Module 2 : Mind

So, now you have an idea of your birth preferences. One of the choices that I'm very pleased that you've already made is to use hypnobirthing to help you prepare for a positive birth. For me, as for many thousands of other women out there, it was the best decision that I made during my pregnancy, and it has lots of clinically proven benefits that can help improve your birth experience.

We're going to start looking at the process of hypnobirthing and how the techniques can compliment your birth, whatever the preferences are on your birth plan and whatever path your labour takes. And to start on this journey of hypnobirthing it's first important to understand how hypnosis works and the huge impact that the mind can have over the body, particularly during labour.

Hypnosis is a perfectly natural state of mind that we all go into several times each day. Have you ever experienced driving in your car but without awareness of the exact things that you did - for example, remembering every turn you took or every time you changed gear? This is because you were in a very light hypnotic state. On a subconscious level, you were still in control of the vehicle you were driving. The same happens when you are focussed intensely on a film or book, we ‘switch off’ the thinking part of our brain and go into a deeply relaxed state. Hypnosis is that shift of awareness from your normal conscious state.

When in this relaxed state, the subconscious mind is more open to suggestions, and this can be used to help overcome any existing fears and concerns or 're-write' any bad habits or unwanted behaviour patterns. This is known as 'intended hypnosis'.

For a more detailed explanation of hypnosis and how the conscious and subconscious minds work, click on the link below.

Hypnobirthing is simply where intended hypnosis is used to replace negative, anxious thoughts about birth with more positive, helpful ones. As a result the fear is released, any anxiety is overcome and what we refer to as the 'Fear - Tension - Pain cycle' is broken, enabling the body to birth instinctively.

How hypnobirthing works:

• repitition - reinforcing positive messages
• practising relaxation
• overcoming fears & replacing with positive beliefs
• rehearsing the birth & correct physical responses
• post hypnotic suggestions
• learning pain management techniques

The idea of 'overcoming fears' about birth is a key part of the hypnobirthing process. But why is it so important that these fears are dealt with before going into labour? Where do the negative beliefs and expectations come from and how can they have a negative impact on the birth process?

The 'Fear - Tension- Pain' cycle was first introduced by English doctor Dr Grantly Dick Read back in 1913. He noticed that some women (most notably from different cultural groups) seemed to give birth much more easily and more comfortably than others. In his research he looked for reasons to explain this and concluded that birth is not naturally a painful process, the uterus is not designed to cause pain when doing it's job during labour, but that the introduction of fear is what causes the pain.

Today we have the scientific understanding of what happens physically, hormonally, and neurologically in a woman's body during birth and know his theory is right. Normal muscle function is not painful. Relaxed muscles work smoothly and effectively. The uterus was designed to give birth, so why would it be the only muscle in the body to cause pain when it’s doing exactly what it’s designed to do? It's actually the fear and the negative expectations that many women have going into labour that causes the pain and the negative birth experience.  

When we are scared or anxitious our body prompts a survival instinct known as 'fight or flight'. Basically the body prepares to fight or run away from the danger that is causing our fear. When we go into 'fight or flight' mode our body releases a huge rush of adrenaline and all the blood and oxygen flows to our arms and legs in preparation for the physical act of running or fighting. This survival instinct can be life-saving when we are actually in physical danger but what tends to happen in our modern day existance is that we prompt this response in any situation where we are anxious and afraid. And running or fighting isn't always the solution that we need.

During labour we want all the blood and oxygen flowing to the uterus, as ths is where the action is happening. Taking it away from the uterus causes tension in the muscles of the uterus and makes each contraction more painful. The adrenaline rush also has a negative impact on the production of birth hormones, the body's natural pain relief.

As soon as I became pregnant everyone started to tell me their birth stories. And not just routine birth stories, proper horror stories. It was like the bump gave them permission to start offloading, sharing not only their own negative experiences but any gory stories that they’d heard themselves.

But it’s not just birth stories that spread fear. Our society is built on a long history of fear that has been around for generations. Labour is generally thought of as a painful ordeal that women have to endure and that is how it is continually portrayed on television and in the media (how often do you hear about a calm, relaxed birth or see one in a Soap? We’re more used to seeing the dramatic images of scared, screaming women on programmes like ‘One Born Every Minute’).

Throughout pregnancy we are constantly reminded of what can go wrong and are tested again and again to check that all is well with baby – scans, blood tests, urine samples…

Don’t get me wrong, we are incredibly lucky to have the NHS and all the medical support that is available to us, especially in the event that medical intervention is necessary. Medical teams save lives. But even perfectly normal, healthy, problem-free pregnancies are monitored with routine proceedures, and the effect of this is that we all have lots of little fears in the backs of our minds about what could go wrong.

So how do we combat all this negativity and fear? With a big old dose of positivity! 

You can watch the video, listen to the Positive Birth Affirmations MP3, choose from the list of some of my favourite affirmations (below), those which resonate with you or you can choose to write your own.

Think of creative ways of making them part of your daily routine. You can write them on post it notes or little cards and put them around the house where you’ll see them – on the bathroom mirror, in a bowl on the kitchen table, on the wall above your dressing table. Read them or repeat them out loud every time you go past.

Or watch the video/listen to the MP3 as part of your daily routine - on your journey to work, as you're doing the washing up, or before you go to bed. Whatever works for you.

The aim is for the affirmations to be absorbed into your consciousness so your brain believes the statements and then makes it a reality… that can only be a good thing!

You can sign up for a free weekly positive birth affirmation email here. A weekly dose of positivity sent straight to your inbox! 

What you focus your mind on grows, and if most of your subconscious or conscious thoughts relay a negative image of pregnancy, birth or motherhood, then this will be contributing to any emotional or health issues you’re experiencing.

Repeating positive statements of intent can help to overcome any negative thoughts which you may have about your pregnancy or the birth. These may be subconscious fears or thoughts and feelings which you are aware of.

Focusing on any negative thoughts or emotions around pregnancy, birth or motherhood will only cause them to grow and become real fears. Affirmations work by re-programming the subconscious mind to make more positive neuro pathways around a particular issue. Positive thinking helps the mind to let go of any negative thoughts and the body quite literally listens to what the brain tells it.

While it's really important that you stay away from watching programmes like 'One Born Every Minute' because the births are edited in a way that makes 'good TV viewing' (only the most dramatic births will make the cut - the quiet, calm, routine births aren't going to have the viewers on the edge of their seats), it can be reassuring to watch clips of births that use hypnobirthing techniques. It's good to see the techniques being used (you might get some helpful tips and ideas for your own birth) but also reinforces that birth can be calm, relaxed and beautiful and that hypnobirthing can have a huge, positive impact on your experience.

I've collated some lovely videos on the BabyBien YouTube channel which you can access by clicking on the button below. You can also search for more yourself - there are plenty on YouTube or just do a general search on any search engine. Just make sure that you are only searching for 'positive birth clips' or 'hypnobirthing videos' or similar (to avoid seeing any horror movies from women who haven't prepared in the way that you have).