So you’re all prepared. You’ve bought your maternity clothes, baby cot, furniture, breast pumps and a legion of other maternity related stuff. You’ve read up on all the pregnancy books you could get your hands on during the recent Big Bad Wolf book sale. You’ve also been hearing your friends talking a lot about HypnoBirthing.
What is HypnoBirthing, really? Is it for you? Would you want to fork out that amount of money for something that’s supposed to be natural anyway?
Here are some reasons to consider HypnoBirthing:
1. You’re Terrified of the Idea of Something so Big Coming out Your Vagina
Can the vagina really expand that big to accommodate the baby? Will you tear as a result? What if that affects your sex life? All these are normal questions first-time mothers would ask. Fear causes pain. In HypnoBirthing, we teach mothers to relax and explain how the human body naturally responds to birthing.
2. You Don’t Want to Have Vaginal Tearing
There’s nothing fun about episiotomy, a procedure where you are cut with a pair of sterile scissors in order to get the baby out. Healing takes time and it can affect your sex life. What could be better than birthing over intact perineum? In HypnoBirthing, we teach you how to birth without tearing and we explain why this has good benefits to both mother, babies, and daddies!
3. You’ve Had Traumatic Past Births
Your past birthing experience has left you fearful and dreading the day when you receive your next bundle of joy. As much as you want another one, the thought of birthing trauma happening again leaves you paralyzed with fear. In HypnoBirthing, we teach you to dispel those fears by way of group discussion, hypnosis techniques, and watching calm and peaceful natural birthing videos so that you can have the healing birth.
4. You’re Going for Elective C-Section
In some cases where a C-section is truly necessary due to any medical conditions, you can still practice HypnoBirthing to calm yourself down so that it is easier for the doctors to do what they need to do. In C-section, you can get either regional anesthesia or general anesthesia. In regional anesthesia, you’ll still be conscious during the operation. This will help you to do skin-to-skin contact with your baby immediately after birth.
5. You Think Drugs Are the Only Ways to Alleviate Pain during Birthings
Epidural? Laughing gas? Whatever they have on the menu, you wanted them all. But how about oxytocin and endorphins? These are natural love hormones that are secreted when you do the natural techniques taught in HypnoBirthing – hugs, nipple and clitoral stimulation, light touch massage, and breathing techniques. Best of all? No side effect to both mother and baby, and daddy’s wallet.
6. You Don’t Want to Scream and Writhe in Pain like the Birthing Women You See in TV Shows and Movies
You’ve been religiously watching all the childbirth shows on TV, and now you believe that screaming in pain is part of childbirth. Most HypnoBirthing mothers don’t scream in pain (or curse their husbands for causing this to them). They do make sounds, yes, but these are the primal sounds of a mammal giving birth. They vocalize and hum because they know sounds help to loosen their jaws and therefore their cervix will open up easier and faster.
7. You Want to Breastfeed Your Baby
HypnoBirthing helps establish a smoother breastfeeding journey thanks to the cocktail of natural hormones following a natural birth. Your milk production will kick in at just the right time and your baby and you will be alert to savor each moment of bonding.
8. You Want to Have a Peaceful Night’s Sleep after Baby Arrives
HypnoBirthing babies are generally calm babies. They bond immediately with their parents and hence are generally very secure babies who don’t need much monitoring. Most HypnoBirthing parents get enough sleep because their babies tend to sleep without much fuss.
9. You Want the Father to Be There during the Birth
Most of us would want the father of our child to be present during the birth. Without mental and physical preparation, your husband hinders more than he helps. In HypnoBirthing, we teach fathers to relax by way of hypnosis, group discussion and fear release so that he can be an invaluable support to his wife.
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Mother of two, Ayuni Zainuddin, is a gentle birthing and breastfeeding advocate. She has been active in both scenes since 2010. She teaches HypnoBirthing to expectant parents and also helps them with breastfeeding. When she’s not working, she’s busy surfing Damn You Auto Correct!. Get in touch with her at Birth With Ayuni.
Image Credit: Bellyitch