As a mum who birthed both of her babies using hypobirthing techniques, I instantly want to jump in and say ‘no! – Hypnobirthing is a beautiful, gentle and natural childbirth technique.”
However, I recognise that the ‘hypno’ part of the word has a tendency to freak people out.
So in this article, I will delve into the safety aspects of hypnosis and hopefully by the end, you’ll have a better idea of whether hypnobirthing classes might be useful for the type of birth you would like to create.
As you’ll have hopefully gathered from the rest of my website, Hypnobirthing classes are designed to provide women with the knowledge, techniques, and confidence to navigate the maternity system and birth their babies feel safe and strong.
I teach the Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Birth Program and my classes incorporate deep relaxation, breathing exercises, visualisation, and positive affirmations to reduce (and often completely eliminate) the common fear and anxiety surrounding childbirth.
In addition to these practical childbirth techniques, I also lead my clients through a series of hypnosis exercises.
It’s important to point out here that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.
I don’t hypnotise anyone. I simply teach people to calm their minds, focus their attention and then access the power of their own intention. And the intention for most pregnant women is to have a calm, safe and empowered labour. So that’s what they go on to create – with their own mind using self hypnosis.
My role is simply a facilitator.
This understanding of hypnobirthing is crucial in dispelling the many myths and misconceptions surrounding hypnosis.
Rather than a passive state where someone else takes control, hypnosis is a state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility, allowing people to access their subconscious mind and tap into their inner resources.
In a hypnobirth, the woman remains in control.
As part of my hypnobirthing classes, I guide women and their birth partners through a series of hypnosis exercises. In many ways these are just like a guided meditation or Yoga Nidra, but with added deepening techniques (like counting down or staring a point on the ceiling) to stimulate greater focus.
Hypnobirthing techniques are incredibly effective. People are often blown away by how ‘into it’ they are and how quickly time passes when they’re in a hypnotic state.
But every single person that I have led through hypnosis, has opted-in to the experience. It would be impossible for me to hypnotise them without their consent and active participation.
Hypnobirthing classes do not promise a pain-free birth.
Instead, they teach you techniques to manage pain and reduce its perception. By learning to calm your nervous system and harness the power of your mind, the sensations of childbirth are no longer so scary.
The hypnobirthing tools you gain in my childbirth classes enable you to bypass critical thinking and tap into your subconscious mind, where old beliefs, habits, and emotions reside.
Once you’ve accessed this part of your mind, you can have a spring clean, remove any thoughts that stand in the way of creating your positive birth – and replace them with new, healthy and empowering thoughts.
The mind-body connection is real, so the changes you make in your mind have an instant impact on your physiology.
If you’re scared, your body tenses up, pain is created and your birth becomes difficult or stops all together. Often this is when medical interventions like emergency c section, forceps and episiotomy are introduced.
However, if you’re truly relaxed, your body can open up and your birth is far more likely to progress smoothly and more comfortably. The results prove this.
Absolutely! This is one of the biggest misconceptions about hypnobirthing.
Hypnobirthing is about creating a calm, focused mindset not about a specific type of labour.
While hypnobirthing classes are often attended by women hoping for a ‘natural birth’, equally I know dozens of women who have hypnobirthed their way through the needles of an epidural.
I’ve also attended several women-centred C sections, where hypnobirthing music was playing through in the operating theatre while mum calmly used her ‘surge breath’ as her baby was lifted from her belly.
The Hypnobirthing course I teach has been proven to significantly reduce medical interventions like emergency C sections and make it far less likely for women to ask for pain relief drugs.
But that’s just the effect of an antenatal course that teaches women to harness the power of their minds.
Hypnobirthing is not dangerous and can be used for every type of birth.
There’s only so much I can cover in a blog, so please book a free chat with me and fire as many questions as you can fit into 30 mins! Thanks for reading xx
2. Natural pain relief: People often express surprise when they discover I birthed two 8lb babies without pain relief. But in reality, that’s a bit of a lie. What most people don’t realise is that a labouring woman’s body is able to produce natural painkillers that are 40 times stronger than morphine – so you can be high as a kite without ever touching a drug. In a Hypnobirthing course, you’ll learn how to release these painkillers on-demand using powerful breathing, touch and hypnotic techniques.
© 2023 BirthStrong. ABN 18 373 223 476
