Shortly after doing my HypnoBirthing® course for my second pregnancy someone asked, “What is this technobirthing thing you’re doing?” While techno and hypno both sound positively out there, there is nothing techno, nor technical about this amazing birth preparation course that will enable you to release any fears you’re bringing to your birth, wonder at what your body is capable of and bring you to a place where your body intuitively does what it was perfectly designed to do.

what is it then?

HypnoBirthing®, quite simply, is founded on the belief that babies should be born in a calm, loving, respected environment and that when a mother is prepared and supported physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually, birth is instinctive. HypnoBirthing® gives mothers the tools they need to take their bodies to a place free of fear and anxiety where birth hormones are released optimally and birthing muscles can operate in harmony. The course is a complete birth preparation package that teaches the following:

The physiology of birth

Discover the medical reason why birth is NOT meant to be painful. The idea that birth can be calm, quick and potentially painless might sound to be good to be true, but the ever-growing number of moms who are using HypnoBirthing® techniques and experiencing the beautiful births they hoped for bares testament to a birthing method that is giving birth back to mothers. Understanding how your body works and how your baby works with it is life changing.

Relaxation

You will learn a number of techniques to take yourself into deep relaxation so your body shifts easily out of fight or flight mode - which inhibits labour and leads to pain - and into healing mode - a state where our body produces the endorphins and oxytocin essential for birth. The relaxation and meditation you do is not only of value during birth, however, it nurtures bonding during pregnancy and reduces stress hormones, and you will find that you continue to draw on these techniques during stressful moments later as a mother.

Affirmations

Continuous positive affirmation is crucial to removing negative self talk about birth that will inhibit easy birth.

Breathing techniques

HypnoBirthing mums learn breathing that calms the body, brings optimal oxygen to the baby during labour and supports the body’s natural expulsive reflex so that forced pushing is not required. Our birth breathing techniques not only save a mother’s precious energy, they help prevent foetal distress, damage to the pelvic floor and reduce chances of perineal damage.

Fear Release

Most women today bring an army tank of anxiety to their births. Fast-paced living has their bodies in almost constant adrenaline mode, and their subconscious minds are tightly packed with horror stories from friends and movies. The result is bodies that find it agonisingly difficult to kick into the very thing nature designed it to do. The aim of HypnoBirthing® is to help moms release those negative images and anxieties and replace them with realistic positive ones that will enable their bodies to relax and get on with the beautiful business of birth.

Optimal birth positions

You will learn a number of birth positions that will allow your pelvis to open freely and easily, ensuring an easier path for your baby, and allow gravity to assist.

The Outcome...

  • Often shorter birth

  • More manageable birth with lower intervention rates

  • Reduced discomfort and a potentially pain-free birth

  • More conscious birth (no drugs required)

  • Reduced need for intervention

  • Reduced chance of perineal tearing

  • More alert newborn (as a result of no exposure to induction drugs and/or anaesthesia) who breastfeeds quickly

  • Hypnobabies are usually calm and content, with reduced chances of birth trauma

  • Faster recovery for the mother

What HypnoBirthing isn’t

It is not birthing through mind control. You will neither be be hypnotized nor entranced, and you will not be asleep (although it can feel blissfully that way as your body leaves stressed out fight or flight mode).Instead, you are in a deep, self-induced state of relaxation, very much conscious and aware of what you are experiencing.

Who is HypnoBirthing for?

  • HypnoBirthing is for the first time mother who wants a natural birth but has her doubts.

  • It's for the second time mother who left her first birth experience thinking that was not how she imagined it should be.

  • It's for the mother who's had a caesarean and wants to prepare for a VBAC.

  • It's for the mother who wants to know all she can know so that she is fully prepared for a c-section, if that's her choice.

  • It's for the mother who is so petrified of hospitals and surgery that the idea of a c-section scares her.

  • It's for the father who wants to be an active part of the life-affirming experience of birth.

  • It's for the baby.

The aim is to help moms (and dads) ask the right questions so that they know they have been fully in control of their baby/babies’ birth, however it unfolds, and can leave their birth experience feeling empowered and ready for the beautiful journey ahead.