how Does hypnobirthing work?

In my eyes, ‘hypnobirthing’ is quite a misleading word. It can conjure up visions of hippies sitting on yoga mats, incense burning away in the corner and everyone entranced by a swinging pendulum. Birth partners can be especially sceptical of the idea of ‘being hypnotised’ and how this could help with pregnancy and birth, especially if they’re not the one to have done any initial research into what it entails…

I prefer to sum up hypnobirthing as a bundle of taught techniques for pain relief and relaxation. These techniques will allow you to approach birth with confidence. I don’t hold a strong opinion on taking drugs for pain relief, I just know what most people agree - that nobody wants to take a strong pain relief drug at 4cm dilated, only for it to have worn off by 8cm when you really need it most. Learning how to cope with pain in different ways will help you to last longer without the hard stuff, even all the way through if that’s your wish. For most though, they will use hypnobirthing strategies when there’s nothing else that can help: in the early stages at home, on the drive to the hospital, in the triage waiting room and whilst waiting to be admitted to a birthing suite (it is not uncommon to spend up to 30 minutes on a monitor before being admitted to your labour room). Hypnobirthing techniques can also be used to calm anxiety when faced with an induction of labour, a c-section or even when things don’t seem to be going to plan.

I won’t be ‘hypnotising’ you. I won’t be clicking my fingers at you or swinging a pendulum! My course is fully grounded in scientific theory - I wouldn’t teach it if I couldn’t back up every aspect with evidence and studies. If you are looking for a hypnobirthing course based on positive thinking, healing colours, chakras and mindfulness, please look elsewhere. You will find many courses fitting this criteria, but it is not what I am about!

what is hypnobirthing?

A range of techniques to keep you calm and relaxed during labour.

And why is this so important?

Let’s go back to basic science: survival.

Instinctively, as animals, we have a natural fight or flight response to danger. If we are scared, worried or anxious, our bodies produce a cocktail of hormones to help us deal with whatever situation we find ourselves in; if there’s a burglar at the door, we’re going to need to act quickly. These hormones kick us into action. They shut down all non-essential processes in the body such as digestion and the immune system. They raise our heart rate and blood pressure. Oxygen is diverted to our essential organs.

Let’s think about an animal out in the wild - will it want to give birth whilst danger is around? No! Would you? No!

Adrenaline, one of the ‘fight or flight’ hormones, slows down labour by inhibiting the hormone oxytocin…

Oxytocin is the body’s natural pain killer. It is the ‘love hormone’ and it’s also the hormone that’s made in huge quantities when you’re in labour. It is the driving force for making your contractions longer and stronger in order to help the muscles of the uterus push your baby down into a great position just before birth. The problem is that adrenaline stops oxytocin from working properly.

This is survival at its best. Nobody wants to give birth to their precious little one and have it eaten by a threatening predator lurking round the corner. Like it or not, we are simply well-socialised animals. The way our body responds to the environment around us is still very much rooted in the basic survival instinct that we used thousands of years ago. We rationally know that the midwife and clinical staff won’t eat our baby… but we are still ‘triggered’ by certain factors in our environment, making us feel out of control at times and unable to birth our babies without fear (and pain) taking over. Hypnobirthing techniques aim to put you into a state of deep relaxation, helping you to control your reactions to the fast paced changes and unusual environment around you.

Someone who is scared, worried, anxious or sees themselves in a dangerous place during labour, will produce more adrenaline. Their labour is likely to be longer than the person who is able to remain calm, muscles relaxed, head in control and adrenaline levels low! Remember, producing adrenaline slows down the production of oxytocin, and we need oxytocin production to rise to make our contractions more effective and to push the baby out!

But this is no mean feat… we must learn to remain relaxed and ‘in the zone’. With labour comes distractions - midwives calling in every 20 minutes to take your blood pressure, students and doctors popping in to do ward rounds, questions, concerns, beeping machines… Even during a home birth there can be distractions a plenty! How can we stay ‘in the zone’ through all of this and create the best atmosphere for a calmer birth experience?

A hypnobirthing course will teach you to take yourself to a place of deep relaxation. Past hypno-mums rave about it, midwives love the calm it brings to the labour room and birth partners feel useful and learn how to provide effective support.

Will hypnobirthing make my birth pain free?

Hypnobirthing should never promise a pain free birth. That said, many hypnobirthing fans make the choice to use no other pain relief during their labour and are comfortable in doing so. Many describe using the techniques as turning the pain into ‘discomfort’, making the pain ‘bearable’ and very useful for creating distraction and making the time seem to fly.

Hypnobirthing techniques can, however, be used alongside pain relief drugs if you wish! It is not an either / or situation! The breathing skills learnt in classes will help you at every stage of your labour whether you’re opting for additional pain relief or not. Some want to learn to 'hypnobirth’ to try and get as far as possible without pain relief, yet they don’t rule it out altogether. Keeping an open mind is absolutely fine.

You won’t just learn hypnobirthing techniques on my course, you’ll learn about your choices and options so that you can be confident about every decision you make in the face of those common curve-balls - as we all know, things don’t always go to plan. The skills you learn with me will be transferable to whatever situation you find yourself in on the day.

Why can’t I just tell myself to be calm? Why do I need to do a hypnobirthing course?

During labour, the muscles of the uterus have a job to do. If you are tense, anxious and scared, the short muscles remain tense too. You can imagine that this causes more pain as some of the muscles contract and the rest are held tense! Not only that, but the uterine muscles can become overworked if they aren’t relaxed enough to do their job, causing more pain (just like one too many reps at the gym would cause some strain.) For years now, people have used deep relaxation and hypnobirthing techniques to bypass all of this, but these techniques need to be learnt and practised before the big day. You must learn to jump back in to a state of deep relaxation with every interruption and distraction in the room. A detailed and thorough course, accredited by the Royal College of Midwives, will guide you through this process. 

So hang on! If it really helps women for these reasons, why is hypnobirthing not available on the NHS?

Well, the answer is… it is! It just depends on where you live! Midwives in the Scottish Highlands Trust now teach hypnobirthing as there is often a long wait for support to reach remote communities, or a long way to travel to a maternity centre. Other NHS trusts across the country began to offer hypnobirthing courses through the mid to late 2010s, but the COVID pandemic meant that non-essential services were often cast aside and subject to funding cuts.

My boss / colleague / postman / cat said that hypnobirthing is for hippies who don’t want drugs.

I see a very clear 50 / 50 split between the people who come to my courses. Half want to avoid using pain relief altogether, but the rest just want better ways of coping during labour before they turn to other pain relief methods. Hypnobirthing doesn’t have to be about forgoing other methods of pain relief, in fact it works well alongside any of your other birth choices. Many people, myself included, for so many different reasons, end up with tricky labours involving interventions and associated pain relief. I would never personally go against medical advice from a professional, and I wouldn’t advise you to either, so we need to accept that sometimes these things are outside of our control. Thankfully, hypnobirthing techniques can be used alongside every type of labour, so whatever happens on the day, whether it’s in your plan or not, you’ll be able to still feel in control and relaxed.

Hypnobirthing can also be used alongside:

• C-sections (elective or emergency)

• Inductions

• Twin / multiple births

• VBAC births (Vaginal Birth After Caesarean)

• Breech births

• Assisted deliveries

• Home births

• Water births

Whatever your plan and vision for your birth, you’ll feel positively prepared and ready for anything after attending my course.

We spend hours sorting out our finances for a big house move. We spend hours planning weddings and milestone birthdays. We spend hours searching for hotels, researching our big holidays. Don’t just wish for a great birth experience, let me help you to prepare for one in just a short amount of time, for less than the price of the pram, cot or highchair.