A review of hypnobirth - does hypnobirth really work?!

Alfie is now 6 weeks old (how?!) and I've had plenty of time to reflect on his arrival and to have long (detailed and explicit) conversations with lots of friends keen to hear if "it's as bad as One Born Every Minute." My answer is always "No, because I had a hypnobirth." The conversation then inevitably evolves into me evangelising about the benefits of hypnobirth!

Anyhow, bearing in my mind my own terror-induced-nosiness when I was pregnant I decided to outline how I experienced the entire hypnobirthing process, I've already written about the hours of Alfie's birth here, (summary; calm, a bit sore, short and happy) but hypnobirthing is a much longer process that starts months before baby's birth. People always ask "What is hypnobirth?" followed  immediately afterwards by "Does hypnobirthing work?" In this post I'll answer the questions I've been asked most!

Q. What's the point of hypnobirth and why did you choose one?
A. Did you know that pain is not a natural part of birth?! It occurs as a result of fear and anxiety, where birth is concerned it has a psychological, not physiological origin and is a sign that the body is not being allowed to do what it is very cleverly built to do!

The aim of hypnobirth is firstly to replace negative thoughts regarding birth with positive ones and secondly to prepare Mom and her birth partner to play an active role in the birth of their baby. Hypnobirth achieves this in a number of ways, the main ones being knowledge and practice. I learnt so much about the physical process of birth and the medical options that would be available to me. This meant that as each phase of birth occurred I knew exactly what was happening as well as what the midwives might suggest AND (having practiced my techniques for MONTHS with Fred) I could take steps to help each phase along. A mother who has learnt to hypnobirth will be very 'in tune' with her body and know how to 'work with it'. Altogether this meant that I wasn't afraid, I was able to control the situation and I was supported.

The ultimate goal of hypnobirthing is a calm birth, which does not always mean a natural birth.

Q. So is hypnobirthing anything to do with hypnosis?
A. Not in the way we normally think about hypnosis, nobody ever said "look into my eyes" and I never did a chicken impression at the click of anyone's fingers! But then again that's not what hypnosis is actually about! Anything you do without thinking or deliberate effort (eg reading a sign, singing along to the radio, shaking someone's hand or, oh I don't know, assuming birth is a horrific, blood soaked catastrophe) is a form of hypnosis - a learnt, programmed response that has become instinct. Hypnobirthing helps a mother to 'relearn' her thought pattern regarding birth, one of the routes to this goal is to make the techniques so familiar that they become instinct and are easily applied when they're needed.

Q. What are these techniques you keep going on about?
A. As I said the ultimate goal is a calm birth so the techniques I was taught all aimed to increase calmness and build confidence in your ability to birth.

I did lots of meditations, lots and lots of meditations! But not just any meditations, these were specially written for hypnobirthing (there are some samples on YouTube) so as a result they were calming and empowering. As an extension I learnt to breath deeply and to repeat mantras.

Breathing is a big piece of the hypnobirthing pie. Your muscles need oxygen for anything activity and will cramp and cause pain if they're not getting enough, d'uh. There's a knack to birth breathing so you do need to practice before hand.

There was lots of visualisations, these involved vividly imagining all the negative things I thought might happen at birth and then reimagining these scenes in a way that felt joyful, which when you think about it is the only emotion appropriate to meeting your child!

There were also some exercises to do and some massages (yay) as well as pressure points to be applied during birth, I don't know how to sufficiently sing the praises of the pressure points, they worked wonders!

Q. What does your birth partner do?
Everything! Your birth partner has a vital role in keeping you focused on the techniques and satisfying your every whim! They also mediate between you and the medical staff so you don't get distracted or bombarded. I couldn't have managed without Fred, he improvised meditations during my labour that took me out of the room completely and he stayed confidently calm!

Q. Does hypnobirth work?
A. YES!!!! WONDERFULLY! I have no pain threshold and was terrified of birth (I considered never having children so I could avoid it. Really.) but through hypnobirthing I enjoyed an all natural, calm birth that I shared with my partner without fear or shame. And yes I meant to say enjoyed! The midwives in my hospital who were not hypnobirth practitioners said they considered "good breathing and a bath to be as effective as an epidural".

Q. Does birth still hurt?
A. Yes, but lots of things hurt - like leg day! It wasn't as painful as I expected it to be, at the very end I had a moment of panic when I didn't think I'd be able to finish but that's what the birth partner is for! Remember, this is a pain that you are prepared for and have dozens of ways to deal with, it is also a pain that you know will end in the most fantastic way possible, it is therefore a VERY manageable level of pain!

Q. And how's Alfie?
A. He is the most chilled out baby I've ever encountered, he rarely cries and so far (jinx) he's never screamed. Everyone who has met him from midwives, community care workers and friends to strangers in the street, have used the same word - contented. Because the first part of his life and his transition into the world was so relaxed he has never learnt to be anxious, making my life with a newborn very easy!