What is Hypnobirthing? Here’s what you need to know!
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The word ‘Hypnobirthing’ tends to raise a few eyebrows when it comes to giving birth, so what exactly is it?
Does it involve a pocket watch? Does it mean c-sections are banned? Does it involve giving birth in a unicorn lake (imagine!)?
The answer is a resounding no to all of the above!
Hypnobirthing is about allowing a baby to come in their own time, without unnecessary interruption or intervention. Note I used the word ‘unnecessary’, sometimes interruption and intervention is necessary in the process of birth, and when it is, it’s important you understand what options are available to you. Birth should be free from fear, learning Hypnobirthing will allow you to let go of your birth worries. I’m going to tell you a little about what Hypnobirthing is, how it can help you, however you choose to birth your baby.
Could Hypnobirthing help me?
I’d like you to try and think of the last birth you saw or heard about that was free of medical intervention, where the womxn and her birth partner looked calm, in control and free of fear during their baby’s birth. Can you think of one? Scenes like Phoebe from Friends giving birth, the film Juno and One Born Every Minute are mainly what our references of birth are built on. To be honest, these drama filled scenes are enough to bring anyone out in a cold sweat!
We grow up believing that birth is dramatic, painful, even dangerous, and that people should be lying down on a hospital bed pushing through gritted teeth.
What if I told you that it didn’t have to be that way? What if I said that birth could be gentle, natural, and you might even enjoy giving birth? Yep, you read that right!
Womxn are incredible. Womxn’s bodies are incredible. How could we have survived as a human race if we could conceive babies but not birth them? We couldn’t! You deserve to feel like a total superhero when you have birthed your baby – using Hypnobirthing you can!
Any birth can be a Hypnobirth:
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Understandably, you can’t plan precisely what will happen in your birth and sometimes things may take a different path to what you expect. What you can plan is how you choose to approach your baby’s birth. You can plan for those unexpected scenarios, by being informed and making empowered choices. This means that Hypnobirthing can be used in any birth scenario: emergency Caesarean birth, waterbirth, induction, you name it… Hypnobirthing can be used in all situations, in fact I would say it’s even more beneficial that you know how to come back to a place of calm when something unexpected happens. Above I said that Hypnobirthing is about allowing birth to unfold without unnecessary interventions. However, some interventions are necessary, and we are so fortunate in this country to have use of the NHS and the most up to date medical knowledge and research. This means that when we need interventions, they are right there, with the most incredible professionals behind them; keeping womxn and babies safe is always the priority.
There are different types of interventions that are used to support births, and what lots of people don’t know is that you can have a choice in these. If you don’t know what these options are however, how can you make an informed choice? Going into your birth equipped with the necessary knowledge means that you don’t feel like a patient in your birth, but actually calmly in control, even if something unexpected happens.
My clients are often afraid that Hypnobirthing won’t work in a hospital setting. This definitely isn’t the case. Medical professionals also know that womxn are built to give birth naturally – this has been happening since the beginning of time! Hypnobirthing is being embraced by NHS trusts up & down the country; studies have shown that the fewer medical interventions that take place in a birth, the better the outcomes are for womxn and their baby.
That being said, there is a rise in the number of parents opting to birth in the comfort of their own home, supported by dedicated home birth teams. Including me, I had my baby at home, using Hypnobirthing tools, whilst planning for a hospital transfer alongside this should that be what me or my care team had felt was the best option at the time. So wherever you choose to birth your baby, Hypnobirthing can work for you.
What will you learn in my course:
- how to understand what happens psychologically in your body when you give birth; knowledge is power, right?
- what the brain needs to give birth – looking at psychological aspect of birth
- how to work with the hormones your body produces naturally to reduce pain, shorten labour and have a calmer baby after birth
How does Hypnobirthing work?
- through teaching you about birth anatomy. Who knew something as weird sounding as Hypnobirthing could be based in science?!
- through simple but effective exercises to teach you about the mind & body connection in birth
- through hypnosis- “Erm, what’s that now?” Don’t worry. It’s not as weird as it sounds! We actually enter hypnosis twice a day- before falling asleep and before waking up, it feels lovely and relaxing. We use hypnosis to change any subconscious fears about birth.
This is why Hypnobirthing is so powerful. It totally transforms the way you think about birth. You will understand exactly how the body works, meaning that you won’t have the fear of the unknown. We address any anxieties that you may have beforehand and also give you tools to work with your body during labour.
What makes my course different:
My big mission is to support parents to become more conscious and intentional about their birth preparation and parenting. I have been working with families for over 13 years. After the birth of my own daughter in 2017 my passion to support parents as they begin their parenting journey in pregnancy right through to when their children start school has grown, along with my business which has a variety of services designed to support you through this journey.
I am a qualified teacher, teaching children from birth right up to University students of age 55, I know what a great learning experience looks like. Plus, I have used these techniques myself, and I still use many of them everyday, post pregnancy and birth.
It’s so important that you have a connection with your Hypnobirthing practitioner, after all, you are going to be discussing one of the biggest days in your life. My advice to anyone looking to do Hypnobirthing would be; research your teacher and what kind of course they offer to make sure it meets your needs, make sure you have a connection with them, and that you like the sound of their voice- you’ll be hearing it a lot!
You can find out more about me in this video, here.
You can access my Hypnobirthing courses, privately, through group courses or I also offer refresher courses for those who have worked with me previously. My full course is 10 hours long and fully prepares you for the birth of your bay.
My next group course kicks off on Monday January 4th, and lasts for 5 weeks. You can find out more, and book a course by visiting my Work With Me pages of my website.