She wanted to B natural.
A Seattle stay-at-home mom who sang through labor to deliver her son as her husband played guitar says she hardly experienced pain — it “felt like a vacation.”
Biffy Hell, 31, and her musician husband, Brandon, 30, sang hymns and their favorite songs for most of Biffy’s five-hour labor in November.
They were even joined in song by their doula, Maddy Barnes, 26.
“It was pain management — it really helped singing to focus on controlling the breath,” Biffy explained to SWNS.
“I was shocked I didn’t have that much pain. It felt like a vacation,” she added.
Biffy and Brandon wanted to have a natural home birth with their daughter, Penelope, 2, but Biffy ended up going to the hospital for induction when she reached 42 weeks in her pregnancy.
Her water broke at the hospital, with Biffy describing the birth as “traumatic.”
“With my first, I really wanted a home birth. I’m terrified of needles,” Biffy recalled.
“When the contractions started, they were so intense — I did eight hours of natural labor and then had an epidural,” she shared. “I wanted to try natural again.”
She planned a natural birth for son Jack at a birthing center in Seattle.
The couple sang together for Penelope’s birth in December 2021 and decided to do the same again.
When she became 7 centimeters dilated, Biffy was admitted to the Birth Cottage.
She started singing, laughing and moving to distract from the contractions.
The couple sang “Beautiful Saviour” by the Planetshakers and Sheryl Crow’s 1993 hit “Strong Enough,” as well as other music that played on their speaker.
“I was trying not to let my previous birth experience dictate how I handled my second,” Biffy said. “I was really excited. I wasn’t in so much pain.”
Biffy managed to continue singing for four hours on and off — she only found herself unable to do it 30 minutes before giving birth to Jack.
“She was doing … well on the singing and the movements,” Brandon gushed. “Singing really helped.”
When Jack was born at 8:20 p.m. on Nov. 20, weighing exactly 7 pounds, his parents sang Disney songs to him.
They noted Jack was very “relaxed.”
“The birth was a completely different experience,” Biffy declared. “I felt so lucky to have the experience I was having.”
The couple say their two children love music — and hear their parents singing to each other all the time.
Biffy encourages others to try singing or listening to music while giving birth — and hopes her delivery of Jack shows a more positive birth experience.
“It’s irrelevant if you’re a good singer or not,” she reasoned. “You find certain music that calms you or pumps you up.”