There are those Mamas who are comfortable in the decisions they make, no matter what the cost. Christina Rymer, a long time friend and woman warrior, graciously shared how she birthed her children naturally using Hypnobirthing.

To begin, she and her husband Marcus got married in 2014 in the Wisconsin summer heat. Soon after, they decided it was time to start thinking about growing their family. In 2015 they were pregnant with their first child. Christina knew that natural birth was her plan and, “there wasn’t another way I was going to do it. It was just the best thing for me. When I set out during my pregnancy, one of the biggest things was that I wanted my birth story to be calm. I wanted to move through the stages of birthing with control.”

Choosing the Hypnobirthing Method

Natural birth has so many routes to choose from; for this Mama, she chose the hypnobirthing method. Christina shared how hard it is when you talk about birthing naturally because responses and reactions are sometimes judgmental–like, Why wouldn’t you get the epidural? Or It’s OK if you can’t do it.” She shared, “I don’t look at anyone that chooses other methods as being weak. This is what was right for me; yes, it was difficult and took a lot of preparation and thought, but I had a team of support, a husband that was there, and friends who supported that. With that, I was also prepared to listen to my doctors if this wasn’t the right way.”

Christina found the book Hypnobirthing Home Study Course Manual: Step by step guide to an easy, natural, and pain free birth and immediately downloaded it. She said, “It resonated with what I was after with wanting a calm, simple birth while still having control. It is about believing in yourself and that your body was set out to do this. Additionally, it walks you through all the stages of labor.”

Most nights you would find her reading and relaying information Marcus, who was on board and ready to support her because he knew she had this. She didn’t spend time looking at what could have gone wrong. Instead, she set out that this was what it was and that was her mentality–this is the core of Hypnobirthing–visualization, deep meditation, and mindfulness. Christina reminded herself everyday of her strength and also put up inspirational quotes on her bathroom mirror. Each day she did a lot of mental preparing and picturing.

What is Hypnobirthing Anyways?

She described it as, “Hypnobirthing is like hypnotizing yourself during labor so you can withstand the pain.” With a laugh, she said, “I don’t know that I was ever successful in that, but I was able to manage myself through the pain through different breathing and visualizing. I would also listen to meditations during labor on my headphones.” The book talks about how all women have different stories and that so long ago women had these villages to guide them through these things.

Finding Dr. Jessica

In addition to those preparations, Christina attributes much of her success to finding her chiropractor, Dr. Jessica, at Lake Pointe Chiropractic and Wellness in Minneapolis, MN. She remembers having tears of joy leaving her office for the first time; she had found the missing piece. As she learned more about what was happening with her body throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery, Dr. Jessica explained that her pelvis was very twisted, and she would help make the birth canal straight and adjust anything that would be in the way from the baby making its way down the birth canal safely.

Hypnobirth During Labor

All of these things combined led to the special moment when everything began. They had been playing Bingo at the bowling alley and then Christina shared, “I labored through the evening at home and used my bathtub and bouncing ball. Marcus was there by my side through it all. I remember thinking that watching someone go through it is so different than being that person. Marcus’ job was to keep the heating pad on me leading up to contractions–I experienced waves of chills during that stage of labor. Then he would hold tennis balls on my lower back because I had back labor.”

Furthermore, “With the hypnobirthing method I really had to visualize; every contraction was pushing the baby down. I focused on that. It is so important to be able to relax during your contractions. Not doing that can make your labor slow down. I was lucky enough to be able to go into labor on my own. Then when it was time, we decided to head to the hospital.”

She remembered, “We wrote our birth plan, and I remember the nurse looking at it and being entirely supportive. Part of my plan let was to let them know that I was open to anything. I know that they are the experts; they were so helpful. There was a moment when things got intense, so they brought me a tube of lavender and told me to breathe the smell in and out. That really helped me refocus.”

It’s Time to Push

In the meantime, Christina recalled, “I had a moment where I really wanted to push. Immediately the nurse said, after examining, ‘If you push right now you will rupture.’ I remember thinking, It’s OK… I can stop myself right now. I took a step back and listened. You are not fully dilated. You are able to control yourself. I dug deep and was able to get through three more strong, fast contractions. There were really intense moments, and I was able to work through them using the confidence and control in addition to the hypnobirthing techniques I had practiced.

Coincidentally, she had heard that when you feel like you can’t do it anymore, it has to be close to over. She was able to get to that point and was still able to push, and then their beautiful daughter Charlize Grace entered the world. Christina felt, “… that it was probably the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced… all of the sudden, your body is instantly relieved of all the pain you were in.” Two years later she was able to have her son, Connelly Nels, after once again using the Hypnobirthing method, chiropractic care, and her support team. With a very similar story, but much quicker, he entered the world naturally.

Mama’s Parting Words

Looking back, she said, “I don’t know what it would have been like if either birth had gone another way–like if things didn’t go as I had planned. If things wouldn’t have gone that way, would I have been sad or upset or down? There were obstacles for sure, but overall, they were both a wonderful experience.”

For this reason, Christina had this to share in recapping her experience: “No matter how your baby enters, you are a badass. You carried a baby, grew organs, and grew a beautiful heart inside you. For a few weeks after Charlize was born, I wanted the world to pause and just Be. I thought, Can we just take a moment and awe at how amazing this is? We should celebrate this because it is an absolute miracle… all of it is. I just think sometimes we take it for granted–we take the amazement out of it, but we need to celebrate it. Allow yourself this joy and these moments of pause and celebration.”

Band of Mamas

Hypnobirthing: A MN Mama’s Decision for a Natural Birth