SUBLIME BIRTHING

I have three lovely (and lively!) kids and have experienced three very different births. All hospital births - one induced birth, one water birth and one very quick birth!

 

With my first birth I was induced due to meconium in my waters (my wee boy had poo’d in the womb), which was very intense and ended up with a forceps delivery. I had a long recovery period afterwards and at the time I vowed I would never give birth again (does that sound familiar to any of you reading this?!).

 

Obviously I changed my mind, and when I fell pregnant for the second time I was determined to prepare for giving birth and that’s what I did. I attended a hypnobirthing course and learned breathing and relaxation techniques to use throughout my labour and birth. I was so determined to have a different birth this time round that I practiced the techniques every single day from about 28weeks. By the time my labour started I was so ready for it, physically, mentally and emotionally. I gave birth in the pool after 5hrs of labour and it was a magical experience. Not only did I give birth to my little boy that day – but my obsession with all things birth was also born!

 

When I became pregnant again, I planned to have another water birth, but it wasn’t to be, my little girl had other ideas and didn’t give the midwives enough time to fill the pool! After only 2hrs and 20mins after my first twinge (and it took me about 45mins to realise that I was actually experiencing surges!) my little girl was born en caul – which means she was born with her amniotic sac still intact.

 

Following my little girl’s birth, I was determined to spread the word about hypnobirthing and teach other parents-to-be that you can have a positive birth experience – it doesn’t have to be the horrific birth that everyone talks about! And so Sublime Birthing was born.

 

Whatever your preconceived ideas of hypnobirthing might be I promise you it’s not that! I find the term hypnobirthing has most mums running (or waddling) for the hills. Hypnobirthing is not some new aged hippie way to birth your baby (yes I have heard it referred to in this way).

 

So, what is hypnobirthing? I like to describe it as going back to birthing basics. Forget everything you’ve been told about birth - as most of what you will have been told will have been very negative. Instead learn to believe in your amazing birthing body, after all your body is designed to give birth.

 

Hypnobirthing is about tapping into your natural birthing instincts and following the flow of your birthing body. Your body knows what it’s doing, and you just have to believe and trust in the process.

 

The ‘hypno’ part of hypnobirthing is the part that gives mums preconceived ideas about what you will do in classes. Trust me though - I won’t be making you run around your home clucking like a chicken, well not unless you really want to! The hypnotic trance that you will experience in class and when listening to your MP3s is essentially very deep relaxation. When we’re very deeply relaxed and in trance we are more suggestible and more open to new ways of thinking. Through the relaxation scripts in class and by listening to your MP3s at home, you will learn to think about birth in a much more positive way than you do now. And when your mind is feeling positive about birth, your body will follow it’s lead and remain calm and relaxed during labour and birth.

 

Through listening to the relaxation scripts, you will learn to let go any fear you have about birth, again helping your mind and body to just relax and go with the flow when you go into labour and birth your baby.  It sounds very simplistic and in reality, it is. But why do we need to do courses like hypnobirthing to learn how to give birth if it’s so simple? The answer to this lies in the way we talk about and think about birth in our society. I’m sure you will have heard many horror stories about birth by now, as soon as you’re pregnant it’s all everyone wants to tell you. Every time you hear a horror story about birth it adds to the many you’ve heard before, and the way you’ve seen birth portrayed on TV and in movies. So, you expect birth to be horrific, dramatic, excruciatingly painful and because you expect it to be this way you became afraid and stressed about giving birth. Unfortunately when you feel like this during labour and birth your body’s natural flow and rhythm is interrupted. The birthing hormones that are meant to help during labour and birth are inhibited by your stressor hormones and things start to go awry. But help is at hand with the techniques you will learn on my course. Breathing, relaxation and self-hypnosis techniques all designed to keep you calm and relaxed during labour and birth, and to help you work with your body instead of working against it.

 

Hypnobirthing is not only for birthing people who are planning a natural, drug free, intervention free birth. And while there might be some hypnobirthing courses that only focus on this type of birth, the course I teach supports ALL births.

 

Whether you plan to have a home birth, a hospital birth, a water birth, an induced birth, a belly birth, a free birth...I can help you have a positive birth however and wherever you give birth to your baby. However you plan to birth your baby,  I want you to remember your birth as one of the most empowering and memorable experiences of your life.

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