When I first found out I was pregnant, after the excitement had faded a little, pretty much the first thing I thought was “oh shit, I have to push a baby out”. I was an absolute ball of anxiety whenever I thought about giving birth. Like most people, as soon as I announced my pregnancy, I also became a magnet for everyone’s birth horror stories, which frankly was the last thing I needed!
My friend suggested I look into hypnobirthing and to be honest I thought it sounded a bit airy fairy, but ultimately, I was willing to give anything a go to help settle my nerves. To cut a long story short, I did a hypnobirthing course, read what felt like hundreds of books and ended up with a whole new outlook on giving birth. I went on to have two amazing, empowering and beautiful births and I would honestly do it again in a heartbeat if our family wasn’t already complete!
To quote founder of the first ever hypnobirthing course, Marie Mongan: “When you change the way you think about birth, the way you birth changes.”
So… what exactly is hypnobirthing?! Well, I’ll start by saying what it ISN’T! It’s not hypnosis as you see it on TV. I am no Derren Brown and you won’t be baring your soul to a room full of people or clucking like a chicken on a stage. It’s actually all quite scientific and clever!
We will talk about what’s happening in your body and in your mind during labour and birth. You’ll learn about hormones and the effect that stress hormones can have on labour. Then we’ll talk about ways to calm your mind and relax quickly and deeply to try to keep that adrenaline at bay, to help your labour and birth to go as smoothly as possible.
We’ll discuss birth plans and I can even help you to write one if you like. And I’ll share some wonderful decision-making tools with you so that if your labour starts to veer away from your plan you can still remain totally and utterly calm and in control – after all, feeling in control has been proven to be a major factor in avoiding birth trauma.
We’ll talk about positions for labour and birth, the importance of promoting a peaceful birth environment, the vital role your birth partner(s) can play in how your birth story unfolds and so much more…
We plan for all the other exciting events in our lives, so why not birth?! I hear so many people saying they’re going to go with the flow and just see how things go on the day, but honestly having a bit of knowledge and some wonderful calming techniques in your back pocket can only help things to go more smoothly!
Ultimately, the aim of my hypnobirthing sessions is to arm you with the tools and knowledge to not only feel calm and in control during birth, but to actually be able to look forward to it and feel truly excited about the day you’ll meet your beautiful baby.
At Beyond Birth, I run group hypnobirthing courses once a month from my lovely workspace in the centre of Harrogate, as well as a monthly group workshop, which is ideal for anyone who’s left things a bit last minute, or people who have done hypnobirthing in a previous pregnancy and just need a bit of a refresher. The groups are a wonderful way to meet other likeminded parents-to-be to start to build up your support network for when your baby arrives.
I can also offer both of these options on a one to one basis, either in my workshop room, in the comfort of your home or online if you prefer. This can work really well if you have any specific needs or circumstances, if you’re feeling particularly anxious or if you’ve had a previous difficult birth. I love one to ones as I can get to know you on a whole extra level and I really feel like I become part of your birthing team!
I usually recommend starting hypnobirthing around the 24-28 week point in your pregnancy, but really any time from 20 weeks works really well and I have worked with couples right up until 37 weeks.
As an added bonus, I also offer breastfeeding support to anyone who I support as a hypnobirthing instructor. I am a fully qualified breastfeeding counsellor and I have supported hundreds of new parents to get off to the best possible start with feeding their babies.
Please get in touch today if you’d like to find out more, or check out beyondbirth.co.uk/hypnobirthing
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