Dear Nick,
I hope you and Denise are well and happy parents!!! 
I gave birth to a beautiful, healthy and calm daughter – A--- -  on 14th February 2007. It was a VBAC in water at the Horton Maternity unit in Banbury. Hypnobirthing helped me a lot. I’d like to fill out a feedback questionnaire about hypnobirthing if it can help to spread this technique. 
All the best,

Dear Nick
Just a quick message to let you know our baby was born on the 18th Feb - a girl and we have named her Beatrice. She weighed 7lbs 11 and we are both very well. The birth went extremely well, we used all the hypnobirthing techniques and it was a wonderful experience for both Phil and I. We will send you a full account of the story when we have a bit more time but we just wanted to pass on the good news.
With best wishes and many many thanks

Dear Nick
Just to let you know that M--- put in a slightly early appearance on Tuesday morning at 5.52am, weighing in at 6lb 8oz.  We are all doing fine and are now back at home.
We wanted to let you know how very grateful we are to you and Marie (fortunately, she didn't pop out of any cupboards during the labour!) for Hypnobirthing.  It worked a treat!  A very quick stage one labour with no need for pain relief, a long stage two (I got in the birthing pool and managed to stop my contractions - lucky me!) again with no pain relief which resulted in a quick transfer up to the JR.  Madam needed pulling out as she was obviously quite happy inside which unfortunately meant that I needed an epidural.  However, Matthew and I were calm, focused and really positive throughout - even 40 mins in an ambulance at 3am didn't bother us.  I have absolutely no idea of how long anything took or the amount of noise I made (Matt said I mooed like a cow throughout!) because I was totally somewhere else ... We look back on the whole experience with nothing but positive memories and are sure that this is because Hypnobirthing helped us to focus on the positive.  I also used the CD in the hospital on the first night (popped it on my IPod because there were lots of noisy babies around) and Madam and I had a peaceful few hours together, with her bundled up by my side.  We have a lovely, chilled out little girl and we are sure that this is because we approached her birth in a really relaxed way.
We cannot recommend the method more highly and will rave on about it (and you!) if anyone asks us!
Please feel free to copy the above bits and pieces into any information you would like to send out to prospective clients.
I've got my viva for the PHD in a couple of months (submitted my thesis on Monday at 4pm as the waters broke at 7pm - how's that for timing!) and I will be in touch then to have a session with you to help me to focus on this.  Another fear which can be overcome.
With many thanks to you,
Hope that you are well,


Dear Nick,
that's great! Thanks! That way Alex and I can go over things once he gets
here.
I'm still sitting on boxes from the move. Wheatley is quite nice, it's a
pain to get to work though.
I really, really enjoyed the classes. Last time was such a revelation,
somehow now that I know I can relax the rainbow relaxtion is going much
better as well. I don't get as stressed out if I don't relax immediately,
but have more confidence that it will happen. I also enjoyed the fun and
decontracted atmosphere you created! I'm looking forward to coming with
Alex, so he can experience some of it as well.
See you soon!


Hi Nick, 
I hope you're well. 
After the birth of our lovely L--- on May 27th, I thought I'd drop you a line with my birth story. This won't be one to expose to your clients alongside videos of tranquil American ladies beached onto hospital beds, but I do remain a believer!
In short, I was a hypnobirthing failure and ended up with an epidural and fully medically-managed birth with plenty of intervention and an ER-type setting of bright lights and shouts of "push"! However, there is a significant BUT. I was very happy in the early stages of labour at home with the rainbow relaxation CD going round and round. I welcomed the contractions, was totally relaxed, felt them and they didn't hurt (complete contrast to when not in a state of relaxation). I was happy on the sofa with my family around me and I did not want to go anywhere. Then, I had to go to hospital. By the time I got there, the contractions were less than a minute apart and with all the faff of getting into hospital (the drive, the midwife shift handover, the admin, wiring up and checks, their CD player not working properly etc.) my state of relaxation was long gone and the surges were so close together, I had no chance to get back into a state of relaxation. So I asked for an epidural. It didn't work all the way round so I was able to use the slow breathing techniques to deal with the feeling I had.  12 hours after going in, Laurie was born by ventouse. She was lying/presenting in a strange position and was a staggering 9lb 7oz - who knows whether I would have needed the ventouse without the epidural.
Anyway, I am still glad I learnt about hypnobirthing. I am absolutely sure it shaped my attitude well throughout the pregnancy and into the birth, and moved things along so rapidly in the early stages of labour while at home. If there is a number two, I will revisit. I would love to know how I would have got on if I'd stayed at home, but then with the complications and a heavy blood loss afterwards, I am glad I was in hospital. A midwife saw the book by my bed and said hypnobirthing was good for early labour, and subsequent babies, but not for the first one. Maybe she had a point.
So I am very grateful for your teaching and guidance and you really opened my eyes to the power of hypnotherapy. I am a very happy mum now, and thank you for your part in making that the case.
Best wishes

 
I had the birthing experience I wanted, I was happy and relaxed throughout..
Chipping Norton hospital wished they could have videod the birth as they said it was the perfect birth, my notes written by the midwife during labour only covered four lines. I was relaxed throughout and delivered in the birthpool. I felt little discomfort... it was so quick and comfortable.

No pain whatsoever (before the final few minutes - just 16 hours of very minor niggles. The birth took us all by surprise, even the midwife. It was so mild, I wasn't sure I was in labour at all. Then, suddenly, three big contractions and the baby popped out! When T--- was handed to me, I was in such shock I wondered where she had been magicked up from (truly!). No tears or stitches either in spite of the speedy delivery.


Hi Nick,
I'm sorry its taken so long to get in touch with you to let you know how the hypnobirthing went - your feedback forms are somewhere in the mountain of paper I need to sort through as we've not attended to anything since baby 2 arrived on the 11th August. We had a baby girl called M--- and she was 9lb 1oz and nearly 2 weeks late. We tried everything in the book apart from castor oil (aparently that can make you quite ill if you get it wrong) and pineapple (because I hate it) to get labour going once I was overdue. I was walking for at least an hour a day and went for refloxology a few times (definitely one to recommend to your future mums).
We had a couple of false starts where I was getting contractions but nothing came of them, but on the Wednesday afternoon I had some strong surges while I was out and about and I realised during dinner at around 9pm that it was the real thing. I used all the breathing techniques and relaxed downstairs watching a bit of TV etc until about 11.30pm. I then got in the bath for an hour. We called the hospital to tell them we wanted to go in but they asked us to stay at home for another hour as they were very busy. I was coping fine and went back in the bath for another hour. By around 1.45am things were a bit more hectic as the surges were coming very fast and for a long time. When I got out of the bath I realised that I wanted to push (but didn't mention this to Dxxx as I didn't want to panic him...) We managed to get me dressed and into the car (after a comedy argument over which T-shirt I was going to wear). The hospital is less than 5 minutes walk from our house and a 2  minute drive, but my waters broke in the car (luckily a hire car) and we had difficulty getting me out of the car and into the hospital as we'd left it so late to get there. I was admitted at 2.10am and Mxxx was born very easily at 2.24am. I did try to do the breathing down, but my body was determined to really push. I used a bit of gas and air when I got to the hospital. Mxxx was delivered straight on to my tummy, Duncan cut the cord and worked out what sex she was. I used the breathing techniques and visualisations throughout and it was only when I realised that we were much further on in labour than I'd thought and were still at home that I got distracted and it was more difficult to cope. The transition from home to hospital is the most difficult thing to remain concentrating through I think. We didn't have time to set the hospital in terms of lights, music etc - they hadn't even finished clearing up after the last person, but had to get me into a room as soon as possible else I  had the baby in the corridor! They did apologise profusely afterwards for asking us to stay at home when we originally called them - they hadn't realised how far on we were as when they spoke to me on the phone I was coping fine, able to talk, completely calm and silent through contractions. Because we were coping so well, they hadn't thought that labour was far progressed - a sign that the hypnobirthing techniques were really working.
I had no stitches or anything after the birth and felt really well - I was a bit in shock that it was all over so quickly though. We were allowed home later on the same day and I was out shopping in reading town centre the following day.
Hypnobirthing definitely worked for us and M---'s birth was so easy and calm in comparison to our first experience with Lewis. We though Lewis had been an easy baby, but M--- is so chilled its unbelievable.
Thank you so much for all your help - the whole experience has been fantastic and I have been recommending your services to everyone I know who is either pregnant or might be in the future! If I ever have more children I'll definitely use hynobirthing again.
I noticed on your website you've got a bit about how hypnosis can help with weight loss - what does that involve and how much does it cost? - I could do with a bit of a hand to get back to pre-pregnancy shape!
Many thanks again - I will dig out the proper forms and fill them all out. Let me know if there's anything else you'd like to know about it, or feedback you would like.
Kind regards
 

Dear Nick
A quick note to let you know that our daughter T---- is finally here - 11 days late, but making up for it with the speed of her arrival.
Born on xx May on our upstairs landing after a 15-minute labour. Weight 7lbs 14oz. dark grey eyes, lots of brown hair and very pretty. A sister for C--- and a wonderful new member of our family.
No pain whatsoever (before the final few minutes) -just 16 hours of very minor 'niggles'. The birth took us all by surprise, even the midwife. It was so mild, I wasn't sure I was in labour at all. Then, suddenly, three big contractions and the baby popped out! When T--- was handed to me, I was in such shock I wondered where she had been magicked up from (truly!). No tears or stitches either in spite of the speedy delivery.
I listened to your hypnotherapy tapes and visualisation techniques throughout, so stayed totally relaxed. All remarkably easy and a complete contrast to C---'s birth which lasted 36 hours and seemed to go on forever.
So thanks for your help, support, and all the things you taught me. The miracle happened - hypnotherapy does work! But then, you knew this all along...
A big thank you once again.
With love


My partner, Matt, and I decided we wanted as natural a birth as possible. I was confident that I could give birth without the use of any drugs, providing I could stay centered and calm. I felt I would need some kind of structure or programme to follow to achieve this so when I heard about hypnobirthing I was really excited.
Our HypnoBirthing teacher, Nick Smith, gave us 5 sessions, an accompanying book and a CD and we set to work. We began the hypnobirthing programme around the start of my third trimester . We found that each session made us focus on the birth, think about how we wanted it to be, and using the tools that Nick gave us, visualize it.
Nick did the teaching,  and using the CD and the book, we did the homework.
Matt and I are busy people, so one concern I had was making time to listen to the CD. Finally we began listening to it in bed, as we were going to sleep - Matt says he’s never slept so well! The affirmations were really helpful for me.
As the birthdate approached,  Matt and I did some birth rehearsals and Matt rehearsed the prompts, for the different stages of labour. Practising was so useful mentally, and made the birth somehow more real and less remote, although at first the idea of practicing a birth seemed a little ridiculous, now the idea of not practising such an enormous event seems senseless.
I found the words and the hypnobirthing practicing reassuring, they gave me control, and made me feel that I was in charge. I wasn’t sitting back and ‘letting it happen’ I was working with my body, and with nature. This built my confidence for a winning performance on the day!
The sessions with Nick were great because he made them fun, accessible and filled us with positivity about birthing, and I found I was really looking forward to the experience. Seeing videos of other hypnobirthers also gave me a lot of encouragement.
On the big day I found I was very calm, and I listened to the CD at home several times in the early stages of labour; if I felt some fear coming up, they always helped me combat the feeling. I had chosen a wonderful birthing centre to have my baby in, with a great pool, and as we drove there my contractions began getting stronger which meant Matt was driving and saying prompts at the same time…..who says men can’t multi-task?
I was 5cm dilated on arriving at the centre and went  straight into the birthing pool with Matt. I had given my birth plan to the midwives – taken from the hypnobirthing model plan – who were respectful of my wishes. They left Matt and I alone, just popping in every 15 minutes to check the baby’s heartbeat. They did not offer me any drugs, or offer any advice, they were just overseeing the event with minimum intervention, as I requested.
Matt and I were busy with our birthing roles, Matt repeating the prompts and supporting me, and me doing the rest. We were both in the water  and as each contraction came, I would push using his knees as my supports, and Matt would use the hypnobirthing prompts. When each surge stopped I would float across the water  into his arms and we hold each other. These moments of peace before the next round of contractions were the most peaceful moments of my life, and Matt’s words, the scripted prompts, kept me focused, calm, and in control. I felt so safe and reassured, it was incredible.
The midwives kept telling me how calm the baby was, his heartbeat only rising during the contractions. It felt so good to know that the baby was having a good birth! After two and a half hours our little boy, Artie, was born, completely naturally. He was so alert from the moment he appeared, looking at everyone and everything. Matt and I were overwhelmed, and extremely proud.
The midwives were really impressed with the birth and the hypnobirthing technique. One said in all her years she had never seen a couple working so well together during a birth.
They also said it was as though I had breathed the baby out, and did not seem to have pushed, which was why Artie was very calm.
I know that our wonderful birth was thanks to hypnobirthing, and we are so grateful for the help, reassurance and calm it brought to the most powerful and amazing experience of our lives.