How does HYpnobirthing Work?
‘Is that where you are hypnotised so you become in a trance during birth?’
‘Oh, is that where you have a water bath?’
‘Does that mean that I’m not allowed to take any pain relief?’
‘Isn’t that when you are just taught to say NO to everything?’
‘Doesn’t that just teach you how to breath?’
These are just a few things I’ve heard from people when they hear about hypnobirthing… and none are accurate.
What does hypnobirthing involve?
I must say, before I did my own course when pregnant I was quite unsure about what is actually was. The name is mis-leading and doesn’t give the credit deserved. The only hypnosis I was really aware of prior to it was Derren Brown - people up on stage that were the laughing stock! Whilst hypnosis is used within hypnobirthing, this is self-hypnosis which is really quite different. The hypnosis part of the course is also just one section, hypnobirthing is made up of so much more!
It is the ultimate pre-natal/antenatal course in Portsmouth which aims to give you the best change at having a positive birth experience.
It looks at strategies to help you cope with pain during your labour. This will give you a toolbox of various different skills that you can pull out of your back pocket in labour. Alongside the skill taught, there will be information shared about pharmacological pain relief; what this actually is, and the pros and cons to it.
There is education. So much amazing education! Some of it will blow your mind….. It covers the science of the body - how it works during labour; the hormones involved, what the different stages of labour are and optimum birthing positions.
Hypnobirthing helps you to change your mindset. How many people want to offload their terrible birth experience? How many horror stories have you heard about birth in the media? How many times is birth portrayed in TV as dangerous and excruciating? Without you realising, all of these things have led you to to think birth will be terrible, but what if is doesn’t have to be? Do you think that Ant and Dec go onto TV telling themselves they will stumble over their words and forget their lines? No way - so why would we go into birth telling ourselves that is going to be horrendous?
It is about being informed. It is about knowing you have a choice. Research has showed that post birth, people have felt they lacked all the information about a certain situation or that they have been coerced into certain decisions is disturbing. Someone said to me once, ‘isn’t hypnobirthing just saying NO to everything’ but this is absolutely not the case. I am all for saying YES to lots of things, but what is key here is that you have all the information to ensure the decision being made is informed. Being informed allows you to stay in control and feel empowered.
The best thing with hypnobirthing is that it is all science and evidence based!
This small summary barely touches the sides on all the good stuff that the Portsmouth full course offers. But what you need to know is this is the full antenatal course to get you prepared and ready for the arrival of your little one. CLICK HERE to see the detailed list of modules included in the course.
how hypnobirthing fits in with the science of labour
Hypnobirthing provides a lot of education that take us back to basics, back to science. For our bodies to able to progress into a spontaneous labour with spontaneous progression of labour we need to be releasing the hormone oxytocin. This is naturally a shy hormone that only comes out when feeling calm, safe and secure. One of the major barriers to lots of oxytocin production, is adrenalin. Adrenalin can play an incredibly useful role. Yet in labour, if it crops up at inappropriate times, this can have a massive impact on labour and stalling this. These days, in modern society, we can easily be getting hits of adrenalin when they are not required. This is much the same in labour. Even something as simple as a change over in staff on the maternity unit can cause adrenalin spikes.
Before I had my baby, I don’t think I had even heard of Oxytocin, let alone how to get it flowing. Equally I didn’t know adrenalin could slow me down and that I needed to be aware of potential times it could occur and how to deal with this. Education about how your body has been designed to birth your baby is a great first step in changing a scared mindset.
My Portsmouth based Hypnobirthing Antenatal Course helps you to understand how your body is designed, and how the birthing system is supposed to work. It will help give guidance on maximising the bodies natural systems and trusting it to safely birth your baby. I talk more about some of the science of labour in my blog post “Does Birth Hurt?!’.
Will hypnobirthing mean my birth is pain free?
Hypnobirthing does not guarantee you the ‘perfect’ birth (what does that even mean!?). Nor does it promise that it will be pain free. However, what is does promise to do, is give you the tools to try and make your birth a positive experience. Lets face it, one of the only predictable things about birth, is that it is totally unpredictable. As life can throw us curve balls, so can having a baby. Hypnobirthing wants to prepare you to deal with any eventuality. You will get out of hypnobirthing what you put in. Hypnobirthing isn’t something that is done to you, but it is about you actively playing your part to have the best change at a positive birth experience. Research has proved there to be better outcomes in women who have used Hypnobirthing to prepare for labour. CLICK HERE to find out more about the full course in Portsmouth to find out how you can get yourself ready to have a positive birth experience!
You might be on the fence about hypnobirthing.. lets be honest, the name doesn’t exactly sell it. But actually, there is some pretty cool stuff in here that might blow your mind.
One piece of research (Semple 2011) into hypnobirthing has found:
Birthers have felt MORE relaxed during labour and therefore more likely to ENJOY the experience.
Less likely to use pharmacological pain relief options during birth.
There is a greater chance of having a spontaneous labour which means better outcomes for the baby.
Another research project (Catsaros and Wendland, 2020) into hypnobirthing found:
A reduction of fear and pain for birthers, and an increase in feeling in control.
Less anxiety and increased satisfaction.
Less likely to have birth interventions.
Better postnatal recovery and childbirth experience overall.
And also, did you know, the NICE guidelines have also stated the women using hypnobirthing strategies should be supported?!
Feeling curious and want to know more? Have a nose in my blogs….