03 Feb Welcome to my HypnoBirthing blog
Hi my name is Emma, I did HypnoBirthing for the birth of my second son Freddie and had such a calm and instinctive birthing experience that I wanted to help other expectant couples by training as a HypnoBirthing Practitioner with the HypnoBirthing Institute.
This blog is here to tell you about HypnoBirthing and share HypnoBirthing stories and news with you. Despite the fancy name, HypnoBirthing is actually just about simple relaxation, to let go of fear and tension and reduce pain and discomfort during labour. By using breathing techniques and positive birth visualisations, whilst listening to music and birth affirmations, you are able to calm your body and mind to a state of self-hypnosis. Using hypnosis for childbirth actually makes a lot of sense once you understand the science behind it.
Have you heard of the fear-tension-pain syndrome? Its the theory discovered by Dr Grantley Dick-Read in the 1930s, which explains that when the mind perceives fear in childbirth, the birthing muscles and arteries in the uterus become tense and constrict, which causes pain. Without stress or fear, the muscles are able to work effectively together as nature intended. When the body is fully relaxed, wonderful endorphins are released, the bodys natural tranquiliser, which together assist a more comfortable labour and birth.
Self hypnosis is very easy to do and allows you to be more in control of your body. Its similar to meditating or mindfulness or even just doing a relaxation at the end of a yoga class. You are always fully conscious and aware of your surroundings, you can have a conversation if you wish, and you can bring yourself out of it at any time. Its like a telescope into your subconscious mind, where you file all your past experiences, memories, perceptions and beliefs. You can connect directly with your subconscious mind and release any fears you may hold about what a healthy normal birth is like. By listening to a fear release script using self-hypnosis, you release any negative thoughts you might hold about childbirth from your own experiences, stories you might have heard or films and TV programmes you might have seen, so they no longer affect your birthing experience.
Although most of us would clearly like to have a natural birth without any medical intervention or drugs, there are special circumstances that may arise, when this is just not possible, for the safety and well being of you and your baby. HypnoBirthing will still help enormously with your birth, by enabling you and your birthing partner to stay calmer, more positive and make more informed decisions. The course teaches you to respect the advice you are given by the medical team but also to ask the right questions so that you fully understand the situation and feel more at ease, should your birth take an unexpected turn. Birth should not be a traumatic event, even if there are special circumstances which require you to have an epidural or a cesarean birth.
With HypnoBirthing, your birthing partner will learn how to be involved throughout the labour and birth through techniques such as light touch massage, giving you a more comfortable and positive experience for everyone involved mum, baby and birthing partner.
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