Give Birth with Confidence Using HypnoBirthing® Techniques
The female body is designed to give birth naturally and with relatively little pain. A large majority of births can occur quickly, healthy, and normal, making it unjustified to rely on or overuse C-sections. Birth is a natural occurrence and your body, and mind, have developed many supports that can make natural, vaginal delivery, even pain-free in some cases! Trends are finding parents-to-be are hesitant to rely on the natural mechanisms of the body due to the longstanding reputation of labor being torturous. However, when armed with knowledge and proper preparation, childbirth can be a far less intimidating ordeal.
HypnoBirthing®, Hypnobabies® and Lamaze® are teachings that can be used to make your birthing experience more enjoyable. These tried-and-true techniques replace the anxiety of giving birth with intention, support and preparedness. HypnoBirthing®, and its related practices, teach the birthing couple relaxation techniques, physical posturing poses, breathing and visualization techniques, and the basics about birthing anatomy and conventional and alternative birthing centers so that parents, and their support team have confidence and tools about their birth plan and choices. Mindfulness and a sense of direction during your pregnancy time can increase the comfort of gestation and labor, and lead to an easier natural birth that's free from unnecessary pain.
If you're expecting or planning to give birth, you don't need to worry about enduring any pain or fear throughout labor. Find a HypnoBirthing® practitioner to ensure your experience will be far more comfortable and stress-free than stories have been told.
Hypnosis
Have You Tried It Yet? It Really Works!
Preparing for Birth with HypnoBirthing®, Hypnobabies® and Lamaze®
HypnoBirthing® is a childbirth education course that uses hypnosis in order to assist couples in practicing and preparing for a comfortable pregnancy and delivery. It is a proven method that prepares a woman for giving birth in a peaceful way, whether it be at a hospital, at home or at a birthing center.
HypnoBirthing®, Hypnobabies® and Lamaze® techniques offer expectant mothers a more pleasurable birthing experience by utilizing hypnosis, relaxation techniques, mental imagery, and meditation. In fact, studies have even revealed that HypnoBirthing® can dramatically reduce labor times to just three hours for first-time moms!
What Mothers are Saying
“Nothing can describe the beauty of our birthing experience with HypnoBirthing. I never dreamed after having two children with another method that I could have so easy a labor.”
“The nurses said they had never seen a woman so calm, yet so strong. They couldn’t put the HypnoBirthing book down.”
“I’m a labor and delivery nurse. I work in the field of obstetrics every day. I can hardly believe my eyes as I watch HypnoBirthing mothers in labor. It’s amazing!”
Common HypnoBirthing® Techniques and How They Work
When you enroll in a childbirth education program, you work with a professional HypnoBirthing® educator. These specialists combine various HypnoBirthing® techniques to help make child labor and birthing comfortable, shorter, and enjoyable. Below are just a few of the common techniques used in HypnoBirthing®:
Intentional Breathing
Deep, full breaths are usually necessary to facilitate effective contractions. HypnoBirthing® teaches you intentional breathing techniques to help you make the most of each contraction. In HypnoBirthing®, there are 3 types of breathing: calm, surge, and push:
- Calm breathwork is used throughout pregnancy, and is comprised of long, slow, inhales and longer exhales.
- Surge breath is similar to marathon breathing where there are two inhales followed by one exhale. For this type of breath, the intention is usually to space, fluidity and softness in the body and mind. In HypnoBirthing®, you’ll use this breath in practice and also while giving birth.
- Push breathing is used to allow the baby to naturally exit the womb. Deep, full breaths are used which reach down to the lower abdomen. You can visualize the letter J as you inhale down to the pelvic floor and exhale and swoop the air through to the back of the spine and breathe out.
Controlled breathing also stimulates your parasympathetic nervous system to manage pain experienced during natural childbirth. Part of the explanation for this lies in human anatomy. Deep, full breaths lead to the expansion of the lungs and abdomen area, leaving more room for uterine contractions - or surges. You’ll also learn positions to use in tandem with breathing exercises in order to further minimize pain.
HypnoBirthing® breathwork techniques will help to minimize stress and enable you to relax into your body. A more relaxed body, particularly relaxation in reproductive organs, usually leads to an easier birth.
Imagery and Visualization
Visualization is a powerful technique that can help to relieve the possible stresses of preparing to give birth. In order to visualize your birthing experience going exactly as you’d like it to - it can help to create a hypnobirthing birth plan. Many mothers create this type of plan in order to set goals and intentions for their birthing experience. It might help to work with a hypnotist experienced in hypnobirthing and/or a doula in order to create a birthing plan.
Working with a Birth Partner
The best way to achieve success using HypnoBirthing® is to work with a birth partner. This person can be a romantic partner, family member, close friend or doula. The birth partner is assigned certain tasks such as making sure the mother is comfortable and/or sticking to a written script during labor. For example, many mothers prefer to have birth partners use terminology such as pressure and surge rather than pain and contraction.
Self-Hypnosis Methods for Giving Birth
You might find it helpful to learn self-hypnosis techniques in order to facilitate your birthing experience. Using self-hypnosis, you’ll learn helpful methods for practicing giving birth, managing pain and anchoring in your experience. For best results, study HypnoBirthing® materials in tandem with Self-Applied Hypnosis Training, linked above. Investing in the combination of these teachings will ensure that you have the best possible birthing experience!
Why HypnoBirthing® Is Helpful for Mothers
HypnoBirthing’s popularity has skyrocketed over the past few decades. That's due to its many proven benefits, including but not limited to:
Shorter Labor Periods and Hospital Stays
Studies reveal that HypnoBirthing® helps shorten labor time to around 3 hours. Using HypnoBirthing®, many mothers report a shortened first stage of labor (when contractions get intense and stronger as the cervix opens). Of course with shortened labor comes a shorter hospital stay - and lower medical bills - as a result!
Reduced Need for Medical Interventions
HypnoBirthing® techniques like deep breathing encourage vaginal birth by making the process more comfortable and enjoyable. This reduces the need for medical interventions and procedures like augmentation, which rely on oxytocin.
A recent study shows that about 17% of women using HypnoBirthing® used cesarean. That's a lower percentage compared to those who don't use HypnoBirthing, which is 32%.
Improved Feelings of Being in Control of the Birthing Process
Studies show that women who practice HypnoBirthing® feel more relaxed and in control of the labor process. They take breathing exercises and focus on positive affirmations to retain good thoughts and ease stress. This reduces any fear associated with labor and birth.
Better Experiences for Women Who Previously Had Traumatic Births
HypnoBirthing® helps women with past traumatic birth or fear of labor and delivery enjoy a less stressful and more positive experience. Around 40% of this childbirth education course focuses on training your mind to help you feel confident about giving birth again.
Learn Positions for Labor and Giving Birth
When the first stage of labor starts, many mothers report feelings of restlessness and the desire to move around. HypnoBirthing® techniques will assist you with moving and positioning your body in order to alleviate these feelings. You’ll also learn optimal positions for actually giving birth, such as squatting, lying on your side, or using a birthing stool.
Try Hypnosis to Aid Your Childbirth Experience
HypnoBirthing® is an incredible way to harness your body’s ability to naturally give birth. It involves combining various exercises like controlled breathing, visualization, creating a birth plan and focusing on affirmations. Try HypnoBirthing® techniques to manage pain naturally, shorten labor time, and reduce the need for medical interventions. The last thing you want to do is try to force your way through childbirth. Use hypnosis and self-hypnosis to improve your birthing experience in a way that works for your body.
If you’re looking for help with busting the fear and anxiety around your birthing experience, book an appointment with us today. We’ll help you and your partner formulate your birth plan and get ready for the big day!
FAQs
In HypnoBirthing®, there is a preference for using the term pressure rather than pain. The idea here is that we can change our language in order to shift our experience.
That being said, it is certainly possible to eliminate all pain using HypnoBirthing®. However, there are no guarantees that all pain will be eliminated. Using HypnoBirthing®, you’ll discover natural and effective methods for reducing pain, working to turn off sensors of pain in the brain. Endorphins are about 3X stronger than morphine and can be leveraged as such.
It is possible to give birth with ease, unlike we commonly see in TV and movies. Part of the HypnoBirthing® course involves watching videos of calm, natural births to de-stigmatize the process in your own mind.
At the latest, 19 weeks. Generally births occur at 38 - 41 weeks and can even happen earlier than that. The earlier you start studying hypnoBirthing®, the more comfortable your gestation period will be. HypnoBirthing® teachings will help you sleep better and feel more at ease during your entire pregnancy and birthing experience.
Yes - it works! HypnoBirthing® is a well-researched, effective educational and a brain training program. It teaches you methods for working with your body to create an enjoyable childbirth experience. Using HypnoBirthing® methods, you’ll unlearn societal norms and stories you may have heard about bad birthing experiences. Unfortunately, the media and popular culture have perpetuated mistruths around birthing. For example: the myth that it isn’t possible to have breech babies comfortably, or that babies cannot sleep through the night (they can and benefit greatly from it, too!)
Yes, the use of self-hypnosis can greatly improve your experience with HypnoBirthing®. You can absolutely combine self-Applied Hypnosis Techniques with HypnoBirthing® teachings for an ideal pregnancy experience. The use of both of these methods will allow you to fully reclaim the power of giving birth naturally and with your own unique intuition.
Yes, you and your partner will participate in the same education and brain training. While there are certain established guidelines for the birth partner in the birthing plan, part of the job is based on intuition. The birth partner’s main task is to support the mother through pregnancy and childbirth through the use of massage, helping the mother move around, offering comfort. The full support of the birth-giver ensures the baby’s health and happiness while inside - and outside - of the womb.
It is possible to work without a birth partner, but keep in mind that a partner could be anybody, such as a friend or other family member. HypnoBirthing® puts emphasis on the partner’s support of the mother as she supports the baby.
Yes, you can. There is no risk when using Hypnobirthing® alongside other birthing methods and medications.
There is no definite answer for this, but know that your healthcare provider doesn't necessarily have to be on board. Even in a hospital setting, your doctors don't have to be aware of your use of HypnoBirthing®. If possible, though, it is proactive to share your birthing plan with your doctor, doula or midwife.
Keep in mind that conventional facilities - such as hospitals - aim to treat medical events, and giving birth is not a medical event.
Anyone who is willing can participate in HypnoBirthing®. There is no such thing as a person who cannot be hypnotized. Hypnosis is an ancient technique that transcends the client’s level of intelligence, financial standing, lifestyle, etc. If a person can understand language, they can be hypnotized…we’re all already hypnotizing ourselves.
Yes! HypnoBirthing® is a well-researched method for giving birth that is used widely around the world. There is no way for your birthing experience to go wrong because of HypnoBirthing®, as all of the methods used are natural. All of the techniques used in HypnoBirthing® are already happening in your body. The idea is to use these natural processes to your advantage in order to improve your overall birthing experience.
There are no side effects from HypnoBirthing®. One might say that the only side-effect is the joy of trusting your body through such a transformative process!
No, you do not have to be in any certain state in order to effectively participate in HypnoBirthing®. There are no rules for using HypnoBirthing® techniques, and anyone who is willing and able can participate.
Life is unpredictable and luckily we have professionals available to us for any medical emergency need. Many babies are birthed at home, either planned or unplanned, and no medical intervention is needed. Follow the healthcare advice of your trusted professionals and always choose what is medical necessity for the health of the baby and the mother.