Just two years ago the mere mention of the word hypnobirthing conjured up thoughts of hairy armpits, mung bean salad and crocheted knickers. Then people like the Duchess of Cambridge reportedly used it to give birth to the future king of England and people got interested. Women who were scared about the thought of giving birth because of traumatic first time experiences, or wanting to achieve a vaginal birth after a caesarean (VBAC), knowing that birth doesn’t have to be horrendous, but not sure how they can create a positive experience for themselves, all started wondering if hypnobirthing might be for them.
It wasn’t until after a quick straw poll of mamas from The Calm Birth School about the reasons they signed up, that I really stopped to think about it, what first attracted me to hypnobirthing, I realised that fear was my motivator too. Although, it wasn’t really the fear of giving birth, but the fear I had built up around hospitals. While the rational side of my mind acknowledged that some great things can happen in hospitals, babies are born, people are healed, mended and cared for by talented doctors and nurses every day. However, the flipside of that coin said to me…hospitals = needing help for something that’s wrong. I was pregnant, I was low risk and there was nothing wrong with me. And after doing my own research, it didn’t feel like it was just an irrational whim that was pulling me towards wanting a home birth, but the evidence stacked up too.
I could see that if I laboured and birthed at home, I would increase my chances of being able to maintain a sense of control over my birth environment. I knew that I would take comfort in the reassurance of my own four walls during my labour whilst knowing I could climb straight back in between my own sheets with a cup of tea and a slice of toast straight after. And therefore, bypass addressing my fear of things in hospitals not always providing the happy ending I was looking for.
The only problem for me was how the hell was I going to be able to complete this birth at home without any drugs?! I’d watched, One Born Every Minute! I had no chance. But when hypnobirthing came onto my radar the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle seemed to fall into place.
I decided to buy a couple of books, one by a guy called Grantly Dick-Read the originator of the concept that women had the ability to birth without fear and distress; the second book was from the Godmother of hypnobirthing Marie Mongan who after two negative child birthing experiences, decided to do things her way. Utilizing techniques that she had started to formulate during her first two pregnancies and births. And for me, things began to make sense.
Having gained a certificate in Clinical Hypnosis (and later a Diploma) the power of the human mind and our ability to train this most magnificent muscle to perform in the way we would like to direct it, was not a new concept for me. This coupled with reading about the experiences of women often in developing countries or cultures often far removed from the medicalized experience sold to us in the Western world, I really began to believe, that through educating myself about the process of the labour and by using visualisation, relaxation and hypnobirthing techniques I could create a birthing experience that would be a joy for me and a stress free experience for my baby, in the comfort of my own home.
And guess what? That’s exactly what I did. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t all hearts, flowers and fairy lights, you can read about my perfectly imperfect hypnobirth here, BUT the course of that calm, but powerful birth changed the way I viewed my body and birth for the rest of my life. So much so that by the time came around to doing it again just under two years later, this experience gave me the final nudge I needed to leave a successful job in media to set up The Calm Birth School. And since then I haven’t looked back.
So how do you know if hypnobirthing is right for you? If you someone who wants to remain feeling calm and keep a sense of control when your birthing, hypnobirthing can help you do that. If you’re fearful or anxious about what your birth is going to be like the lessons you’ll learn and the mp3s that accompany the course can help to relieve that fear for you. If there’s something within you that knows having a relaxed a positive start to life can only be a good thing for you and your baby you’re in the right place. If you want your birth to be a team effort between you and your partner, hypnobirthing can help you achieve that.
But HOW does it do all that stuff? Check out my free video series here, to get full low down on exactly how hypnobirthing The Calm Birth School way can help you achieve the calm and positive birth you deserve here: www.thecalmbirthschool.com/freehypnobirthing-2016.
