"Hi Kris, We wanted to send our heartfelt thanks for helping us prepare for life as a new family and for going above and beyond to support us. Without that extra care to keep us calm and focused, it would have been much more difficult. I can honestly say that even though things did not go exactly as I had planned, I am so happy when I look back on my birth experience - Thanks to you and to HypnoBirthing, we were so relaxed and calm with whatever came our way. Thank you so so much!" ~ Nellie, Sean, & baby Allie, Mississauga
"Just wanted to update you. I gave birth 2 weeks ago on and it was an amazing and truly empowering experience! I was in pre-labour for 2 days before I went into active labour. My husband and I did skin to skin Friday night and right after that I started active labour which lasted for 9 hours. I laboured at home till I was 7cm and then went over to the hospital and gave birth within 2 hours!! No epidural needed, I just focused on my breathing, kept thinking of my key word, and my doula helped me with some of the labour positions we practiced with you in class 5. Thank you so much for all your support and wisdom and encouragement, it really made the difference. After going through the birth experience, honestly the hardest part was not the labour but coping afterwards! But the birth was exactly what I wanted, calm and peaceful till the end. All the best to you Kris, and thanks again for all your help! I will definitely recommend your course to other 'soon to be parents'." - Mira and John, Oakville
"We want to express our gratitude for all your tremendous support during our pregnancy, the labour, and post birth. Your kindness and genuine caring have allowed us to feel more confident in ourselves leading up to the birth and now as parents. The HypnoBirthing class was an experience we will never forget and because of it, we were able to experience a beautiful birth - although nothing happened as planned, we would not have had it any other way! Katie will grow up knowing her birth story because we are proud to tell it. Only happy birth stories for us! Keep in touch, love always." ~ Carla & Bryan, Etobicoke
"Hi Kris, Just wanted to reach out to thank you again for the HypnoBirthing course support and to let you know that we had our baby (38 weeks) on last week. I found the course really helped me stay focused on breathing baby down and staying positive. I ended up having a home birth with no pain medication. I had the birth I wanted. Thanks again!" - Katie & Shawn, Mississauga
"Hi Kris, thank you again for teaching our HypnoBirthing course. Prior to taking these classes, we had little knowledge about HypnoBirthing to help with having a natural birth. I also had fear of pain and nervousness with the upcoming birth of our baby. After taking this course this has changed. Your passion, knowledge, expertise and teaching style along with the course materials and techniques, has prepared and given us the confidence to have a calm, positive, and joyous birth!" - Genevieve & James
"Dear Kris, I just wanted to thank you for being such a supportive doula for each step of my journey. I appreciate your prompt responses to my questions and sharing your knowledge, experience, and contacts to the best people around. Thank you for lending me books to read and most of all for teaching me about HypnoBirthing. I am such a strong believer that it works and I will spread the news. I couldn't have done it without you. You are my guiding light. I am so lucky to have found you and so very happy you were available when my little ninja decided she wanted to evacuate early in order to practice more ninja moves. May you attend more happy births and I will always be more than happy to recommend my friends to you as a doula and HypnoBirthing teacher. Much love." ~ Danielle & Dave, Mississauga
"Just wanted to let you know that we had our daughter, Marlena, yesterday afternoon. I am proud to say that I delivered her completely naturally - laboured at home for as long as possible and was 9 cm when we arrived at the hospital. Thank you so much for being such a great hypnobirthing teacher. You gave both John and I the tools and confidence to succeed in delivering our daughter the way we wanted to! The TENS machine was also amazing, so glad that I rented it." - Valerie & John, Oakville
"I said I would send you details about the birth of our son Sean and how HypnoBirthing helped so here goes: We had dinner early and finished at 6:15pm- I got my first contraction when taking dishes into kitchen. Rob decided to take a quick shower in case we were off to hospital that night and I did the same after him - noting that I had a couple contractions but thinking I probably had lots of time. After my shower we decided to text you just in case things started progressing faster- which they did. By the time we timed contractions they were 45 secs long about 5 mins apart and what i thought were pretty intense. We tried rainbow relaxation CD and readings, along with using the yoga ball to help with surge breathing but honestly I couldn't focus except to try and regain my composure while leading in the kitchen counter for support each time or on the toilet. Within a couple hours the intensity had me on the toilet for each surge- and my water broke during one of them which is when we decided it was time to head to the hospital. I figured I was in for a tough ride if this was 'early labour' and by the time we were on our way to the hospital I was fighting the urge to push. We arrived at the hospital and went up to labour and delivery - I told the nurse I needed to use the bathroom and she said she needed to check me first - I was at 10 cm and ready to deliver!! They rushed me through on the gurney (quite dramatic actually!) and the doctors and nurses were trying to set up everything and I was resisting pushing but ready for baby. He was born just a few mins later at 10:15pm - just a minus shy of 4 hours from first surge to holding him in our arms. I surprised the staff by saying I never felt any pain, just pressure and that I felt great, and alert and so did my baby after our Natural birth. The doctors were respectful of our HypnoBirthing wishes, and Rob played the rainbow CD while I labored and reminded me to breathe our baby down when I struggled with the last few pushes. I felt calm afterwards, and was able to enjoy our baby and the amazing feat my body had just accomplished.
I felt so prepared after taking the course- my goals of having control over the fear of birth were non-existent at the time of his arrival, and I was able to enjoy the experience and have a positive birth story to share with others. Thank you for teaching us HypnoBirthing!" ~ Taylor & Rob, Brampton
"Our little princess did arrive early! So early that we did not have a chance to fill up the birthing tub with water. It was a positive labour experience. On Wednesday around noon I started to feel a trickle of fluid, I didn't think much of it and continued along with my day. My hubby and I went grocery shopping and the trickles started turning into gushes of water. When we got home, we had lunch and I listed to Rainbow Relaxation and continued the day normally as I did not feel any surges. Around 5pm that evening I started to have mild cramps. We called the midwife to let her know the status and she said she would drop by to have a look. She did say that because I was talking and laughing it did not sound like I was in active labour but that she would come set everything up just in case. She arrived around 6:30pm and started to set up. At that point the surges did start to intensify. I was breathing through them (my hubby was amazing at coaching me through each one). Once the midwife was set up she checked me and said I was 7cm dilated. She called her back up and shortly after (at 9:55pm) our little Claire was born... just shy of 6lbs.
The midwives described the birthing environment as peaceful. They said I looked calm through each surge. We are very happy with our HypnoBirthing experience. " ~ Sarah, Oakville
"Hi Kris, Over the last week we found out that two close family members have found out they are pregnant, and I have been highly recommending HypnoBirthing to them. I am so thankful that I took the class, and also that I took the class with you as you really pushed us to do the practices (without the extra pushing from you, I probably would not have practised!). I found that the surge breathing was the technique which got me through the contractions right until 10cm. The nurses said they have not seen HypnoBirthing before. My nurse made the comment that this was the first time she would walk into a room and was not able to tell whether someone was having a contraction or not, all thanks to the surge breathing. During the surge breath, I found the bigger the better! The bigger and deeper the breath, the more effective it was at alleviating the pain of the contraction.
It wasn't easy, but I am thankful that I was able to get through the contractions without an epidural because when it came time for pushing, my baby's head was facing laterally and so I was instructed to stop pushing and my doula guided me through various positions to encourage the baby to move into the right position. If I had gotten the epidural I would not have been able to move, and would have required either forceps/vacuum, or even a c-section. Also I have been telling my friends who are pregnant that I would recommend HypnoBirthing to anyone, even if they want to have an epidural, or will require a c-section, because I can definitely say that it significantly reduced my anxiety and stress about labor. And one week after I started listening to the positive affirmations CD, I was able to sleep better at night.
As a doctor, I will be encouraging women to take HypnoBirthing classes. Thanks so much for all your support throughout everything! You are so sincere in your desire to positively impact women's experiences, and you are very good at it! I'm a HypnoBirthing advocate now :) " ~ Dr. Paula and Sam, Oakville
"Our birth story begins weeks before actual delivery, when my husband and I chose to attend a HypnoBirthing class. I was experiencing a high degree of anxiety about labour and had been told about hypnobirthing by a friend, who also lent me her book. By the time I was finished reading chapter 1, I knew this approach was right for us. I was already feeling less anxiety and more empowered.
Given the late change of heart, we still planned to give birth at the hospital and continued under the care of our OB, who was very supportive of our birth plan. However, there was a minor issue when she scheduled an induction for 41 + 1 day. I really felt that this was too early, and wanted to avoid any medical induction measures. After a follow up conversation, the induction was cancelled and OB agreed to monitor and play things by ear, depending on the health of me and my baby. In the meantime, we were trying all the natural induction methods, including acupuncture.
Our initial induction date, and I attended an OB check up and the third acupuncture appointment. We had an early dinner and I started to feel a little cramping. Around 7 we thought maybe we should start timing, and I was about 9 minutes between surges that were lasting about 30 seconds. I lay down and did the rainbow relaxation and the affirmations. In the moment, I actually found the affirmations more helpful and almost like being coached through labour. As things progressed, my husband used a variety of methods and cues to continue my relaxation. We were both amazed by the power of the shoulder anchor, which we had practiced extensively. His touch on my shoulder during a surge allowed me to completely relax. This worked all the way through to the delivery of our child!
We called L&D at 11:30pm, and decided to go in. Which was a good plan, given that I was already 7 cm! I continued to do surge breathing and visualized a magnificent purple balloon. The nursing staff was wonderful and supportive, we laboured for 2 hours at the hospital. The baby's heart rate was dipping slightly during contractions - which we later found out was because he had tied his cord in a knot. I was given oxygen for a little while. Liam made his appearance following a natural labour at 1:33. He was bright and alert, was able to breastfeeding right away and enjoyed a long period of skin to skin. We are overjoyed to be home and starting to get to know our little guy." ~ Marianna, Oakville
"Hi Kris, Today was our due date. Amelia had the baby. She did amazing! She did her HypnoBirthing breathing and was able to have a quick and easy natural birth at home. Thank you for everything. We couldn't have done it without you! Thank you so much for taking the time to help us and teach the class last minute at 37 weeks. You went over and beyond and you are an amazing teacher." ~ Cameron & Amelia, Brampton
" I am very thankful that I took the HypnoBirthing class with Kris. Reading the book, I already had a good understanding of HypnoBirthing, but having practice really helped ease any fears I had about labour. We received a lot of really informative handouts and Kris was able to answer any questions we had, I would highly recommend the course to any expecting mom and dad. It empowers both mom and dad and makes labour a lot less scary and intimidating for first time parents." - Laura & Rob
"Hi Kris, Just wanted to let you know that our beautiful baby boy Tyler was born this morning! He weighed 7.5lbs and was 21" long. It was a beautiful home water birth, labour was 7hours from start to finish. HypnoBirthing breathing was key to making each surge manageable! Thank you for providing the tools necessary so that I could have the drug/intervention free home birth I had dreamed of! Everything is going really well, Tyler is an amazing little boy who latched properly right away! We are totally in love! Please feel free to share my story. My birthing team M. and L. and even our dog worked beautifully together to support me through this incredible experience!" ~ Chloe, Milton
"Hi Kris, I wanted to let you know that my beautiful 9.5 lbs baby boy was born on Sunday. The doctors were surprised by how smooth the labour was. No interventions of any kind, no epidural. I feel so blessed that I was able to go through it without meds. Successful VBAC just as I wanted, thanks to HypnoBirthing!" ~ Nadia, Oakville
"Hi Kris,
I wanted to share our daughter's birth story with you! I think we set records for the smoothest, quickest first time mom birth for our midwives.
For me, the first sign that Allyson was on her way was an intense nesting instinct during the day on Friday. After a week of having very little energy, I was able to clean the whole house (bathrooms, kitchen, sweep, mop and dust), took our dog for two walks, and baked twice to stock our freezer with easy breakfast foods! By Friday evening I was relaxing on the couch and started to feel some activity in my uterus. It was very faint, but I had been doing the visualizations of the uterine fibres contracting and the rose bud opening, and was feeling really in tune with my body. It was not the least bit uncomfortable, but I could feel some tightening and that my cervix was starting to open. This was around 7:30pm. At 9pm I decided to try to go to bed and get some rest since I had a feeling things would pick up in the morning! I fell asleep to the rainbow relaxation cd, like I did every night. I slept from 9pm-2am, and was having dreams of tightening and pressure and uterine contractions-- but it wasn't strong enough to wake me up! At 2am I got up to go to the bathroom and at 2:15am my membranes released. At this point I could feel things starting to pick up, but I still just felt like resting in bed, so I went back to bed and continued with my breathing and visualizations. I stayed in bed like that until about 10am when I got up and called the midwives to tell them what was happening. They wanted to do a fetal monitoring test at the hospital to make sure that baby was tolerating early labour well, and they talked me through my options of induction if things didn't pick up on their own (things were steady from around 5am-2pm, with contractions easily manageable with breathing alone). I agreed to go in for the monitoring but declined discussion of induction until at least 24 hours later. By 2:30 we left the hospital (baby was doing great!) and the midwives said they would expect me to call in the middle of the night (since I was a first time mom and didn't seem to be acting like someone close to active labour) so to try to eat and get some rest in the meantime. I was convinced that baby was coming sooner than that, and kept going with my visualizations of the rosebud and the blue satin ribbons that we learned in class. On the way home from the hospital I felt things start to speed up.
We went for another "nap" and listened to the rainbow relaxation again, and it was really clear to me by 4:30 that baby was coming soon. I had Anthony time my contractions for a bit and they were consistently 3-5 min apart at that point, but not consistently a minute long. I told him to stop timing them so he could help me with some of the positions-- I was on all fours for a bit, used the birth ball and leaned on the bed, etc. Anthony helped with the hip squeeze and did some acupressure points that helped a lot. All through this I was able to stay with my surge breathing and was managing well. At 6pm I had Anthony call the midwives and tell them I felt that I needed to labour the rest of the way at the hospital. I had the feeling that I needed to be where I was comfortable to birth our baby-- it felt very soon!
We checked into Credit Valley at 6:50 pm-- I was 6cm open. Finally we got settled into the birthing suite (we had to change rooms once because the computer wasn't working!) and I got into the shower. After half an hour I could feel the natural expulsive reflex take over-- baby was coming! The midwives were convinced I couldn't be 10 cm already and told me to try to resist the urge of my body to push. This was the hardest part, because I was trying to go against what my body wanted to do... It was distressing to say the least. After a few more surges like this I insisted on getting out so they could check me-- I was fully open! Once I was given the green light to do what my body wanted I was so happy. The "pushing" phase was the most satisfying feeling. After a few of my "pushes" I was laughing and had such a rush of energy. After 20 mins like this (felt like 5 minutes), baby Allyson was born. I looked at Anthony as soon as she was out and on my belly, and said "ok we are totally having more kids, that was not that bad at all!". So Allyson was born at 8:47pm and we were discharged from hospital at 12:05am-- just over 5 hours from when we checked in.
The midwives tell me that I should plan a home birth for the next baby or I might give birth in the car!
Ok so that was a marathon email, but it's hard to summarize such a spectacular experience. I need to thank you so much for helping to prepare us for the birth. I had no fear, and the visualizations really helped me-- I'm convinced that my calm attitude and the visualizations were what allowed me to progress through the "active labour" phase so quickly and have such an uneventful, positive birth experience. All the best and thank you so much again. We won't forget you." ~ Dominique, Anthony & Allyson, Mississauga
"Hi Kris,
Everything is going great for me and Christopher. Recovery was really easy this time, even though it was my third C-section. Christopher is a very calm baby. The HypnoBirthing relaxation CD really had a positive effect on his personality, and mine. I use my instant relaxation when it seems the house is in chaos with our three boys! Learning to relax has helped me de-stress and problem solve more effectively. I am sure that being more calm and relaxed will have many positive outcomes in raising my children. I may not have had the VBAC I wanted, but I have no regrets when I look into Christopher's eyes. He came into this world in a peaceful way, an experience which I wish I had had with my previous 2 births! In addition, HypnoBirthing taught me how to develop a relationship with my unborn child, something I never did previously. My relationship with Christopher is merely a continuation from what I shared with him while in the womb. I am great full for having taken your hypnobirthing course. My relationship with all of my children has been enhanced, as I have come to a greater understanding of what it means to be a mother. I now understand more fully this spiritual role of being a mother. This depth of this connection to your children is possible without a vaginal birth experience. Thank you for all of your support." ~ Kate and Al, Brampton
"Hi Kris, We welcomed a little boy into this world last week. Lee was born at 41 weeks weighing 7lbs and 14oz. We are soaking in this special time.
Lee's birth went really well despite a few detours. Early Tuesday morning my membranes released and I noticed meconium :( We connected with our midwives, they were at hospital so we went in to see them and have them check things out. It was definitive that the fluid wasn't clear but there was the small chance it may have just been old blood. We decided we'd go back home and give my body some time and go from there. A few hours later it was quite obvious it was meconium. We decided to have the baby in hospital as a precaution.
It was great that we took that time to go home and relax. I was much more dilated at this point and didn't need much oxytocin (they felt oxytocin was indicated due to the circumstances). The rest of the story truly went as best as possible. I was able to move into various positions, listen to my hynobirthing CDs, breathe and let my body and this sweet babe take over. A few hours later he was born. He was totally ok (no interventions needed for him). He was put on my chest right away and crawled his way up to my breast just like you showed us on the video! Leaving us both truly speechless! We are very grateful for your help. I feel that hypnobirthing really helped me connect with his birth in a really amazing way. Thank you for hosting a wonderful course and for being a great teacher." ~ Gabriela, Morton & Lee, Etobicoke
"Hi Kris, John and I wanted to let you know that we had our baby girl on July 17. Her entire journey took 14 hours all together without any complications. My midwifes said that I have restored their look on home birthing and how they have truly enjoyed our birth! - all thanks to you and Hypnobirthing. We are very happy that we took the course with you and are recommending it to ALL whom we know. Once again thank you for everything you have truly made a difference in our birthing experience. We would do it all over again the exactly the same way!!! Much love from, - Dani, John and baby Lina, Mississauga
"Hi Kris, I just wanted to let you know that with the help of HypnoBirthing, Henry was delivered without the use of drugs in the comfort of my own home. I showed pictures of him to others right after the birth, and people reported that he didn't look like a newborn because he was so alert!!! Thanks for all the tips, and I will definitely recommend HypnoBirthing to other expectant mothers. We truly appreciate the advice you gave us, and we even use the breathing techniques to settle baby. We just place him on our chest when he is fussy, and calm him by doing 'surge breathing'! it works every single time!!! Thanks again," ~ Annie, Marco and Henry, Brampton