Does Hypnobirthing Work?
Let’s be honest, the question you really want to ask is will hypnobirthing work for me?
I wish I had a magic wand and could give you 100% guarantee but here’s what I know to be true. The techniques, the tools that you learn are based on science, physiology and psychology. They work. Full stop.
They CAN’T NOT work for you, what you really need to do is manage the outcome you are expecting:
Hypnobirthing cannot guarantee you your dream birth
It cannot guarantee you a vaginal birth
It cannot guarantee you 100% pain free birth
It cannot promise you an intervention-free all singing all dancing birth
BUT it can help stack the odds firmly in your favour of ALL OF THAT happening; nothing else can.
So, if I’m such an amazing birth coach, prenatal yoga teacher and hypnobirthing teacher. Why can’t I promise you the most amazing birth?
One because I’m 100% truth teller, and two, because I have no idea what you will do with the teachings:
Will you practise them?
Will you and your partner actively plan and incorporate them into your birth wherever possible?
Have you asked the midwives / caregivers good questions to navigate the birth path? or will you agree to whatever they say on the day without making an active choice?
Have you listened to the hypnotic trance recordings DESIGNED to help you overcome fear and recondition your mind to the TRUTH that birth can feel amazing? The recordings designed to teach your body and mind how to work together?
Will you show up for the teachings and show up for yourself? YOU can positively influence your birth in so many ways. Will you?
Hypnobirthing has the power to turn a difficult birth into a good birth, a run of the mill birth into an amazing birth, an amazing birth into a euphoric birth. I can GIVE you ALL of the info and support, the tools, techniques and skills that you need but YOU ARE THE ONE to use them. Meet Romilly and Richard (below), Romilly had an amazing home birth full of laughter, tears and plenty of roaring. Hear her story here.
There are times where birth just doesn’t go the way we really wanted it to and that is NOT your fault.
Complications happen, curveballs appear out of nowhere. But even if complications and curveballs appear you can still benefit from the physical and emotional calm, the reasoning, the knowledge, the awareness and the ability to bring yourself to a place of deep relaxation (not to pretend chaos isn’t out there, but because THIS helps your body to birth your baby in a more comfortable way: FACT. Check out What is Hypnobirthing and Why Bother with Hypnobirthing for more info).
Hypnobirthing isn’t a cure all for everything but when you use it it will support you to have a better birth than you would have had without it. AND, I have multiple women ready to tell you just how amazing their births were thanks to hypnobirthing! Check out first time mum Roxy’s story.
There’s also an issue of what we call ‘expectancy’ in hypnotherapy. If you still do not fully believe that it is possible to have an amazing birth your subconscious mind will stop short of allowing you to have it. It’ll put the brakes on somehow.
How stack the odds in your favour of an amazing birth?
Sign up for a great programme (I run The Birth Prep Programme for Couples - new course starting September)
Don’t just do an online passive learning course where you have no interaction; you’ll remember it as much as you’ll remember a random line at minute 27 from Line of Duty (and be just as puzzled).
Ask questions but don’t hand over your power to the teacher (she is not there to make your decisions)
Set aside time after the sessions so you give the learnings a chance to absorb
Treat your sessions as an event - not a tick-box exercise. If you’re doing a LIVE interactive course that’s online create a nice space for yourself at home. Don’t be scoffing your breakfast or main meal and watching over the top. Be present (and yes, of course you can have a nibble now and again!)
Invest in SUPPORT, NOT STUFF. In two years, five years, 10 years you will REMEMBER the support, the space that was held for you to talk and learn about birth - you will wonder why you bought so many baby sleep suits and paraphernalia you never used
Be willing to give up your fear. Fear does not keep you safe. It might feel like it does but it does not. Being prepared, being informed, listening to your body, asking the right questions, and being awake to all the possibilities of birth keeps you safe.
Does hypnobirthing work? Yes, it is effective.
Will it work for you? Yes, and be realistic about what it absolutely can do (help you stay calm, make good choices, know how to move, breathe and manage pain) and what it cannot do (promise you the birth of your dreams).
Is it your fault if a birth doesn’t work out the way you want it to? No.
Is it the fault of hypnobirthing? No.
Can hypnobirthing help you have an amazing birth with less risk of tearing, less risk of unwanted intervention, shorter labour time and less pain? Yes
If you’d LOVE to stack the odds in your favour of the best birth possible check out The Birth Prep Programme for Couples. It’ll open your eyes to the possibilities of birth and leave you feeling as prepared as you possibly can be. I’d love to support you.
