Confident Childbirth

Pregnancy and childbirth is an incredible time of your life.  For some, the experience is positive and empowering.  For others, it’s nine months full of worries, anxiety and fear.

Confident Childbirth could be helpful whichever category you fall into.  Over a series of 4 to 6 hour-long sessions I’ll be teaching you a wide range of highly effective tools, all completely tailored to you, so that you can have the best possible experience of birth for you and your baby.

If you are already feeling positive about welcoming your little one into the world, Confident Childbirth can help to enhance the experience – helping to improve the bond between you and your baby and enabling you to discover even more resources to help you enjoy the experience.

If you are feeling worried, anxious or frightened about the idea of labour and giving birth (whether it’s your first baby or your fourth), or you have already had a difficult or traumatic labour/birth experience, Confident Childbirth is a method through which I can help you to reduce those feelings and overcome any negative beliefs, thought patterns or memories that might be getting in your way.

During our sessions you’ll learn skills such as self-hypnosis (how to go into a state of calm relaxation); personal visualisations to aid your labour and delivery; a range of pain control techniques; and how to remain positive, in control and in communication.  By the end of our sessions together, you may be surprised to realise just how much your thoughts and feelings have shifted, and you could find yourself looking forward to giving birth in a much more calm and positive way than before.

You’ll have taken your mind and body through so many positive mental rehearsals for the birth that your body can be primed to go through its natural process smoothly, because you can trust that your body knows exactly what to do in order to bring your baby into the world.

Studies have shown that women using hypnosis for childbirth require less medication, have fewer interventions and complications and are more likely to deliver healthier babies.  Women who use hypnosis for childbirth are usually calmer and more relaxed during the event, which can result in an easier and more comfortable birth, with less mental and physical tiredness after your baby is born.  And babies born to mothers who use hypnosis are more likely to have a higher APGAR score (the measurement of wellbeing recorded immediately after delivery), tend to cry less, and feed and sleep better.

Post-natal depression can affect up to 1 in 7 mothers after they give birth, and it can range from mild ‘baby blues’ to more severe levels of depression. Hypnotherapy can also be very successful in helping you to overcome these feelings and be able to enjoy your new baby.

Confident Childbirth can be used for births at home, in hospital or at a birthing centre and, once you’ve learned the skills, they can be used for any future births too.  You are always more than welcome to come back for a series of refresher sessions too if you want to.  Partners are welcome to attend the sessions, or you can come on your own – it really is up to you.

I used Confident Childbirth with each of my three daughters.  I had all three of them in hospital, and didn’t need or want any pain relief or medical intervention with any of them – not even gas and air.  I’m not saying it didn’t hurt – it did!  It’s just that I felt able to manage the feelings and allowed each contraction to come and go with ease, and I knew that my body was doing what it is meant to do.  I remained in control and comfortable throughout, and I look at my experiences of giving birth with positive memories.

If you are interested in finding out more about Confident Childbirth, please do contact me.