Doctors, midwives, doulas and birth books all suggest that relaxation is one of the greatest tools to help you in labor. Yet, in our fast paced society women are pressured to “do more” to prepare for baby, work, and the family. This can leave us feeling like a bundled bunch of nerves. On the other hand, slowing your pace and finding some time to wind down every day can greatly help you and your baby in many ways. It can assist your baby’s fetal development and prepare you to find your own productive pace for birth.

HypnoBirthing helps you find the much needed “me time” for pregnancy. It is a constructive, restful time to assist your nervous system in preparation for
birth. Further, HypnoBirthing is a way to go into labor with a calmer mindset that allows you to dial into your own powerful birthing instincts.

Is HypnoBirthing for me?

Birth is like a pair of jeans. It’s going to look different for every woman. Indeed, there is no right or wrong way to have a baby. Unfortunately, we can’t plan for everything that will happen in our labor but we can prepare ourselves for birth.

Are you longing for a childbirth education program that is something more than the “phases and stages” of labor?

Knowing the phases and stages is helpful and important, yet the truth is you don’t “think” your baby out. In fact, knowing your “numbers” in labor may not
do much.

Babies are usually born when the mother can let go and relax. Therefore, HypnoBirthing is a class that is more than a discussion of pain management. It’s a technique that helps to cultivate how to let go. HypnoBirthing provides real-world practice so you can learn the highly effective method of deep relaxation for birth and how to assist, instead of resist, your birthing body. What is more, HypnoBirthing helps both you and your partner develop a game plan and a positive attitude for birth. With five hypnosis sessions you learn to release limiting thoughts.

Essentially, you are guided to work with your own mind and tune inward. Dads and partners often benefit greatly from the relaxation practices done in class as well. Lastly, even the baby benefits from all this relaxing.

Do the classes cover the basics about birth?

Yes. Specifically, the classes prepare you with information on:
• the hallmarks of labor, various comfort measures, and the best positions for birth
• how to listen to your body with confidence and to conserve energy with a relaxed state of focus
• the function of the nervous system, the operating system for the body, in relation to birth
• the natural expulsive reflex to bring baby out, rather than a coached style of pushing
• how partners can support you during labor
• the importance of skin to skin with baby after birth and basics on breastfeeding after birth
• different types of care providers and how to select the right one for your family
• key questions to ask care providers.

What are some of the benefits of the HypnoBirthing method?

HypnoBirthing does not guarantee a particular outcome, but it does promise that using relaxation techniques will help greatly. Some women have found that using the HypnoBirthing method has resulted in a faster and shorter labor and birth. Also, Many women have found it helped them remain calm and resulted in an easier and more peaceful experience. It sometimes results in less need for pain medication. Additionally, it has helped families feel more connected with their baby and paved the way for a positive parenting journey.

What is one thing that makes HypnoBirthing unique from other childbirth classes?

The experiential guided hypnosis sessions are a unique component of HypnoBirthing classes. As a result, parents leave the class feeling excited to greet their baby and grounded in the knowledge of birth. The exercises in the HypnoBirthing book quickly become tangible tools that are exponentially better when practiced in class rather than read alone. Also, a key feature is the focus on connecting with your baby in hypnosis and allowing this connection to guide you during birth. This connection is THE motivation for birth! Yes, you can communicate with your baby.

Why Hypnosis?

Hypnosis works with emotions and motivation. It can target the root cause of many mental blockages. It can also reduce tension in the body. Stress stored in the body can affect the labor process. Thus, working with the subconscious is a powerful and natural way to bring about a clearer mindset, positive attitude, and powerful body awareness.

Our subconscious holds our conditioning. We may have been conditioned to believe we are less than, not good enough, or bad. Our culture bombards women with messages about body image. For instance, we may grow up conditioned to believe we are not thin enough, not curved enough in the right places, not young enough or not beautiful enough. We are also conditioned to be “good girls” when we are young. As a result, this creates tension in the area of the throat where we hold all we don’t say because we want to be “nice.”

Women are considered to be “bitchy” if they speak up or are assertive. Alternatively, women can create a “wall” to make it past those criticisms. The way we view women in our culture is with a sexual schism that ends up permeating every branch of our lives — including birth. As a matter of fact, how we see ourselves as women, the role of motherhood, our bodies, sexual expression, and our connection to our baby are layers in the subconscious that impact pregnancy and birth.

Unhelpful beliefs can be like background apps open on our phone continually using up precious energy and draining our battery. So, if we can remove erroneous beliefs, we can move into more of what we want and need. With hypnosis we can heal the mind and body together, to move us in the direction we wish.

Being aware of your emotional state and your patterns of response, allows you to be a grounded observer of the situation.

Hypnosis done in class can help one to see this “birds eye view” to help gain a deeper awareness and heightened sense of focus. The result is less scattered thinking and a greater sense of purpose. This deep knowingness and strength is the place where you go to in labor. In many ways, the hypnosis is laying the foundation for you to reach the deepest personal inner resources that will be involved in labor.

In a world of consumerism and instant everything, hypnosis is a method of reaching the inner self. Knowing this place and being able to access it easily circumvents fear. Ultimately, HypnoBirthing gives birth back to women.

Hypnotherapy is a broader term for a therapy that involves hypnosis to address various issues like persistent fears or habits. Hypnobirthing on the other hand, is a specific technique focused on using hypnosis during childbirth to promote relaxation and help labor be more manageable. Hypnotherapy is a versatile tool and explores deeper issues. Hypnobirthing has specialized application in the context of childbirth. Some women benefit greatly from added hypnotherapy sessions to resolve deeper issues. This might be done in the natal period, postpartum, or even more thoroughly in early parenting.