Well its about lots of things really, but the main thing is always what it will mean to you. You will take away exactly what you want because this experience is entirely personal to you.
It can be about being prepared, relaxed, knowing exactly what is going to happen and making choices based on how that will impact your birth, your baby and your recovery. How can you make decisions if you are unsure about why you are making them and how important it will be for your birthing experience. We have all heard knowledge is power and that really is the case for birth. If you know what to expect, understand all the hospital jargon and know why your making decisions you instantly give yourself more confidence and by reducing the unknowns will make it all less scary.
It can be about helping you to feel in control, calm and comfortable during your birth so you can experience your birth the way you want to. No one likes pain and if you go into this process scared and tense you will make your muscles work harder making it more uncomfortable. You will be in your most alert state during birth, your mothering instincts kicking in, so if you don‘t feel emotionally safe your body will respond thinking its unsafe to give birth and slow down surges or even pause them - thats how incredible your body is. However this means longer labours and the potential possibility for increased medical interventions. The reason why hypnobirthing is different to any other antenatal course is because we address these fears and worries on a deeper level where these are activated as part of your flight and fight responses. If you are relaxed and calm you cannot be scared and tense, making you feel safe to give birth, making it more comfortable and a much more positive experience for you, which is exactly what every mother deserves.
Now if you want to just go with the flow thats absolutely fine, its your choice but if you want to make the most of your birth, to have more control over your birth, have a more gentle birth or want to help yourself reduce the discomfort then look into hypnobirthing. Fear and panic are not your friends and there is a better way.
We get conditioned from an early age that birth is painful, its messy, lots of screaming and shouting and can last hours especially for your first. You know the scenario as soon as you start telling people about your pregnancy, the onslaught of horrific birth stories begin and it scares you, you don‘t even want to think about it.
Our subconscious stores everything we experience and our belief around birth, so when we feel scared it can protect us by activating our flight and fight responses. If we are scared or anxious during birth we divert oxygen and resources away from the internal organs and muscles into our limbs ready to run or fight. Great if you are in danger not so great giving birth. This is because our uterus is one big bag of muscles and that’s what you are using to give birth.
If we get told over and over again birth is not a nice experience or our previous birth affected us in a similar way, then that is how we are going to perceive it. We go into birth scared, tense up and make our muscles work harder causing pain. Hypnobirthing helps you reframe your thoughts on birth so you can stay relaxed and calm, providing your muscles with all the resources they need to work efficiently, you are not tense so you feel less discomfort. Allowing your body to do what it does best and more importantly giving you the confidence to trust your body and know you can do this. It’s not some strange craze it’s science. It’s how our mind and body works.
Hypnobirthing achieves this by using the way the mind and body works, taking your fear away, providing you will all the tools and techniques you will ever need and supporting you on your journey with as much information as you want to feel informed, empowered and in control on your birthing journey. So you can have the best possible experience and start telling others about it. All you need to do is ask yourself what kind of birth would you really like to have.