Perhaps you’ve heard recently about The Duchess of Cambridge using Hypnobirthing for all three of her pregnancies/births…but now you’re confused – isn’t Hypnobirthing just for ‘hippy’ types who want to give birth in a paddling pool at home, with no pain relief and whale music on in the background?!

Unfortunately, the name ‘Hypnobirthing’ does it a bit of a disservice really, conjuring up all the wrong images! Actually, Hypnobirthing is for anyone, having any type of birth….yes, even a c-section! How exactly you plan to birth isn’t necessarily the important bit, it’s how you feel about it that has such an impact. It’s all about feeling calm, confident, informed and supported…and most people who practice Hypnobirthing find that the change in their mindset leaves them actually feeling EXCITED about giving birth!

Two things every mum-to-be should know:

1. How you approach your birth will influence how it goes
2. You will remember how it made you feel for the rest of your life!

One focus of Hypnobirthing is to provide simple but truly powerful strategies to practice in the lead up to birth to help women remain calm and comfortable in labour…These skills include deep relaxation, massage & breathing techniques as well as tools to reduce anxieties around birth and build confidence and positivity instead. We all know that the media and TV portrayals of women lying on their backs, legs up, screaming in pain, with a whole room of people shouting at them to push, doesn’t really make us look forward to birth. Nor do the ‘horror stories’ that people seem to relish sharing. As a midwife who has seen it time and again with my own eyes, and as a hypnobirthing mum who has really ENJOYED giving birth twice, I’ll let you in on a little secret – birth doesn’t have to be like that!

Based in sound logic and the science of labour physiology, Hypnobirthing techniques allow the natural birthing hormones and the muscles of the uterus to work together at their best so, as you would expect, can lead to a birth that has less need for intervention or pain-relieving drugs, yippee!

Now, Hypnobirthing cannot guarantee you a ‘perfect’ birth (let’s face it everyone’s ideas of perfect will be different anyway!)…and just because you may practice Hypnobirthing, does not mean that you say no to everything else! Epidurals, inductions, assisted birth…all have their place when they are necessary. Some labours are just more complicated than others no matter how much you prepare or stack the odds in favour of a smooth birth. But, the ability to stay calm and relaxed through any unexpected challenges is absolutely key to having a positive birth experience, no matter what the circumstances are. And Hypnobirthing can help you achieve that.

All good Hypnobirthing courses should provide you with a full antenatal education...The beauty of it is that you get the Hypnobirthing skills ON TOP OF:

• Knowledge of labour and birth processes
• Physical preparation
• Your choices in your care & writing birth preferences
• What to expect from the maternity system & how to get the best from your caregivers
• How birth partners can take a more active role as supporter and be central to the birth process

......the list goes on!

I think a lot of folk consider Hypnobirthing to be an additional expense to pay for alongside other antenatal courses, at a time when parents-to-be have an awful lot to spend their hard-earned cash on – but there should be no reason to have to do any other course!

The right birth preparation is such an important investment…you only get to birth your baby once and it should be a life-changing experience for the right reasons. Comparatively, that all-singing, all-dancing baby travel system is unlikely to change your life with quite the same magnitude, no matter how light it is or how flat it folds!!

So, if you’re intrigued to know a bit more about this increasingly popular way to prepare for a positive birth, take a look at my FAQ’s page here: https://littlepassengers.co.uk/faqs and feel free to get in touch…

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