful birth experience!

​Flutterby is located in the Twin Cities, and provides Hypnobirthing as well as other classes and services for expectant families. Erin Stertz-Follett, Flutterby's Owner, is a Certified Consulting Hypnotist, Certified Hypnobirthing Educator, and Certified Birth Doula who has taught and assisted hundreds of families. Email her at [email protected] with any questions. Sharing is caring!