DOES HYPNOBIRTHING WORK?

Let’s start by saying I am a rather cynical person. I struggle to meditate and during a yoga class I am less mmmm and more hmmm with what’s for dinner that night! That being said I was definitely up for trying out hypnobirthing. Anything to make labour seem less daunting! I am also lucky enough to have two friends that are doulas and hypnobirthing teachers! Both of which teach a different course from one another. One being the KGH course and the other the The Wise Hippo course. After taking both classes I can say they are quite different from each other, although of course both teaching you the same thing but in different ways if you get what I mean 😉. My classes were both on Zoom because of it being at the height of lockdown. I actually preferred this because it meant my mum who lives in Wales was able to take part in some of the classes as well. I strongly recommend that whoever you intend on having at your birth should take part in these classes.

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Louise Oliver – The Peaceful Doula
Laura Stocks – Birth Mother Me

WHAT IS HYPNOBIRTHING?

The word hypnobirthing signified to me that it was going to be some sort of hippy-trippy kind of class where you sit around in a circle humming. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Hypnobirthing is in actual fact an amazing opportunity to teach you everything you want to and most importantly NEED to know before your labour. The NHS are incredible and my midwifery experience (even during the covid era) was amazing. I always felt like they had plenty of time for me in my appointments and never felt rushed. They welcomed questions but the problem was that I didn’t really know what to ask. My hypnobirthing classes taught me so much and more. After your course you will feel like you could be a midwife with all your newly learnt knowledge. In reality of course you don’t know even a smidge of what they know of course hehe.
Another part of the hypnobirthing course is how to centre yourself and how to in essence chill out during a rather insane experience. The ways you can do this are through breathing exercises which I still use 4 months later to help me drift off to sleep after a long night feed. There are also mantras to learn and listen to. These didn’t work as well for me personally, yet one of my friends favoured the mantras over the breathing.

HYPNOBIRTHING FROM THE MANS POINT OF VIEW

I asked Liam (my hubby) how he found the whole hypnobirthing course experience and this was his response, “I found the whole hypnobirthing course incredibly empowering. It made me feel more involved and gave me a greater insight into the role I can play as the partner. It made me realise how important the birth partner is and how to be helpful when you could otherwise feel like you’re on the fringe. I learnt how to advocate for my wife so that she could feel calm during the birthing experience. It really helped me feel prepared for the whole experience and like I could call the shots a little bit with what Megan and I wanted. Unlike most other things you read on the internet you can learn more in depth about breastfeeding, meconium, colostrum harvesting and everything postpartum. It taught us a lot about beyond the birth which is when you really need help and could otherwise feel alone”.

DOES IT WORK?

In one word YES. In more words…continue reading. I was sceptical that there was any point in doing hypnobirthing classes. Yet, since taking the course I tell everyone I know to take part in a course! I would have been a nervous wreck if I hadn’t taken these classes. Everything about my birth was different from how I had hoped and planned.
I had planned for a home birth- cancelled.
I wanted my mum with me- cancelled.
I didn’t want to be induced- cancelled.
I didn’t want any pain meds- cancelled.
So much about my birth was more dramatic than I had wanted yet with a clear, calm and knowledgable mind that I had learnt through hypnobirthing classes I took it all in my stride. Hypnobirthing teaches you everything you need to know. Without hypnobirthing it would be like one of those nightmares where you walk into an exam without having done any revision or been to any classes. I knew when I could say no, I knew what pain relief options there were, I knew when to and when not to accept a vaginal examination, I knew when you were being pushed into an induction and when you should accept one. I knew the difference between the many stages of induction and what was really amazing was that in one of my hypnobirthing classes we were taught how to create a birth plan with absolutely everything you wanted for both a home birth and a hospital birth.

Feel free to message me in the comments below or privately on Instagram @megantaylorlondon if you want to ask me any more in depth questions. Wishing you a happy, stress free birth.

Would you consider a hypnobirthing course?