Now that the dust has settled I just wanted to drop you a line to say thanks again for your help with the birth preparations – firstly, I had the courage to ask not to be induced despite some scaremongering by the doctors at UCH. I said I wanted to wait another 24 hours, I knew he would come of his own accord then and he did! I’m so glad I had that advice from you.

We had to be on the labour ward because I was over 42 weeks (or, if we didn’t have to be I was in labour and didn’t care) but because we were low risk there wasn’t a room for us for hours. I dilated to 8 cm in the corridor and managed to make it all that way using hypnobirthing. One of the reasons I wanted to write was to say that the techniques were sort of too good! I was so quiet that everyone thought I hadn’t progressed. I ended up in a room with a doctor saying “We’ll have to break your waters” and thinking to myself “I’m all the way dilated but I can’t be f***ed to tell you.” In retrospect that was the thing I didn’t realise – hypnobirthing allows you to be so calm that people have no idea what’s going on.

Anyway it all got a bit much and in the end we had a ventouse and episiotomy and I lost a litre of blood BUT Max came out eventually and is a real sweetheart. Now I’ve recovered I think hypnobirthing was the most helpful thing I did when I was pregnant.

I hope you’re having a lovely autumn!