In our specialist easibirthing® Fertility, Hypnobirthing, Pregnancy & Parenting service, we believe that the best birth is the one that is right for THIS mum and THIS baby. Every woman deserves to be supported regardless of the mode of delivery.
Labour can be unpredictable, and an emergency caesarean can be the right decision for some women and babies so an important role of a hypnobirthing course should be to build a repertoire of techniques to deal with when it doesn’t go according to plan.
The hypnobirthing revolution through history
When we ask the question What is Hypnobirthing we need to be aware that the practice of hypnobirthing, or use of hypnosis in childbirth, as we know it today has a history stretching right back to the early 20th century. However lest we forget the contributions from Aristotle and the ancient world, contemporary observations and practices were a return in some ways to what we have always known and in many cultures across the world, what we have always done.
Dr Grantly Dick Reid was an obstetrician in London in the early 1900s. He observed through his work with birthing women that “There is no physiological function in the body that gives rise to pain in the normal course of health. In no other animal species is the process of birth apparently associated with any suffering, pain or agony, except where pathology exists or in an unnatural state, such as captivity.” Dick-Reid published his famous book ‘Childbirth without Fear’ in 1933. His principles were the foundation of the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) in the UK.
Over the last century, a revolution has taken place in childbirth, and the pendulum is swinging towards women feeling empowered to be in control of how and where to birth their babies, and to be in control of decisions when clinical need necessitates a deviation from their preferences and intended plan. In this way, they embrace their unique birth experience with the medical professionals bringing their expertise to best support, advise and intervene only where needed.
Sheila Kitzinger and Ina May Gaskin were midwives who played important parts in encouraging women to give their bodies and minds the opportunity to show what they are really capable of.
Michel Odent, an obstetrician introduced birthing pools to his unit at Pithiviers near Paris in the 1980s and encourage women to give birth in whatever position they felt comfortable, often squatting, kneeling or standing with support.
The person accredited with the origin of the actual term Hypnobirthing is Michelle Leclaire O’Neill in 1987 in her book ‘Hypnobirthing: The original method”. Since that time there have been a number of pioneers in the fields who have developed models of hypnobirthing across the world whose innovative methods and approaches have shaped the hypnobirthing world.
Sharon Mustard conceptualised the easibirthing® method in 1997 in conjunction with midwives to develop a hypnobirthing method which would best reflect UK birthing practices. Today, the easibirthing® method is taught throughout the world and has the in-built flexibility to be adapted to fit work alongside the birthing practice in your local region.
https://www.bps.org.uk/news/hypnobirthing-psychology-childbirth
What is hypnobirthing?
Hypnobirthing isn’t teaching you how to give birth. You don’t need to attend a course of any kind for that; your body and your baby already know how to bring that baby forth. What you are learning through hypnobirthing is how to gracefully step out of the way and let them get on with it.
That requires a few things:
· Trust that your body and baby can do this
· Confidence that you have the right people around you and you feel safe and comfortable enough to let go
· Familiarity with that no-higher brain, no thinking, relaxed state that you can easily slip into and tune out distractions.
The process of using hypnosis for birth preparation can be misleadingly subtle. It is an amalgamation of lots of little things that, when brought together, create a huge shift in mindset.
Sometimes couples say that their baby’s birth was so swift that they didn’t have time to use the hypnobirthing, as if it were a switch they forgot to press rather than the approach and preparation that led them to be calm, confident, empowered parents able to create the optimal conditions in which their baby was born.
This is not about having a ‘designer birth’ but instead equipping you with the psychological skills to adjust to whatever may be happening, and the confidence to use those skills (your sense of mastery).
These goals do not need to change simply because you are having a C-section rather than an experience of vaginal birth and labour
Our hypnobirthing courses are not about trying to change your mind, nor trying to convince you that another option should be considered
However we do want you to know what your rights are in making choices and decisions. Feeling ownership of decisions can be the make or break of having a positive birth experience, one that you can look back on with pride, fond memories, and confidence.
It is not about provoking shame and guilt, instead we acknowledge that circumstances often dictate the right mode of delivery for you and your baby.
Our courses are about building your confidence-in you, your body, your birth partner and the medical team around you.
If there are any feelings of guilt, shame or failure; it is about letting go of them and moving forward to be the parent you want to be.
But did you know that hypnobirthing is suitable for an elective or planned C-section birth too?
For too long the debate has solely been centred around whether a vaginal birth or C-section is the optimal mode of delivery for both you and your baby. And whilst that debate is important, it often misses the point of providing the woman with the full psychological support regardless of the decision.
Even this debate played out publicly across the media and society can leave a woman who needs or wants a C-section feeling inadequate, feeling her body is inadequate somehow and guilt and shame can result. Sadly this guilt and shame can be in the foreground of her experience, even if the birth experience she wanted was far from the scenario of a necessary or recommended C-section. These women need all the support we can muster, to let go of any guilt, that this is not only not her fault but the reassurance that it is okay, that this doesn’t change the fact that she is still having her baby, giving birth to her baby, becoming a mum to her baby. That she has every reason to feel proud of herself and her body. That sometimes things don’t go according to plan, and to forgive herself because there is nothing to forgive!
So next time you ask ‘What is hypnobirthing?’ why not give us a call or read our testimonials at https://mustardtherapy.co.uk/fertility-pregnancy-hypnobirthing-parenting/#Hypnobirthing
