How it can help your labour…
There is an old saying: “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.”
When women expect birth to be a negative and painful experience, they prepare themselves for this kind of outcome and often have this kind of experience. When women realize that they can take steps to minimize pain, that birth is something they can look forward to, even enjoy and that they can prepare for birth using relaxation, hypnosis and other comfort measures that can create a more positive experience, they often feel more relaxed in pregnancy and more positive about their birth experiences.
Thoughts and emotions alone cannot create, start or stop the birth process, but it is now understood that they do have an impact. High levels of chronic stress can increase your odds of pre-term labour or of delivering a low-birth weight baby. If you regularly focus on negative, worrying thoughts they are “just in your head.” But unfortunately, the physiological responses that they create: tension, shallow breathing, pounding heart… are real and can negatively impact you and your baby and your birth. Fortunately the simple steps that you can take to prepare for your baby’s birth can help you to release worry, fear and stress and enjoy relaxation throughout your pregnancy.
You cannot control your birth process but you can prepare your body and mind for birth.
While you can’t practice giving birth, you can learn to enter the state of mind that helps you to get ready for birth. This is a state of mind that seeks out, finds and creates comfort before, during and after birth. This state of mind supports and increases your endorphins, your feel good, pain relieving hormones, helping you to feel calm and ready for birth when it does begin.
Do you have confidence in the birth process and your ability to give birth? Do you have confidence in your baby’s knowledge of how to be born? If you do then make sure you regularly tap into your confidence through visualization and positive self talk. If you don’t yet have this confidence, you can learn about the birth process and your ability to give birth and your baby’s knowledge of how to be born. Once you have this knowledge you can start to build your confidence through relaxation, self-hypnosis, visualization and self talk. As your confidence increases, you release fear and increase your sense of calm.
Map out the birth process and aim to obtain a good understanding of it through reading and preparation classes. Revisit this map daily, conditioning your conscious and deeper mind in the same way that a professional athlete trains their mind as well as their body. Pregnant women are lucky, their bodies already know how to give birth, so it is mostly the mind that they prepare.
Practice breathing techniques for calm that work with, not against the birth process. If you have done yoga, meditation, hypnotherapy or other relaxation approaches then you will know how to do the basics. If you haven’t learned relaxed abdominal breathing yet, then take the time to learn it as soon as you can so you and your baby can benefit throughout your pregnancy and pave the way for using relaxation during your baby’s birth. Positions and comfort measures for birth can be learned and used while practicing breathing and relaxation. Your practice helps create a positive conditioned response to birth.
Birth has a natural hypnotic element that occurs when a woman feels safe and is free of fear. Unfortunately, women often “shake off” or “pull out” of this naturally occurring state, not realizing that it has the power to deepen relaxation, ease pain, and allow time to pass out of awareness. Learning self-hypnosis is a great way to prepare to make positive use of the hypnotic nature of birth. If you already know how to do this then make a regular habit of it. If not, consider taking a course so you can practice in the months and weeks leading to your baby’s birth.
My motto is: “Do everything you can, then just let go.” Decide what is important for you and your baby. Take active steps to prepare during pregnancy, then enjoy relaxing knowing that you are doing all that you can for yourself and your baby.
I’ve given you an overview of some of the things that you can do to prepare body and mind for birth. These are some of the things covered in the HypnoBirth course that I teach at the Complementary Health Care Clinic in Norwich. The course covers relaxation, breathing, visualization, self-hypnosis, active birth positions and comfort measures. I also provide written notes and practice CDs so you can continue to develop what you learn after the course as well as tips on using what you learn beyond pregnancy and birth.
I have been helping women and couples prepare for birth since 1992, do get in touch if you have any questions or want more information.
To book your place on the new HypnoBirthing course at The Complementary Health Care Clinic on Saturday 29th October and Saturday 12th November please contact reception on 01603 665173.
© Debra Sequoia, August 2011
Debra Sequoia, Antenatal Hypnotherapy & HypnoBirth
Complementary Health Care Clinic – 01603 665 173
MindBody Hypnotherapy for Health & Wellbeing, Pre-conception & Fertility Hypnotherapy: www.mindbodyhypnosis.co.uk
HypnoBirth & Antenatal Hypnotherapy: www.birthbody.info
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