A woman who relied on breathing methods instead of drugs to help her through labour says the experience felt so good it was like an orgasm.Hanna Faustino, 36, reached the blissful state while squatting to give birth to her second child, Kaiya, now seven.
The mum-of-three says the sensations she achieved were similar to that of an orgasm, and she had similar experiences with her third child, Terran, now four. Hanna, an educational assistant, said: “During birth I surrendered my mind to my body, and I had similar sensations to an orgasm.
“I found a rhythm of breathing and I was in a squat with my husband supporting me. I forgot they were in the room as I was just able to focus on this natural extension and reached a really blissful state.
"It was really natural to push, and the contractions didn't feel as painful. I had this fullness, and I didn't want the feeling to stop.
"It wasn't the same as an orgasm, but it was a really profound moment and one I'll never forget. It was a blessing."
Hanna learnt about this state of ‘labour land’ through taking prenatal yoga classes with birth coach Jannine Markou, 49. Jannine has been coaching women to reach a state of euphoria during their birth for more than 10 years and says the technique can be really successful for a positive labour and managing pain.
“She helped me with breathing exercises and with mantras,” Hanna said. “There was a lot of uncertainty with the birth of my first child, River, nine, so I didn’t achieve a blissful state.
“It was a long labour and harder than a marathon and I’ve run many. But it was beautiful work and something I’m proud of when I look back.”
For Hanna's second birth she was able to focus on the rhythm to 'climax' - and visualised her baby coming closer to her on a wave to help her through the labour. She had her husband, Will, 41, a postman, holding her from behind while she laboured in a squat position.
“I was in a squat in my bedroom and the lights were dim,” she said. “With all my babies I’ve worked on a visualisation with each contraction that they are a wave bringing my baby closer to me.
“I didn’t use any pain relief with any of my births. Reaching that state was beautiful and I didn’t want it to end.”
For her third baby, Terran, four, she chose to lie on her side with her leg up. “It was almost like a peeing dog,” she said.
“I embraced the sensations of the birth. It wasn’t quite as blissful as with Kaiya but still beautiful.”
Jannine teaches her clients to use movement, toning and breathing exercises to help them through pregnancy and birth. “If you allow birthing hormones to work for you then a woman can come into a state of bliss or labour land," she said.
“The pain is then not so intense because the endorphins are flowing and there is then no fear. It’s said they are 10 times stronger than morphine if you can that working for you.
“I’ve seen it work for women and it was amazing, but it might look different for everybody. My goal is to make sure woman are happy with their birth experience in postpartum, no matter the journey.”
Hanna credits Jannine for helping her have positive outlooks on all her births. "A birth always has surprises,” Hanna said.
“But by working on breathing and trust you can achieve a wonderful birth outlook.”
