“I tried hypnobirthing and it didn’t work for me”
I’ve heard this comment many times over the years.
I guess I feel it’s like saying “I tried food and I didn’t like it”!
Bold statement? Maybe.
Not all food is the same, it’s not cooked the same, presented the same, used the same.
Back to the food in a moment.
Not all hypnobirthing/birthing courses are created equal.
If yours is telling you things like:
Pain free birth guaranteed
Natural birth is the only way to go
You must only use the tools and materials provided in this course
If you can come out of it feeling like you’ve failed? There is something not right there!
I am picky. Really picky. It takes me forever to decide anything because I want to know everything before I make a decision. So when I was looking for a childbirth education program you can imagine how much time and energy I put into researching!
Enter Hypnobirthing Australia’s Positive Birth Program.
I took the classes as a pregnant, first-time parent. My husband and I walked out of those classes so eager to do this hypnobirthing thing and have an awesome birth.
Did the birth of my first child go to plan?
No.
It wasn’t where I thought I’d be or with who I thought I’d be with.
Did I feel calm, empowered and amazing?
Yes. At no point did I feel like I’d failed.
I’ve now had two awesome hypnobirths. Different, but equally calm, empowered and very very positive.
I now teach this course. Why? What makes it so good?
It is comprehensive.
From how your mind works, to how your body works.
From mindset, to the anatomy and physiology of pregnancy, labour and birth.
Natural birth, variations of normal, common interventions, induction, and caesarean, it’s all discussed.
It includes complementary therapies.
An Australian study has shown that quality, independent childbirth education that incorporates complementary therapies such as acupressure, visualisation and relaxation, breathing, massage, yoga techniques and partner support dramatically reduces interventions (such as almost halving need for epidural and caesarean section).
It doesn’t make unrealistic promises.
If the Hypnobirthing Australia Positive Birth Program was a “natural birth is the only way or you’ve failed” course, I would not teach it. Not in a million years. It’s about preparing for the birth that we want whilst being prepared to calmly meet whatever path our birth takes. Becoming informed about all options and avenues so that we can make the best decisions possible with the circumstances we have. It’s about positive, empowered birth.
It doesn’t promise a pain free birth.
Everyone experiences the sensations of birth differently. Everyone will describe those sensations differently. Some will call it pain, others will call it something else. When we reframe the pain or the sensations during labour and birth as purposeful, as our body working just as it is supposed to, we can surrender to and work with those sensations, that pain, to bring our tiny humans into the world.
You are provided with an immense amount of high quality, evidence based tools, techniques, support, knowledge and so much more!
AND if there are other things you want to use in conjunction, you can! You birth your way.
Back to the food…
If I gave 100 people the same ingredients and a recipe and said they all had to make exactly the same thing my way, there’s a good chance a number of them are going to have difficulty and not enjoy the finished product. However, if I gave those same 100 people the same ingredients and a few different recipes AND the freedom to use those ingredients in ways that worked best for THEM, we’d end up with 100 different paths to get to 100 different dishes, which ultimately gets us to the best result – 100 delicious dishes!
