Pregnant?
Confident about Childbirth?
If Not, Why Not? You Can Be Confident about your Childbirth … just read on.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every pregnancy, labour and birth were a joyful and positive experience for all new parents? It is an unfortunate truth that for too many mums-to-be, anxieties and fears about pain and complications during birth, overshadow what should be one of the most wonderful and happiest events of their lives. It needn’t be like that. Confident Childbirth courses offer a friendly and effective approach to pregnancy, labour and delivery of your baby.
I find it incredibly sad to realise that if you say the word “childbirth” to most people, more often than not, the thing that usually comes to mind is “pain”. Women in this country are very good at swapping birth horror stories and many people believe it is their duty to inform you of what they think will happen during your labour. We seem to have almost come to accept that suffering and childbirth go together, and indeed, that is to be expected. This means that most mothers, sadly, approach the birth of their baby with fear and anxiety. So as soon as their labour begins, they think of all the pain they are about to suffer, and of course, their body becomes tense. This leads to a lower pain threshold. All the while, the body’s natural process in labour, which is to just relax open the way for the baby, is being inhibited. So it should come as no surprise then when mums end up having the painful birth they always expected to have! What if we could stop that vicious cycle before it begins?
Many women could benefit from learning to work with their body during labour; a process which, after all, the female body was designed for! Sports people and athletes have long realised how the mind influences the body. They use sports psychology to train their minds to work with, rather than against their body.
Several research studies have recognised the effectiveness that hypnosis can have as a way of influencing how the body reacts during labour and delivery. It has been shown that women who have undergone several sessions of pre-labour hypnosis generally have:
- shorter first stage labour
- less chemical pain relief
- less medical intervention (caesarean and forceps etc)
- their baby has a higher APGAR score
- less instances of post-natal depression
Hypnosis for pain relief has been in use for a long time. Doctors such as the internationally renown surgeons, Jack Gibson and Angel Escudero have performed operations on many hundreds of their patients using hypnosis as the only form of anaesthesia. These, and other doctors know that hypnosis is the only known no-risk pain reliever. We can take advantage of this fact for childbirth. An added benefit is that as the natural birthing process is not interfered with, as might be the case with chemical pain relief, recovery time of both mother and baby is often shortened, so allowing them to spend those first precious hours bonding.
Although it is possible to experience no pain at all during childbirth using self-hypnosis, this can not be guaranteed. Much depends on the amount of time and effort each individual is prepared to put into practicing the new skills she will be taught. The more practice, the more easily self-induced trance is to enter. Therefore, if a woman’s aim is to have no pain or discomfort at all during labour, she needs to be prepared to spend much time honing her skills. What better excuse do you need for putting your feet up, relaxing and making the most of this ‘me’ time?
Sessions can be booked at any time during your pregnancy. An excellent time to start the course is at the beginning of the third trimester so that you can prepare fully for the birth. Alternatively, you may like to consider beginning earlier in your pregnancy so that the benefits can begin as soon as possible. This also gives you the benefit of being able to spend more time practicing the techniques that will be taught to you, whilst perhaps having longer gaps between sessions. However, you may be fairly late in your pregnancy. Please don’t think that it is too late for hypnosis to be of use to you. Any amount of practice that you are able to do between now and the birth of your baby is likely to be time well spent. And who knows, it may be the difference that makes the difference, to something that most people only get to experience a few times in their life. Shouldn’t it be the best experience it possibly can be for you?
Women have natural instincts when it comes to giving birth; with the added skills that you will learn on the Confident Childbirth course, you can really trust your body and work with it to the greatest effect, at this wonderful time in your life. Put aside any negative notions you may have about giving birth, because you can approach the birth of your baby with confidence.
With my flexible approach, my aim is to help you to achieve the most positive and rewarding pregnancy and birthing experience possible.
Look at my website for more details at www.anitamitchell.co.uk
