Cynthia Caponera Sutton was born on 5/12 at 11:54 pm. She is 7 lb, 3 oz and 19.25 inches long.

I had been preparing for my baby’s birth using Hypnobirthing for about 7 months. I was feeling calm, but so excited to meet my baby as I was entering my 38th week. My membranes released on Monday night but I wasn’t have any surges. After 6 hours of trying to start labor on our own using some of the techniques we learned in class, I hadn’t progressed much and so my partner and I decided to start a Pitocin drip to help move baby along.

Once the Pitocin started, I still wasn’t progressing very fast and there was a risk of infection since my membranes had been ruptured for 21 hours. We calmly considered our options, weighed the risks to myself and our baby and decided to opt for an epidural. After the epidural, I quickly opened to 10 cm and our beautiful baby girl was born shortly after.

Even though I didn’t have the birth I had imagined, I felt so calm as my partner and I were able to face each turn my birthing took with calm confidence. Hypnobirthing was so valuable to me. Even while the world was locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone I met remarked how calm I was. Hypnobirthing gave me confidence in my body and inner peace. I learned to shift my focus to the amazing miracle that was taking place in my body and looked forward to my birth with so much joy. I look so fondly back on her birth. It was just so beautiful and magical.

Thank you Rubina for all your support during our journey!