About Ashley...

Ashley Wylie-Caldwell - CHBE, Yoga Bonding (Postnatal Yoga)

I found out I was pregnant my last year of graduate school. Luckily, my little man understood the academic calendar and decided to appear the day after I handed in my last paper. After the initial shock, I was elated that I was pregnant and was so excited to feel this little person grow. What I was not as elated about was the fact that at some point he had to come out! I knew I wanted a natural birth, but I also knew the odds of me being able to do it were small at best. I knew this because everyone I had ever met that was going to “try” to do it naturally…didn’t. I got a lot of “good lucks” after people finished telling me their horrifying birth stories.

As I was listening to yet another tale of “the terror of labor”, my friend disclosed that she hadn’t thought much of the labor/birth through her pregnancy and when her water broke she started sobbing and cried all the way to the hospital because of the fear of what lie ahead. I couldn’t shake off this story, and the imagery that accompanied it, from my mind. There had to a better way. After all, didn’t women around the world have their babies in their homes, fields or in the back of cars every day?

I knew wanting a natural birth would certainly not guarantee me one. I started reading books and doing research. After reading up on several methods, I found HypnoBirthing appealed to me because of its philosophy that birth is natural and normal … not a medical condition. Initially I read the book and practiced with the CD and thought that would be sufficient, but I was still fearful of the experience. I emailed a potential teacher and asked her if there was much difference between self-study and class. One of the most important points she made to me was that the classes get the Fathers/Partners involved. I was already blue in the face trying to defend my birthing decisions to others who didn’t understand why I wouldn’t just use the medical advances if they were available. The last thing I had energy for was chasing my husband around trying to convince him this wasn’t some “hippity-dippity-do” stuff or another one of my crazy ideas. His IT/Technical mind had difficulty wrapping around some of the initial concepts. Clearly, I was going to need reinforcements!

The class relaxed my fears. I think this had to be one of the most powerful pieces I found in HypnoBirthing. It also did bring my husband and I closer together than I could have imagined. Though he was already very involved in the pregnancy, HypnoBirthing made him an equal partner. Sharing stories with other couples and having such a valuable resource as my teacher quickly relaxed my worried mind.

My water released at 9:00 p.m. exactly on my son’s due date, May 24, 2010. Not only did I not cry with fear, I laughed and couldn’t wait to meet my baby! Things started moving right along. Because of the deep relaxation and breathing I learned in HypnoBirthing, I wasn’t afraid to just let my body work and it was much easier to deal with the unexpected turns my birthing would take. We left for the UCSD birthing center only to find out the birthing center was full. This meant I had to labor on the medical floor of the facility … something I had definitely not planned. I stayed focused, and with the support of my husband, doulas, and the very supportive staff, it made everything easier. Soon I moved to the birthing center where I had my little man on May 25, 2010 at 11:21 a.m. It was amazing, challenging, and beautiful. No other words could quite describe that day. When I was holding Nolan immediately after he was born I just started shouting, “I did it!” “I did it!” I then immediately told someone to get me a sandwich because I was starving! The sense of empowerment I felt at that time was incredible and still carries with me today.

It had not occurred to me how transformed I could be from the birth. I thought personal transformation happened later as I became a mother. I had learned that you are a mother from the moment you conceive. HypnoBirthing helped me realize this and protect my baby as much in birth as I would after he was born.

The class also put me in contact with women who had delivered their babies naturally and were alive to tell about it! Not only were they alive, but their births had shaped the people they were now. I honestly thought some of the women were “a bit unbelievable” as they were so passionate and emotional as they spoke of their births. Now I am one of those “nutty ladies” who was so impacted by my birthing experience that I want to share it with any woman who wants to connect deeply to their baby in pregnancy and have a gentle, relaxed birth.

I have spent time teaching in foreign countries, and after completing my masters and teaching assistantship at SDSU, I know that teaching is what I want to do. I have always assumed that my teaching would be within the walls of academia, but to combine my passions for education and HypnoBirthing is a dream come true. I look forward to sharing with you all I have learned, and partnering with you in your birthing journey. Enjoy everyday – it goes by so quickly!