The many ways I'd describe Hypnobirthing
Depending on who I'm talking to, the way I describe what I do changes - I expect this is true for most people. Here I've captured some of the different people and perspectives, you might recognise yourself in one of them (not as my son or grandad obviously!)
To my son
I teach women who have babies in their tummies about how to give birth happily.
To the pragmatic, curious but sceptical
I am a pragmatist too. That's why I teach Hypnobirthing. It's logical and practical, combining simple things, based on biology, physiology and neuroscience, which make a big difference to pregnancy and birth.
One of my all time favourite quotes, from a Hypnobirthing Place dad: “It made sense to me having done biology and coming from the hormone side of things - it’s not just mumbo jumbo.”
As someone who’s experienced a challenging birth before discovering Hypnobirthing, I know what it can be like and I don’t come to this blinkered. You’ll get an honest approach from me. Having used it for my second birth, I know first hand how well it works and never ask couples to do anything I myself haven’t practiced and found helpful.
Evidence for its efficacy can be found in the About section on my website.
to the dad-to-be (eg. david gandy)
You are a fundamental part of the birth of your baby and you can make a huge difference to your partner’s experience with the right knowledge and tools. Hypnobirthing is about taking a proactive approach to helping your partner have the birth that she wants, wherever that is, as well as enabling you to support her if things don’t go quite to plan.
You’ll gain an understanding of how your partner’s body works during labour and what she needs for labour to go smoothly and comfortably. The tools and techniques you’ll learn are invaluable for helping her achieve a positive birth experience, and you’ll be practicing the breathing and relaxation techniques together so that she comes to associate you with relaxation and calm. Working as a strong team like this is good for parenthood as well as birth!
Here’s a quote from a lovely dad: “The tools that Zoe taught us have been really amazing for us as a couple. It has given us a sense of empowerment, helped us release some of our fears and stress that we have accumulated over the years and had brought us even closer. Having practical exercises to work with nightly, really is truly special and we feel ready and prepared for our baby's birth, with a great set of tools and resources at our disposal.”
To the mum-to-be who doesn’t think it’ll work for her
It always works in different ways, even for those who least expect it!
If you are anxious because you’ve had difficult previous experiences of birth, we’ll spend time working through and letting go of worries built up from that time. You’ll feel you have choices and are able to make informed decisions and will hopefully find yourself looking forward to this birth!
If you are someone who just thinks a lot about all the things that could go wrong, or considers yourself a ‘worrier’ or ‘bad with pain’ then I encourage you to liberate yourself from such labels - they are not true... At least not most of the time! These limiting self beliefs do more harm than good, and can inhibit the process of birth if allowed to run unchecked. We’ll focus on building up your sense of resourcefulness, on developing your confidence, bringing in NLP and mindfulness techniques to help you tune into your strength, which will stand you in good stead for motherhood.
To my 95 yr old Grandad
It’s about helping women have a positive birth experience, however their birth goes.
His response, in between mouthfuls of Treacle Tart: “Well, if it helps them and makes you happy, that’s the main thing”.
Indeed.
Whether you are a mum or dad-to-be, do get in touch to find out more, even if you aren't quite sure what to ask! I'd love to hear from you and am always happy to have a chat.