I’m SO glad you are asking this question. Don’t just do something because your best friend did or someone you follow on TikTok. You need to figure out if it will work for you.
One of the most important things you should be doing through your pregnancy, during your birth and well …. forever, is asking questions. You need to understand what something is, how it will help you (or will it help you?!) and whether you want to do it.
Hypnobirthing worked brilliantly for me (I have had 3 babies). BUT it wasn’t something I read about and then magically had positive births, I had to work hard for my births.
Hypnobirthing also isn’t about a CERTAIN kind of birth. You can apply the skills / knowledge and mental strength to the birth you want or have. People often associate using Hypnobirthing with home births or unmedicated births but this really isn’t the point or the case.
Why does it work for so many?
I have had the privilege of teaching 1000’s of people Hypnobirthing in the last 10 years and the overwhelming feedback I receive after birth is POSITIVE. There is no denying that intervention is very high within the NHS (having medical procedures during pregnancy and birth) but so much of the way I teach Hypnobirthing (both through my digital course and in person) is about you staying IN CONTROL. Therefore, even if your birth takes an unexpected turn, you have the skills both mentally and physically to handle it and can proceed with positivity.
So how does Hypnobirthing work?
You learn (either at home through The Hypnobirthing Handbook or through my in-person classes) how to work WITH your body in labour. So many of us get in our own way and make it way harder. I’ll give you an example: fear of birth is pretty rife in society at the moment. When we are scared of birth, we produce adrenaline. Adrenaline is our body’s protective mechanism for saving our life when we are in danger. When we produce lots of adrenaline during birth, our body thinks danger is present and so it starts slowing down or stopping your birth because your brain is telling your body ‘ there is danger present, it’s not safe to have the baby here and now’. As the iconic Midwife Ina May Gaskin says – adrenaline puts the brakes on during birth. So in a nutshell, the first part of Hypnobirthing is learning about your body and how to best help it in labour, so you encourage it to keep birthing.
The second part of Hypnobirthing is being taught ‘tools’ to use during your pregnancy and birth, to help you and your body … breathing, massage, relaxation to name just a few. These might sound small but they are MIGHTY and they make the hugest difference to you feeling in control. And this is a GAME CHANGER because when you feel in control, you don’t panic and you don’t produce adrenaline. Boom.
The third part of Hypnobirrthing (the way I teach it) is educating you around navigating the NHS to make sure you get the BEST BIRTH for you within a busy system. It’s guiding you on how to ask the right questions, understanding what different interventions mean and helping you feel empowered and confident.
So now I’m going to throw a question back at you … how do you feel now you understand a little more? Would you like to learn more about it? Hypnobirthing literally changed my life and I’d love you to continue being curious and deciding whether it is right for you and your birth. Why not grab my free mini course and see where it takes you?
You can also find out more about what Hypnobirthing is on this blog: What is Hypnobirthing?! – Bun in the oven birthing
I'm excited for you!
Linda x