A Belfast woman who lost her leg after developing a rare form of cancer has told of her joy at giving birth to her first child through hypnobirthing.
In 2018, Bernadette Hagans was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare cancer which develops in cells around the joints and tendons and resulted in the amputation of her right leg.
Ms Hagan had “serious concerns” about the impact her amputation would have on her labour.
She told The Irish News: “With giving birth there are different positions you can use and the more mobile you are the less likely you are to need intervention but because I have a prosthetic I obviously can’t move around too much. And it’s something I was really worried about.”
However, prior to giving birth she attended a Motherhood Bubble hypnobirthing course which she described as “an absolute game changer.”
Founded by midwife and medical nurse Nicole McAuley, Motherhood Bubble provides specialist hypnobirthing courses which use a combination of techniques to help women have a positive birth.
“Meeting and working with Nicole was great because not only is she a midwife but she also has two babies herself which really helped reassure me.
More: Ask the Expert: What is hypnobirthing and is it suitable for all pregnant women?
“With the full knowledge of the pregnancy, the birth and the different possible outcomes we were able to make a plan and be fully in control of the situation which made a massive difference - it was the best experience ever.”
Ms Hagans explained how the course allowed her and her partner to learn about the various types of pain relief offered during labour and the “pros and cons” of each.
“Nicole really is unbelievable; she ran through every single scenario – every method of birth and the different interventions available.
“When people think about labour they almost automatically think of the pain and think they need an epidural, but I laboured pretty much the whole time just through using my breathing.
“I just knew the whole time that each contraction was bringing me closer to meeting my baby.
“It’s really about retraining your brain to think about it in a positive way rather than only seeing the negatives.”
Following her cancer diagnosis, Ms Hagans started sharing her journey on social media and has since amassed more than 106.7K followers and 3.2 million likes on TikTok. She hopes to continue using her platform to document life as a new mum.
“Before I got sick, I never used to post anything, but I’ve shared my recovery from cancer and how I learnt to walk again so it only feels right to show my journey becoming a mum.
“I just want to be able to share the knowledge and experience that I have and hopefully help other parents or prospective parents.”
