Hear'Say singer Suzanne Shaw has revealed she had a completely pain-free birth, without pain-relieving drugs, thanks to hypnobirthing.
The mother-of-two explained that she refused any medication because self-hypnosis meant she wasn't in any pain; 'I was in labour for seven hours but for five and half of those hours, it was close to pain free.'
The 34 year old chose a home birth for her second baby Rafferty, who was born in November 2015. She also has an 11-year-old son, Corey, from her relationship with Darren Day.
Suzanne gave birth in her kitchen at home with her fiancé Sam Green, explaining to The Sun; 'I will always look at this kitchen and think this is where Raffi was born. It was the best possible place to have a child.'
'I kept thinking - I'm actually going into this without any pain relief in my own home.'
The former Emmerdale actress was 'frightened beforehand' but thanks to the expertise of her teacher Katharine Graves she had a 'brilliant experience.' Hypnobirthing involves teaching expectant mums about relaxation and breathing techniques for a relaxed birth.
The singer also revealed to OK! magazine that she didn't know the gender of her newborn for 10 minutes after the birth as she forgot to check.
'Sam just put him straight on my chest and we didn't think to look, then we said to each other- shall we see what it is?'
Explaining how other mums should prepare if they are interested in hypnobirthing Suzanne said; 'We did have back up if I wanted it but I didn't need it. The combination of the hypnobirthing and the pool was medication enough.'
Suzanne on Popstars in 2000
Suzanne rose to fame after winning Simon Cowell's Popstars contest in 2000. She has since moved into musical theatre and frequently stars in West End productions.
In 2008 Suzanne was voted Celebrity Mother Of The Year by the public.
