This mama was amazing! It's so easy to tell mums that they just need to trust their bodies, but it can be hard to do - especially if you've had a previous birth that wasn't so good. But it CAN be done! Here's the proof. Congratulations on your extended family!

Good Morning Nicki Hope all is well, just wanting to give some feedback and tell you about my experience giving birth.

My daughter is almost 2 months old now but I remember my birth as if it was yesterday.

Baby was born on exactly 40 weeks. The day before I was with all my family as they had all traveled back to Hawkes Bay for a funeral. I was feeling little niggles since early morning but thought nothing of them as they weren't really bothering me. Throughout the day I had to just take little breaks and do my breathing exercises. People kept asking me if I was okay and I'd tell them I thought I was having contractions and they all replied with, "No, you would definitely know if you were having contractions because they're painful and you'd be loud", so I just continued on with my day.

These niggles started becoming regular so I started timing them just in case. Did the whole funeral, came home, had a sleep and took myself to hospital as I was booked in that night to be induced due to baby no longer growing. Turns out I was having contractions but they weren't painful at all!

I was so confused as my last birth all my contractions were really intense, but this time, since I had replaced the word pain with uncomfortable and told myself constantly that this is a natural process and I was designed to give birth to this baby (thanks to my hypnobirthing recordings), I was able to breathe through all my contractions and didn't struggle with any up until my last two, which became quite intense.

I did make some noise while pushing but only once, the rest I was able to breathe my baby down, and being so much in control I was able to slow down my pushing when my midwife asked me to, to reduce tearing (had the smallest tear).

I gave birth to my baby naturally with no gas or epidural. My actual labour was only roughly 2 hours long with 7 minutes of pushing. I gave birth to a healthy little girl at 1.50am the next morning.

This experience was amazing and I was so proud of myself. I am able to remember this entire birth this time and it was the complete opposite of my first, which was horrible and patchy as I was drugged up. It was a huge healing experience for me and I was able to do all the normal things I was unable to do during my first birth, like skin to skin, breastfeeding my baby and have her in my room with me straight away. I didn't feel too tired to give birth or to enjoy her after (like last time) as I had saved my energy by relaxing myself throughout the entire process, which was amazing. I am also able to solely breastfeed her due to having that connection straight away, which I was unable to do with my first baby.

I recommend hypnobirthing to everyone because I want them to experience the type of birth I did. I was really skeptical about hypnobirthing working as I was so scared of giving birth due to my first experience, thinking I was going to struggle to get past what was already set in my mind, but I was able to change my frame of mind into believing I could do this, everything that was happening was meant to happen and that my body was doing what it needed to do to bring my baby safely into this world.

So I want to say a huge THANK YOU!!! I appreciate everything I have learnt both from you and the audios. I feel so much at ease and this experience has helped me cope postpartum.

I am enjoying being a mother of two though very demanding, but my breathing exercises help me nearly everyday :) Sorry for the long story but thank you so much Nicki!

Earlier this year I had the excitement of teaching a couple expecting twins! Here is their story:

Hello Nicki,

Well well, our boys have arrived :)

The story was not your ideal hypnobirthing scenario, but breathing and visualizations were very helpful in the long and complicated process.

First I was told to come to the hospital for a check up after a scan, as the doctors noticed increased fluid flow into the babies' brains and hearts, and as they explained the placenta was slowly starting to wear out and support the two most important organs in the babies - a sign it was time to help the babies out before the placenta stopped working and supporting them. So the doctors recommended observing the babies' heart rates and suggested we come on Wednesday night to insert a balloon to induce labour.

The next day - Wednesday - I went to an acupuncturist, ate a lot of figs and chiilies and was hoping for the process to start more or less naturally. However the balloon needed to be inserted, and straightaway the opening (of the cervix) started and I started to have slight period pains and slowly developing contractions - surges. The whole night this continued and I slept in between.

The next day due to a busy day (four other births going on and all doctors needed somewhere else), I was kept under monitoring and allowed to fully open.

This continued the following night when my surges were 5 min apart and quite intense. I was allowed into the pool for 3 hours, which made it all so much more comfortable, and Ii really enjoyed the warmth and relaxing in between surges. I slept in the breaks and easily managed when the waves came.

In the morning, when back in bed for some more monitoring, I was checked and told that I am opening and soon will be fully opened. That happened around lunchtime (not sure about exact time, as was busy coping and managing what was happening - breathing, moving, changing positions, and was allowed to have a drink of water as my lips were increasingly dry.)

In the afternoon I was told that I was fully opened and could push if I wanted or felt like it.

Soon enough the feeling was just too powerful and my body was ready to push the baby as I was encouraged, even though I was also breathing as I could throughout the experience. Tobi was amazing and encouraged me throughout and helped me to change positions, use the ball, go on all fours, etc. My mum was very helpful with supplying me with drinks of water and ready to help if needed.

At some stage all the midwifes and doctors encouraged me to push, and even though the baby was just there just a push away, he stayed there for several hours, just there at the edge to be born.

When the doctor returned and checked he stated that I was not fully opened ... which surprised everyone. He explained that I might be swelling from the pushing and from the fact that the baby's face was facing upwards and his little nose was not to be moved and kept on pressing onto the cervix.

The doctor said that there were two options for us now - either rest and relax the cervix (by not responding to the urges to push the baby out, which I found by then physically impossible), or to have a c-section (which i did not want). Luckily Tobi was there to negotiate and find out what was the best option, so we decided to take the epidural to help me rest and relax the cervix, hoping it would stop swelling and open again, and then let the doctor move the baby into a more favourable position and deliver.

After 2 hours of resting, even being able to talk to others and joke about random stuff, I started to feel more contractions and I was told I was again fully dilated. The doctor tried to move the baby, but no matter what he tried the baby went back to his stubborn position :)

We were again told that we have two options - c-section or use of suction and/or forceps. With Tobi we decided for the tools. The suction did not work and so they tried the last option before c-section - the forceps.

Simon was born on Friday at 22:44 with some scratching on his forehead but healthy, and his little brother - Liam - followed 12 minutes later, also healthy and well, with much less help from the doctors (basically just moved him so he stayed head down). He did develop low blood sugar and had a low temperature the next morning, and had to be helped in an incubator, but after two nights could re-join us in our room. After that Simon developed jaundice and also went into an incubator, so we stayed at the SCBU unit for almost a week.

After a full week at the hospital and the boys well, gaining weight and a bit stronger we left for home where we have established our routines started at the hospital. The boys are gaining weight and seem stronger keeping their temperature easier and opening their eyes more often :)

We are very grateful for all who helped us on our journey throughout our pregnancy and delivery. Although this was not my ideal scenario, I have experienced an amazing time bringing our babies to this world and would do it all again! I used breathing techniques as much as I could and was able to and I am grateful for all the advice we also received from you.

Tobi was and continues being an amazing help and now daddy to our two precious treasures, and my mum is an amazing help in the house - running our household when I need to rest.

I wish you a lovely evening and many happy couples and parents to come! :)

Much love,

Danica, Tobi, Simon and Liam

I love getting birth stories, and this one was amazing! This mama is a rock star at birthing! Here's her story...

Hey Nicki... After 40 weeks and 1 day cooked to perfection, Mr Maximus William Tana Hill decided it was time to come into the world at 9.9 lbs in just over 3 hours through a natural home water birth. Friday night, just after midnight, while watching a movie in bed with Matt enjoying our last days together alone, I noticed those consistant braxton hicks contractions I had been having the last week felt slightly different.... I just knew it was soon time, which filled me with immense joy and excitement as I'd have my boy in my arms soon.

I went to sleep going over my affirmations and thinking about how I wanted my birth to be. I managed to fall asleep for a few hours and woke up at 4 am feeling energized yet calm.

I lay in bed for the next couple of hours breathing through each surge, feeling them grow in intensity and channelling that energy back into allowing my mind to focus on how this experience was going to be all I wanted it to be.

By 5 am the surges were about 5 minutes apart but still no pain. I called my midwife to let her know that it was time, although it may still be a while away. She came by to check on my progress and turns out I was already 6 cm.

She sat with me while Talaya and Matt set up my pool and a bed. I spent time listening to hypnobirthing tracks and not letting anything take my mind off how my birth was going to be. I kept calm and focused on breathing correctly.

Shortly after I climbed in the pool I recall my midwife saying to me, "Santana you are welcome to push when you're ready." I thought to myself, surely not! I was still not feeling pain, only a great pressure... Sure enough I had the urge to push, and then he was born. My birth could not had gone better; my boy was brought into the world in a calm and loving environment and I had the chance to love every moment of it. Thank you so much for your work with us. I truly value your work and will ensure I spread the word about Hypnobirthing with Nicki and how truly magical birth can be. Santana, Matt and Max

Not everyone has a speedy birth, but Hypnobirthing can work for all situations. This amazing client had a long birth, at home, with no pain relief and a biiig baby!! Massive congratulations!

I listened to the hypnobirthing relaxation and affirmation recordings on repeat throughout the entire labour (all 27 hours of it). I didn't use the hypnobirthing to get into a zone of relaxation, however, more just to listen to and remind myself of the affirmations. I used it more in a head space way rather than relaxing with it in my body. It was, however, very helpful as I would try to put it into practice, e.g. when I was having a contraction I'd think about the part of the recording that said you can choose how to react to it and only give it what it needs, and the affirmations constantly playing like "My baby is a perfect size for my body", "I can birth my baby", "Each surge bring me closer to my baby" - I would listen to them and that would be positive reinforcement for me.

I would have needed to practice hypnobirthing and getting into the zone a lot in pregnancy to be able to use it in the way intended in labour. I was unable to relinquish control during the labour and I used hypnobirthing to help me stay in control. Not really the intention of hypnobirthing but helpful nonetheless!

The labour was nothing like the calm labours in the hypnobirthing videos, it was loud. What it did share with the calm births though is that I felt safe in the labour, I just didn't like it at all.

I would recommend the course to others as it is a great way of flooding your mind with positivity about birth and reframing any negative thoughts. My body is built for this rings true. Xxx

Thanks Nicki

Last year I had the absolute pleasure of teaching two lovely parents who were expecting their second baby. They really took to Hypnobirthing and this is their story...

Why hypnobirthing?

We used hypnobirthing for birth number two because we were attracted to it being a calmer way to birth. Number one was a planned home birth in the pool, after 10.5 hours of active labour. I’d used acupressure points, and while that provided good relief at the time, I felt like there was surely a more effective way to calm the mind.

The best thing about Nicki’s course is the involvement of the birth partner. This was crucial for me in terms of the homework, but also on the birth day.

On the day...

I used the surge breathing quite naturally after practising it while I was pregnant, and it was calming and effective. I was just lying relaxed in between surges on our bed, thinking about when might be a good time to head to town. So different compared to my first birth – where I had felt the need to pace a lot, and call my partner to do acupressure for each surge – to the point where my partner did not realise how far along things were with birth number two.

A change of plan...

We live 40 mins from Hastings, and had planned a birth in Waioha after me needing to go to hospital for surgical repair of a third degree tear with number one.

Things didn’t go to plan. After about two hours of surge breathing (to be honest I wasn’t keep any track of time and had no sense of how long I had been in that state) I felt the need to pee, so I walked down the hallway, and as soon as I sat down on the toilet my waters broke and I felt my baby's head move / put pressure on the birth canal. It was amazing because I felt so much more connected with my body and what it was doing.

I yelled out to my partner that she (the baby) was coming, my partner called the midwife who asked me (by this time I was on all fours outside the toilet door / back in the hallway and back in the hypnobirthing zone) if I thought I could get in the car and make it to the birthing unit. I said "No". My midwife to her credit, said "OK, I’m on my way". She then started talking to my partner about what would be needed in case she didn’t arrive in time (there is no cellphone reception along our road so she wasn’t able to talk to us the whole time).

My partner remained very calm, moved me into the spare bedroom, turned the heater on and collected towels, and then just sat beside me occasionally using the tools we’d developed like the arm touch to recentre me when it was needed.

Winifred's birth...

I lay down and continued to breathe my baby down – I wasn’t conscious of the need to wait or felt any pressure – I was just in the moment of birth. The midwife and back-up midwife arrived 10 minutes before Winifred was born. The back up midwife (who I’d never met, and FYI the birth plan was packed in the car ready for our trip to the hospital) walked into the room and said "You’re doing great breathing, just keep going". I felt my body doing its job, and just breathed alongside it.

Winnie was born very calm – she never cried – and was so alert, just looking around, and then snuggling into me gently getting her senses used to the world before feeding for the first time. That was also so different from my first birth, where my son was born screaming crying and did not feed properly, and kept screaming crying for nearly four hours, until after I came out of surgery and could finally feed him.

Fears released...

I had worked through the fears that I’d had at the start of my pregnancy that I would have another third degree tear and end up with long term complications like incontinence. The whole time I was in labour, and especially when there was a possibility that the midwives wouldn’t make it in time, this thought never crossed my mind. I credit that to the fear release work that we did with Nicki as part of the hypnobirthing programme.

During each postnatal visit with my midwife she’d ask "So how are you feeling about your birth?" I don’t remember my first midwife asking this, and wondered if she asked because the birth was not what was planned.

In all honesty I felt really really good about my birth. It didn’t go to plan, it went better than planned. It was fantastic to have Winnie at home and not have to go to hospital, and it was so calm and relaxing.

"Because You're Worth It".... We all know the phrase. It's been used by a well-known company to advertise skin care and hair care for a long time now.

But, looking at the cost of Hypnobirthing, do you believe you're really worth it? Is your baby?

Birth is the most important event in your baby's life

Your baby has spent 9 months cocooned in your womb, and now it's time for him or her to meet you. How do you want your baby to feel? Safe and loved as he or she is breathed down into the world, or traumatised by your fear?

The birth process affects you, your baby and your partner, and it can be a positive, joyful experience or a negative, traumatic one.

A difficult birth can have a lasting psychological consequence for you and your baby, even though he or she won't remember it. A difficult birth can also have a physical affect on you and your baby. A difficult birth can also have a psychological affect on your partner. None of that is good.

Although Hypnobirthing cannot guarantee a pain-free birth, it gives you the tools to make a calm, joyful birth far more likely. And that's great news for you, your baby and your partner.

Is it worth it? Yes!

How much?

That's almost the first question I get asked when I talk about Hypnobirthing. "How much does it cost?"

Yes, it costs a bit of money. Yes, there are some cheaper antenatal courses out there. But they aren't Hypnobirthing.

In fact, in New Zealand, going to a Hypnobirthing class is a bargain! if you want to do Hypnobirthing in the USA, you'd be paying on average another NZ$50. If you were in the UK, it would be costing you about NZ$150 more, and if you were in Australia it could be costing you an extra NZ$200 for a Hypnobirthing class!

So, is it worth it? Absolutely!

Why isn't it cheaper?

Because you get what you pay for!

I've trained with the International Institute of Hypnobirthing to try to give you the best birth you can have. You get a book and CD, MP3s, a folder full of handouts, and 5 classes of tuition. You also get a bunch of extras emailed to you, and usually some vouchers and goodies. I pay for the books, and I spend time and money printing and collating material and putting the classes together.

I love what I do, and I'm good at it. I want you to have a great experience. But I also need to earn a living. Add up all the hours I put towards a class, and all the material you get, and I don't earn very much at all as an hourly rate!

So, am I worth it? Definitely!

So, are you and your baby worth it?

Well, are you?

How much would you spend on a really special occasion? A wedding, a 21st, a 30th?

How much would you spend on a weekend away?

How much do you regularly spend on just coffee or lunch?

How much are you planning on spending on the actual birth of your baby?

Stop and think about it. Think...

This is a special occasion. A really, really special occasion. Wouldn't you plan, prepare, spend a bit of time and money on a special occasion? You want to look back on this birth and remember it with joy, not with fear.

Why is the actual birth of your baby not important enough to spend money on?

Yes, I understand that you may not have much money. I know that some people reading this really cannot afford Hypnobirthing, and I'm sorry. I've struggled for money more often in my life than I'd like, and I do understand.

However, for the rest of you - save a bit, dig deep, re-evaluate your priorities. Can you borrow a cot or a pushchair or a car seat? Do you really need to buy new for everything or anything? Save a bit here and there. It's doable if you really want to. And you should want to, for yourselves and for your baby.

Are you worth it? Is your baby worth it? Absolutely positively YES!