WHAT IS HYPNOBIRTHING?
You’ve heard of Hypnobirthing, perhaps heard people rave about it and how it helped them, or been recommended it by your midwife, but what is Hypnobirthing?
It’s not hocus-pocus! There is no swinging of a clock or voodoo going on here
It is actually straightforward stuff that is based on science
It’s logical, practical, and essential information when preparing for birth!
It will totally change the way you feel about your baby’s upcoming birth, and allow you to enjoy your pregnancy so much more
You’ll learn to ditch fear, find confidence in yourself and realise you already have everything inside you to birth your baby in a way that leaves you feeling like a total hero. You’ll learn how your amazing body works, how you are in the driving seat of your experience, how to make informed decisions, and learn how to work with your body, rather than against it as it works so hard to birth your baby.
HOW DOES HYPNOBIRTHING WORK?
A Hypnobirthing course is a complete birth preparation course, it changes the way you feel about your upcoming birth and allows you to enjoy your pregnancy.
Completing my Antenatal Hypnobirthing course provides you with the tools to use during labour and birth.
- You’ll have an in-depth understanding of what happens during your baby’s birth
- You’ll understand the choices and options you have available
- You’ll be equipped to make informed decisions that feel right for you and your baby
- You’ll be full of confidence that you have everything you need to birth your baby in a calm, positive way, which allows your body to do the job it needs to do.
- You’ll have a toolbox of comfort measures to use in the lead up to and on the day of your labour.
The tools you learn in my Antenatal Hypnobirthing course can be used for all births, in all settings.
If your birth goes in a different direction to what you had hoped, hypnobirthing will help you remain calm, help with decision making, and ultimately view your babies birth as a positive event.
A lot of these techniques are life skills- you will find yourself using them long after your baby has been born.
We have been birthing babies for millions of years- our body is designed for it and knows what to do. Giving birth is a need, just as your body knows how to grow your baby, it also knows how to birth it. But often, our over thinking human mind can get in the way.
HYPNOBIRTHING IS FOR EVERY TYPE OF BIRTH
WHAT’S THE “HYPNO” BIT ABOUT?
This is sometimes the thing that puts people off!
When they hear Hypnobirthing, they might thing of stage show hypnosis- Uncle Bob clucking like a chicken, or the time Jenny ate an onion thinking it was an apple. We think of mind control, and humiliating stuff we might see on TV. Hypnobirthing is nothing like this.
All Hypnosis is actually self- hypnosis, meaning that you have to be on board to do it. There is no mind control at all.
Being in a state of Hypnosis is actually a natural state of consciousness that we are all in at least once a day- when we fall asleep! Have you ever daydreamed? Then you have been in a state of hypnosis. It’s those relaxed, zoned out times when you disconnect from distractions.
Well how does this all relate to birth?
Choosing to zone out of distractions is powerful stuff!
Hypnobirthing gives you the tools to do this. Whether that is zoning out of your surroundings if you’re birthing away from home, to zoning out of the powerful sensations in your body, it will make your birth easier. Being able to access this deeply relaxed state during pregnancy, through the use of your Hypnobirthing tools will also allow you to change any limiting, deep rooted beliefs you may have about birth. You can then use this practise to remain really relaxed during labour- and a relaxed body is able to labour so much more comfortably and efficiently. Labour is predominantly the work of the powerful uterus muscles, and when muscles are relaxed they have their full supply of blood and oxygen, which means they can do their job so much easier. Thats is where the hypnobirthing practise comes in.
You also learn about how your body works to birth your baby, and when you understand this, those powerful sensations you feel during labour are so much more manageable. When you know how your body works, you know how to work with it- not against it. Things such as relaxation, the environment, movement, they are all elements that will make a huge difference to your labour.
Pregnancy or labour taken a more complicated turn? The knowledge and decision making tools you learn on your Hypnobirthing course will allow you to be involved in your decision making, understand your options, and ensure you are making the right choice for you and your baby- experiencing individualised care. It also means you have the tools to make any type of birth a positive experience.
THE SCIENCE OF HYPNOBIRTHING
When you are able to zone out and keep your mind calm, your body is able to remain relaxed. A relaxed body it able to labour more effectively and more comfortably.
How did your body react the last time you felt afraid?
Your heart rate would increase, you might get sweaty, your tummy will flip. A strong, physical reaction to something that comes from our minds.
This is a brilliant, life-saving system that is hugely important during times of danger.
When faced with a threat, blood is pumped away from our organs to our arms and legs, our breathing and heart rate increases ready for us to run away from, or fight the threat. The difference is, we are not giving birth in the middle of a natural disaster, nor are we cave people running away from a wooly mammoth!!
So why would we still have that response in labour?
We have our over thinking, human brains to thank for that.
Think of all the things you have heard about birth over the past 20-30 years. The episodes of One Born Every Minutes you’ve watched. The scare stories your friends and family have told you. How terrible labour is.
All of this gets stored in the deepest parts of our minds, and when we go into labour, it shouts at us that this is going to hurt! This is unsafe! Here comes pain!
Of course, when we expect these things, we are going to feel fear.
FEAR-TENSION-PAIN
When we feel the fear we are in the flight or flight response.
If we are in the fight or flight response, our bodies are tense.
When our bodies are tense, our uterus muscles can’t work as easily or comfortably, so it feels more painful.
This confirms everything we had heard about birth, and so we feel more, fear, become more tense, and feel more pain.
This is the Fear- Tension- Pain cycle, and it is one of the things we work on in hypnobirthing to prevent and break the cycle.
Through learning a number of techniques we work to rewire the brain to see birth positively.
This isn’t done by anything wacky. By watching positive birth videos, positive affirmations, relaxations and education.
This means that when we do go into labour, we don’t feel fear, and our able to stay relaxed.
THE BENEFITS OF HYPNOBIRTHING
The benefits to Hypnobirthing and attending a Hypnobirthing course are countless. The benefits aren’t just for you, but your birth partner and the long term benefits for baby.
- Labour is often shorter as your body is able to labour effectively and smoothly
- Comfort, you are likely to experience a more comfortable birth
- Eliminates or greatly reduces the need for medical intervention
- Eliminates or greatly reduces the need for medication
- Lowers the risk of pelvic floor damage, tearing or episiotomy, resulting in an often easier recovery post birth
- Increases confidence in your ability to safely birth your baby and in talking to your caregivers
- Can result in a calm, alert baby who is often able to feed and sleep well
- An informed and supportive birth partner is able to take a confident and active role in the birth, a truly loving and shared experience
To be able to look back on your birth as positive experience, however you birth, is something you will cherish always. I could relive the days I birthed my babies over and over again. That is my wish for everyone who attends my Hypnobirthing course.
Hypnobirthing benefits your pregnancy too. By releasing this fear and allowing yourself to see birth as a positive event, you will be able to enjoy your pregnancy more rather than worrying about the upcoming birth. The techniques you learn in Hypnobirthing can also help to ease any pregnancy discomforts you may feel.
IS HYPNOBIRTHING FOR ME?
Are you due to give birth? Then yes!
Whether this is your first, second or fifth baby, whether you want a home birth, or know you will be induced in hospital. Hypnobirthing allows you to approach your birth calmly and with confidence.
Knowing your choices and options allows you to make informed decisions that are right for you and your baby. It gives you an in-depth understanding of the process of birth, and ways you can help keep yourself comfortable.
The techniques we learn in our course are life skills and are something you can call on in early parenthood and throughout your life.
FAQs
Your Hypnobirthing questions answered
When should you start Hypnobirthing? You can start at anytime, ideally from your 20 weeks scan. Many woman attend at around week 25-28, this gives them plenty of time to get the practise in, get into a great mindset and really be able to enjoy the rest of your pregnancy. I have however taught woman right at the end of their pregnancy, and they still found the information and tools taught invaluable during their births and final days of pregnancy.
You can use Hypnobirthing from the very first session. It will make your pregnancy so much more enjoyable and comfortable. You can also use Hypnobirthing long after your baby has been born, it really is a life skill. You can use it all the way through labour and your babies birth, right from early labour at home, in the car journey, and once you are settled in your room at the birth centre or hospital. It can be used through the birth and after- many mums find it helps relax when breastfeeding their babies, and when coping with little sleep.
Ideally yes they do. Birth partners will benefit greatly from the knowledge they learn on a Hypnobirthing course, learning about the science behind Hypnobirthing and birth, and understanding your choices in pregnancy and labour. They will feel so much more confident supporting you with this knowledge and having practical tools to help you in labour. Please note, a birth partner does not need to be life partner. It could be your mum, sister, friend, doula. Someone you love and trust, and who is there to support you during this time.
I’m a big believer in little and often, and that your Hypnobirthing practise should fit into your daily life, and not feel a “chore”. Ideally, you want to dedicate a little bit of time each day to your Hypnobirthing practise. The more you practise these techniques, the more effective they will be.
It’s never “too late” to start Hypnobirthing, I have taught woman right before their due date and they went into the births feeling so much more informed and empowered. However ideally, you will want to attend a class at around weeks 25-28 of your pregnancy.
No!!! Hypnobirthing is for all births, in all birth settings. Sure, if you are planning a home Waterbirth, attending a Hypnobirthing course will be really helpful to you. But equally, we go over every birth setting, and every type of birth, including inductions and Caesarean births, so that you know how to apply your Hypnobirthing tools whichever direction your birth takes you, and ultimately come away with a positive birth experience.
Hypnobirthing courses tend to get booked up quite far in advance, so I would say once you reach your second trimester, I’d find a date that suits you, with a great teacher and get booked in. With my courses, you can secure your space for you plus your birth partner for just a £50 deposit.
Hypnobirthing is THE antenatal course to do if you want to understand how your birthing body works, what to expect during labour and birth, ways you can help keep yourself comfortable, and how best to experience a positive birth. Read more about Hypnobirthing on my blog here
“Daisy’s course changed the way my husband and I think about birth. Far from being scared of it, we’re now looking forward to the experience, empowered by the knowledge and techniques we’ve been given. Hypnobirthing sounds like an alternative approach but in our opinion, it’s an essential approach! Understanding what’s biologically happening inside the body and how to enhance its power is an eye-opening experience. We can’t recommend enough.”
GEMMA- FIRST TIME MUM
Read what other parents have thought of the hypnobirthing course and how it’s changed their feeling and views of birth.
Hypnobirthing really does make a difference for everyone
Option 01
1:1 PRIVATE HYPNOBIRTHING COURSE
Option 02
GROUP HYPNOBIRTHING
CLASSES
Option 03
HYPNOBIRTHING REFRESHER
COURSES
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