Today on the blog, we’re talking all things hypnobirthing. You may have already experienced a hypnobirth or, are simply curious to find out more.
We sat down for a lovely little natter with the rather wonderful people over at The Positive Birth Company (PBC). As seen on Dragons' Den, PBC is on a mission to support people as they embark on the most exciting journey of their lives: parenthood.
Read on for a bit of myth busting as they share their essential birthing tips, an enlightening birth story and their top, must-have items for baby, birth and beyond.
Hypnobirthing - The Basics
So, let’s get down to facts. Hypnobirthing is, simply put, an evidence based program of antenatal education. The techniques you'll learn can be used during labour, however you choose to bring your baby into this world. It uses a series of learned techniques and practices to help empower people to create a calm and positive birth experience. Think of it as a science lesson and mindfulness practice all in one!
Of course, everybody’s birth journey is different and unique to them and everyone has their own ideas and preferences to consider.
To help prepare for a positive and confident birth, PBC have shared with us their top 5 inspirational tips and take-ways.
5 Tips for a Positive Birth
1: Breathing
Learning a breathing technique to use during labour is so important and really will make the biggest difference. We teach two breathing techniques in hypnobirthing at PBC - up breathing and down breathing. Up breathing is used for the up stage of labour, when the uterus muscles are drawing up and the cervix is dilating. Down breathing is used for the down stage of labour, where the muscles are pushing down and you are birthing your baby.
2: Environment
Don’t underestimate how important your birthing environment is! Whether you’re giving birth at home, at a birth centre or on a labour ward, make sure you’ve planned how you’ll make that space calm and relaxing. Things like a birth playlist, battery operated tealights and a nice room spray can instantly set the mood, transform your space and help you feel much more relaxed.
3: Birth partner
Having someone you trust as your birth partner to advocate for you whilst you labour is so important. Make sure they know what your birth preferences are so they can ensure your wishes are respected. One of our favourite affirmations is ‘My birth partner is by my side, and on my side’ and it’s just so true. They are the keeper of the cave and they’ve got your back!
4: Positive Reinforcement
A lot of what we teach in hypnobirthing at PBC is removing the fear around birth, because you want to be relaxed. The more relaxed you are, the easier your birth will be. The best way of doing this is through positive reinforcement. Practice using positive affirmations, such as ‘My surges cannot be stronger than me, because they are me’ and ‘My baby will be born calmly, gently and safely’. Watch positive birth videos and read positive birth stories. It’s super empowering stuff and will absolutely help you think of birth as a positive and wonderful experience.
5: Be informed
Be in a position where you can make informed decisions that are right for you and your baby. Know your choices and options! You can have a positive and empowering experience no matter how your birth pans out, if you can feel like you were in control.
In hypnobirthing we teach the BRAIN decision making framework to help you make these important decisions. This stands for Benefits, Risks, Alternatives, Instinct, Nothing. Ask yourself and your caregiver; What are the BENEFITS of this decision? What are the RISKS? Are there any ALTERNATIVES? What does your INSTINCT tell you? What happens if you do NOTHING for (X) amount of time?
For more free hypnobirthing tips, visit The Positive Birth Company’s YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/c/thepositivebirthcompany
Amy’s Birth story
If you’re considering Hypnobirthing, then this story is for you. Warning, you may need some tissues to hand - births and babies always make us feel emotional.
“I can’t believe it’s my turn to add my story to this magic corner of the internet. I work for PBC, so have enjoyed reading many stories and wondered if my birth would really be as magical as everyone else’s. I’m happy to confirm that it was!
I had a good pregnancy but suffered terrible pelvic pain which meant I wasn’t so active from 20 weeks+. I found this frustrating but other than that I was in awe of my body and enjoyed the changes to it.
I had planned a home birth from the get go as I really wanted to have my baby at home with my partner, son and my family a few minutes away by car. However this idea all went out of the window when we bought a house, which we ended up completing on, just two days after my EDD. Naturally our new house didn’t feel calm and neither did I. It was all last minute and rather stressful. The house needed redecorating, new carpets and cleaning from top to bottom. As I was now overdue, my partner got to work with the house whilst I attempted to relax.
My friend and colleague, PBC Founder Siobhan kept telling me that the baby would arrive when the house was feeling more together, that they were waiting for us to finish the paint… she kept saying ‘babies know’. By that point I just wanted the baby to make an appearance.
The midwife booked me in for induction at 41+5. The house was as finished as it could be and induction day loomed. My phone pinged constantly asking ‘if I’d had that baby yet’ I literally wanted to throw it out the window!
Like most people, I was nervous about induction. We arrived at the ward at 11am - unexpectedly greeted by my colleague and friend, PBC resident midwife Hannah who was on shift that day. I was nervous about the induction but I felt calmer greeted by her smiling face. After being shown to our side room I had a cuppa and was hooked up for monitoring, the baby was all good and happy.
At 12:20 midwife Debbie examined me and popped the pessary in, this was stage 1 of induction. After a quick examination I was only 2cm. At this point I had the choice to go home and return tomorrow if nothing was happening or I went into labour. I decided to stay - after all, I’d packed my gel nail kit and iPad and was looking forward to having dinner served to me in front of netflix. My partner Pete said I must have been the happiest patient in the hospital as I settled down for the evening ahead. I knew I’d have more oxytocin flowing having a hospital ‘mini break’ rather than returning home where I may be tempted to continue unpacking boxes and feeling anxious about whether labour would begin.
Morning came and I was feeling more tightenings, stronger and closer together. By 6am I turned to my Freya app just to check their frequency and the app told me I was in established labour.
At around 8:45am I was bent over the bed contracting and doing my upbreathing. I asked for 2 paracetamol from Midwife Nikki on the drugs round.
Hannah returned on shift at 8:50am and came straight in to see me. I was relieved to see her, as Pete had not yet arrived and at this point I was in deep concentration and breathing to Freya with each contraction. Freya helped me so much and I soon learnt that after the first two repetition of counts that by the third, the pain would ease off.
I realised that I hadn’t given anyone my birth preferences. I’d always wanted to birth in water, so Hannah popped upstairs to see if the pool was available. It was!
My partner Pete arrived and as soon as he walked in I had a little cry, I think because I felt a little overwhelmed and also proud of myself by that point for working through it so well alone. Pete admitted that he thought I’d be in bed watching the news having light contractions. Instead he walked into established labour and we were soon to be on our way to delivery.
Midwife Nikki returned to examine me and to everyone's surprise I was 6cm. At that point it was all systems go to get me upstairs to the birthing suite. Pete got out the lavender spray, we joked at this point that we had passed that stage and we wouldn’t be using any spray or candles! We now had the task of making it upstairs to the delivery suite. I had to keep stopping with Freya in my hand and contracting all the way through the ward, twice in the lift and all the way along delivery suite corridors.
By 10am we reached the room with the pool. I got in and began my upbreathing. I was still able to laugh and joke between contractions, Pete was gobsmacked that I was able to act totally normally between each one. I quickly moved into the transition stage, where I noticed I began to panic as the adrenaline kicked in. I asked Pete to remind me to drop my shoulders and relax my jaw in order to remain calm as I felt the urge to push. I was adamant to breathe my baby out and didn’t want to lose control. The midwife at this point had done very little, as requested. She then prompted me to breathe and push my baby down.
I felt him coming down but then he felt static or as if he was going back up. After a few breaths the midwife asked if I could feel the head with my hand, I had a feel and sure enough I could feel a wrinkly little crown of his head. The midwife told me with the next breath that his head should come out, she was right.
Then she said with the next one, his body would be out and I could pull him out. I gave it my all and concentrated and sure enough, with my next breath I birthed my baby, grabbed him up and pulled him up to my chest. At 11:07am, 2 hours after Pete had arrived and 24 after the pessary, I lay back in the pool staring at my little boy. He had the fullest head of beautiful dark hair and at that moment I felt like the most powerful person on earth.
Otis’ birth was honestly the best day of our lives. It was such a magical experience and whilst my first birth was exactly the same on paper, I had no clue what I was doing and felt quite out of control. This time I felt totally IN control and on cloud nine”.
If you feel inspired byAmy’s birth story, visit The Positive Birth Company to find out more about their 121 coaching sessions, group classes and online courses in hypnobirthing. You can also learn more about the Freya hypnobirthing app, as mentioned in Jasmine’s story. This revolutionary contraction timer and virtual birthing partner will help coach you all the way through labour.
Oh Baby!
And of course, we couldn’t let them go without asking those lovely folk at PBC for their top new parenting picks from Scandiborn:
- - Your babe will be fascinated by the beautiful patterns on these soft muslins, making them not only useful for cleaning up those messes, but for entertaining your little one too.
- Because everyone needs a changing bag! This backpack is a great option - hands free and plenty of room for *all* of your things.
- These bodysuits turn practical to cute! Milk themed vests and a milk bottle teether will look great on any babe.
That’s all for now. We hope you enjoyed this little read and wish you well on your parenting journey.
Grab yourself a (decaf) cuppa, pop your feet up and shop the full range of products for baby, parenting, home and lifestyle over at Scandiborn. And, if you're in need of some nursery inspiration, why not have a read at our Neutral Nursery, Space or Animal Safari themed interiors blogs. Plus, you can shop the whole look from our full collection of themed interiors online too.
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About The Positive Birth Company
Founded by hypnobirthing expert Siobhan Miller in 2016, we are committed to empowering women, birthing people and birth partners around the world to create positive experiences from conception through to birth and the postpartum period with our unique, accessible and fully comprehensive approach to prenatal, antenatal and postnatal education.
