Have you actually experienced HypnoBirthing first hand?
Now, if the answer is ‘no’, then I understand a bit of skepticism and the occasional ‘huff’ could happen. After all, why on earth wouldn’t everyone be doing this birthing method if it worked, right?
However, if your answer is ‘yes’, then you will understand, as I now do, that it is only a matter of time before almost everyone does do HypnoBirthing because it is a simple, logical, informative and empowering course that prepares mums and dads (or birth companions) for the big day PROPERLY.
What’s wrong with my other ante-natal classes?
Absolutely nothing. Other ante-natal classes are great and informative too, but they focus mainly on preparing you for the very basics of giving birth and then generally spend a lot of time talking you through how painful it’s going to be and how many different drugs you will have at your disposal when the time comes.
For some mums-to-be, they are happy with this and that is completely fine. But I found our ante-natal classes focused so much on this, they were essentially conditioning us to expect the worst and just hope for the best. The teacher was lovely and very warm and friendly until she got to the bit about the birth and I know she didn’t mean to be, but she was so negative about it that it left me feeling really anxious and despondent about the birth.
Why HypnoBirthing Classes are so different
What I loved about our HypnoBirthing Classes when we started was the simplicity of the information. Instead of just the basics, we learned exactly what our bodies do during labour and how the birthing muscles are perfectly designed to birth our babies comfortably. The content was really positive and logical, so even the dads in the room could see the sense in what we were learning. And being the biggest skeptics before the course started, all the dads became the biggest advocates by the end!
We also learned about how fear and anxiety effect the body, again in a very logical and easy to understand way. The techniques we learned to eliminate this fear and anxiety started working really quickly and suddenly everyone in the class started feeling really positive about the births to come.
But it’s not for everyone, is it?
Yes, it is, if you are willing to go with an open mind to one of your local taster sessions and find out a little more. The ‘Hypno’ in HypnoBirthing puts some people off, but trust me, this is no Derren Brown or Paul McKenna experience. This is simply teaching you how to bring yourself into deep relaxation – because that is essentially what hypnosis is. And no one is ‘doing it to you’, you are shown how to do it yourself and you remain totally aware and completely in control at all times, just profoundly relaxed.
I will never forget our taster session. My husband was very skeptical indeed, but came along to show support for me. It was a Friday night and he was mega-stressed from a very busy week at work, so didn’t really want to be there. He even said before we went in that he was pretty sure he wasn’t ‘susceptible’ to hypnosis, so would just watch from the sidelines.
Everyone can be deeply relaxed. Everyone can day-dream, get lost in a movie, or drift off watching a flickering flame – all of this is self-hypnosis and we all do it every day, many times a day.
The beauty of taster sessions…
The teacher took us into deep relaxation for about 5 minutes at the end of the taster session and about half way through I heard my husband gently snoring. When we were finished, he was like a new man. All the stress and tension of the week had completely disappeared and he felt rejuvinated and fresh. (I felt great too incidentally!)
From that point on, he didn’t doubt what HypnoBirthing could do for us and we experienced a positive and comfortable birth as a result.
So don’t be negative, don’t let anxiety, fear or doubt stop you from finding out more. Contact your local HypnoBirthing Practitioner to see if they offer a free taster session – I do, so if you are pregnant and live in the North Somerset or Bristol area, call me and book your place. You won’t regret it!
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