As a pregnant woman hopefully you are feeling excited about the upcoming birth of your baby, but you may also feel nervous, worried or even fearful of childbirth. We often hear how painful or scary birth is from TV, movies or from family and friends, but what if you were told it doesn’t have to be this way? What if you could give birth in a calm, positive and empowering manner!?

Kerry from “The Hypnobirthing Mum” runs the Hypnobirthing Australia™ programme and is here to tell you how you can achieve just that. Interested? Read on…

At Hypnobirthing Australia™ we believe that every woman and baby should have an amazing birth and we have several courses to reflect this – courses for both vaginal or caesarean birth as well as being able to do these courses in-person (group or private) or online.

The term ‘hypnobirthing’ is well known but you may not be aware of what it means and how it can help you in the lead up to your baby’s birth. Here are 10 reasons why you should look into the Hypnobirthing Australia™ programme:

1. Remain calm and relaxed throughout labour and birth

The fear-tension-pain cycle works on the concept that if we can eliminate fear, we will feel more relaxed and experience lower levels of pain. The hypnotherapy element of hypnobirthing tackles these fears with self-hypnosis and positive affirmations. Alongside this, breathing and visualisation techniques are also incorporated so that both the psychological and physical elements of birth are covered. The result is a more calm and relaxing environment in which to birth your baby.

2. Benefits to baby

Babies born when the mum has been using a hypnobirthing approach are often said to be calmer babies who sleep well and feed better. Studies also show that they have higher APGAR scores (these indicate how well a baby is doing outside the womb) in the moments after birth.

3. Involves the birth partner

The Hypnobirthing Mum course isn’t just geared towards the mum it also places a heavy emphasis on the role of your birth partner. Whether you choose your partner, mum, friend or a doula to be your birth partner, the course will show them how they can support you during pregnancy, how to be your advocate during the birth, and gives them real, tangible things to do in a situation where they can so often feel quite useless.

4. Be informed about your choices

When a mother and her birth partner can approach childbirth feeling prepared with the right knowledge, information and tools this results in a positive and confident mindset that can lead to the beautiful births that so many women hope for. The Hypnobirthing Mum courses cover many aspects of the birthing process that equips you with the knowledge needed to make informed choices about the options you have when giving birth.

5. Reduced medicalisation of birth

More and more research is providing independent clinical evidence that a Hypnobirthing approach to birth reduces the need for medical interventions including epidurals and caesareans, less drugs used during labour and shorter hospital stays following birth. Throughout the ages giving birth has been a natural event that woman would celebrate and embrace, and it is only in the relatively recent past that we have started to use increasingly medicalised interventions. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that only approx. 10-15% of births require a caesarean for genuine medical reasons yet statistics show its currently more than 30% and is continuing to rise. It is time to go back towards more natural methods for supporting childbirth - the act of giving birth isn’t changing, our approach to it is!

6. Offers you strategies for childbirth

For arguably the most important event in our lives, women often go into childbirth unprepared, uninformed and unsuspecting of what is about to happen. A Hypnobirthing Mum course will provide you with tangible skills and techniques that you can weave into your birth-plan and builds a strategy for both you and your birth partner to follow – “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail” Benjamin Franklin.

7. You can’t re-do the birth

Welcoming your baby into the world should be the most joyous occasion you ever experience. There’s no doubting once you are holding your new addition to the family in your arms you will be consumed with love and happiness, but wouldn’t it also be great to look back on the whole of your labour with fondness and affection. Investing in a Hypnobirthing Australia™ course where you develop the skills, techniques and knowledge for a positive and calm birth can help you achieve this and have the most empowering start to motherhood possible. “Childbirth education is one of the most important investments you can make for you baby. You can sell the pram if it doesn’t suit…but you don’t get to ‘re-do’ their birth” Melissa Spilsted, Hypnobirthing Australia™ Director.

8. Can be used regardless of how and where you give birth

Courses devised by Hypnobirthing Australia™ and run by Kerry at The Hypnobirthing Mum have been created to support mother, baby and birth partners regardless of how and where you give birth. There is no judgment on one of our courses, in fact, there is even a course specifically designed for Caesarean births! The techniques you learn and the knowledge you gain will be invaluable to you whatever path your birth takes.

9. Techniques can be used before, during and after giving birth

You will learn breathing techniques, positive affirmations and self-hypnosis on a course. All of these can be used to help enjoy your pregnancy, to have a positive birth experience, and then also once your baby has arrived to create a beautiful bond with your baby.

10. Positive and empowering birth experience

If you want the opportunity to have a positive and empowering birth experience with all the benefits listed above then visit www.thehypnobirthingmum.com.au for more information, course details and how to book into a course.

Kerry Sutcliffe is a Certified Hypnobirthing Practitioner and Childbirth Educator (HPCE) based in Sydney. She is a hypnobirthing mum to 3 gorgeous children – Hollie, Bethany and Jack – and doing a hypnobirthing course was “without doubt the best thing I did to prepare for birth and welcome them into the world!”

Three calm and positive birth experiences led her to being a passionate advocate for this approach to birth and she now runs ‘The Hypnobirthing Mum’ where she delivers the Hypnobirthing Australia™ programmes to pregnant women and their birth partners. Kerry has a background in counselling and psychology primarily with clients experiencing anxiety and depression. She loves teaching this approach to other women and would love to hear from you if you are interested in hypnobirthing so that you too can start your journey towards a wonderful and beautiful way to meet your baby.

Contact Kerry here: Web - Facebook - Email - Phone

About Essential Me

Hi, I'm Amanda.  I support women and couples during their pregnancy, birth and postnatal journey as a Doula, Ka Huna massage therapist and Pilates instructor.  I'm Based in Sydney and would love to help you.  Please check out my Top 10 Tips for the best possible birth experience here.  I'd love to meet you for an obligation free interview to see if you feel we're the right fit.  Contact me here. Thanks, Amanda x