Hypnobirthing: Techniques, benefits and disadvantages

Hypnobirthing teaches parents-to-be all about experiencing childbirth in an atmosphere of calm relaxation using meditation, free of the fear and tension that prevents our birthing muscles from functioning as nature intended them to. Think of it as pregnancy pilates for the mind.

Using breathing techniques, meditation and self-hypnosis, parents can mutually benefit from a programme that will help you stay calm, overcome your fears and learn to ignore the traumatic birth stories that seem to circulate and scare us about labour and delivery, overall resulting in a positive birth experience.

From hypnobirthing techniques to your local hypnobirthing courses, here's everything you need to know about hypnobirthing.

What is hypnobirthing?

The principles of hypnobirthing are to combine mindfulness and hypnosis, aiming to remove some of the fear surrounding labour and birth and give mums-to-be the support and confidence they need to turn giving birth into a truly positive experience.

So many of the labour stories shared by women – our friends, family, and own mothers – are negative; we rarely share the positive, happy stories of birth as it seems much more entertaining to share horror stories. But giving birth is one of the most natural experiences humans go through, so let’s make it a positive one!

Find out how Olivia Bowen went from fearing birth to looking forward to it thanks to hypnobirthing

Hypnobirthing arms mums-to-be with the confidence to tackle pain management, to aim for the most natural uninterrupted birth (referring to inducements), and also to be prepared should your birth not go to plan, for instance, if you require medical intervention and an emergency C-section is required.

The focus of hypnobirthing is on the connection and visualisation between the mind and the body and looks at how self-hypnosis can help birthing mums cope with the pain experienced in labour.

But the question is, does hypnobirthing actually work?

Professional hypnobirthing practitioner Caron Newton explains: "One woman who played a part in the revolution of Hypnobirthing is Michelle Leclaire O’Neill, who wrote about the phenomenon of natural childbirth in her book published in 1987. Giving birth on your back, under spotlights, in a clinical environment, is not a natural way to have a baby,"

Caron continued: "Janet Balaskas, founder of The Active Birth Centre, has been working hard since the early 80’s, to educate women and health professionals to help women to find positions of comfort in childbirth. She believes that a relaxed, controlled birthing woman will achieve much more of a comfortable birth experience."

What are the main hypnobirthing techniques?

Hypnobirthing involves teaching women and men to tap back into their instinct for birthing. Here are the main hypnobirthing techniques:

• Deep breathing

• Visualisation

• Affirmations

• Mindfulness

• Relaxation

Caron says: "For the majority of women, we are able to both conceive and grow our babies, so why does birth have to be any harder?

"By using techniques of deep relaxation and breathing, along with positive images and words, I can equip clients to go into their birthing journey feeling a lot more positive and relaxed," she explains "we link emotional attachment with background music and words, through a series of repetition, which allows couples to associate sounds with feeling calm or even excited about labour."

"We all put ourselves into a state of trance on a daily basis i.e. daydreaming, fixation and this is the same feeling we aim to achieve in Hypnobirthing. A woman has to seek a conscious desire for change in order to achieve the mind and body connection, otherwise, the mind will continue to draw you back to the negative, fearful thoughts that dominate. Women can naturally achieve a state of trance in childbirth - but the majority of women will need to learn the tools to allow this to happen."

Breathing techniques you need for labour

Breathing seems such a simple and obvious thing to do, so it’s hard to believe that it can have much impact on the overwhelming sensations that come with labour. But amazingly, it does – it’s your path through your contractions, so make sure you check out our top breathing techniques for labour.

If I use hypnobirthing, can I use pain relief if I need to?

Tamara, a hypnobirthing expert, says: "We never say you can't use the drugs as this is always your choice but we do however find that many attending our classes have already made the decision to avoid pain-relieving drugs if possible."

"There isn’t any single right way to labour and this is the same with hypnobirthing. It isn't about us telling you what you should or shouldn't do during your baby's birth, but instead, you choose what’s right for you. We do recommend that women focus on the best birth possible and being comfortable during that experience because it never makes sense to 'rehearse' a negative outcome. But if someone attends a course saying they still want the drugs we wouldn't tell them that was bad."

"What's interesting, though, is that most of the time they don't need them. But if we'd said they couldn't have them they probably wouldn't have attended a course and would therefore have missed out on the wonderful benefits learning these tools can give."

"We also mention that you may want to add to your birth plan, in that, if you want pain relief you will ask rather than them offering it to you and therefore making you think about it."

What are the benefits of hypnobirthing?

Having a birth plan is common but no matter how much you plan, unfortunately, it doesn't always go the way you want it too, so it's always best to be prepared for any unexpected changes.

Through learning hypnobirthing techniques, it will allow you to cope with the unexpected better than if you hadn't had the breathing techniques or visualisation. It equips you with the knowledge to self-relax, so if you had planned for a water birth but had to have an emergency C-section, you can maintain the breathing techniques, relax more and focus on the bigger picture - your baby's arrival.

Partners often feel left out during pregnancy and birth, as essentially there’s little they can do, or so we normally think. Hypnobirthing can help your partner feel included in the process too.

The courses will give your birth partner tasks and practical approaches to help through both pregnancy and labour. These include massage techniques, calming phrases to put you in the right frame of mind as well as mindfulness practices that you can do together.

Some other activities on hypnobirthing courses including mums writing on a post-it-note some of the qualities they love about their partners for them to keep in their wallets. This will help them to feel confident and loved throughout pregnancy and during labour.

What are the disadvantages of hypnobirthing?

We are big fans of hypnobirthing and truly believe it's well worth giving a go. That said, practising hypnobirthing does not mean you will have a birth that is free from complications. It does mean though that the skills you have learnt through hypnobirthing will enable you to have a calmer approach to labour and birth and to feel much more in control, regardless of what does happen.

Most hypnobirthing courses and classes are private meaning payment will be required. There are plenty of books and videos you can use though to swot up without needing to pay a penny but many parents-to-be do find it helpful to have a teacher on hand.

Where can I find my local hypnobirthing class?

To find where you can take a hypnobirthing course nearest to you, visit mindfulmama.co.uk by following this linkand simply enter your postcode.

It is recommended to take a course between 28 weeks and 32 weeks into pregnancy as it allows you time to practise techniques in the run-up to the birth.

Caron says: "although women usually take the course between 28 and 32 weeks, we have taught as early as 22 weeks for some mums suffering from anxiety, and as late on as 38 weeks for couples who have stumbled upon hypnobirthing late on in pregnancy.

You can also download hypnobirthing apps to read and practise at home.

The Mindful Mamma runs courses and bases its teaching on the ideas of clinical hypnotherapist Sophie Fletcher. The course looks at the physiological side of labour and talks about the impact of chemicals in the body such as how we feel pain and when these change during labour.

A lot of the focus of the course is on the importance of oxytocin, which is known as the love hormone. Oxytocin can't be produced at the same time as adrenalin, so when your body goes into stress mode, adrenalin peaks and oxytocin dips, so through hypnobirthing, you can learn to keep those oxytocin levels high and keep adrenalin at bay.

Hypnobirthing won’t suit every mum-to-be, but at the very least it will arm you with relaxation techniques to practice during your pregnancy, whatever might happen during your labour.

Other relaxation techniques to try

Aromatherapy

Smell is a powerful sense and can conjure up memories and emotions. ‘When you’re practising relaxation exercises during pregnancy, burn lavender oil,’ says doula Sophie Fletcher. ‘Have it with you during labour and it will trigger an association with relaxation.’ If aromatherapy is something you're interested in discovering more about, discover which essential oils you can use in pregnancy.

Massage

Feeling stressed? Get your partner to vigorously rub your back and the backs of your legs. This stimulates the metabolism, which helps your body process adrenaline and lactic acid, so you feel calm again. Between contractions, light massage helps to stimulate the release of calming chemicals in the body.

Mantras

‘Your brain’s evolved to alert you to possible danger ahead so, even if you’re OK, it could generate panicky thoughts, triggering muscle tension and making labour slower,’ says hypnobirthing trainer Rosie Goode. Keep your mind in check by focusing on the present – using a breathing technique will help, as will repeating a birth mantra to yourself.

Real mums: 'Hypnobirthing got me through my home birth'

Having a home birth can be an amazing and unique experience – with the right help – as a mum of two and hypnobirthing expert Lottie Daley discovered.

‘I had a long, difficult birth in the hospital with my first baby, and felt I’d lost control of my body. When I got pregnant again, I did a hypnobirthing course, which helped me realise that labour didn’t need to be medicalised. This time, I wanted a calm “freebirth” at home, with no midwives, just a doula – a woman who supports you through your labour – and Miles, now my ex-partner.

‘One evening, two days after my due date, I was in bed when a sharp, powerful cramp in my stomach woke me up. I knew this was the real thing. The strong contractions – or surges as we say in hypnobirthing – were coming regularly every few minutes. Feeling calm and in control, I asked Miles to rub my back as I listened to my hypnobirthing CD. By the morning, they had eased off.

'With Mia around, I was in “mum mode”, so we took her to a playgroup across the road – I kept nipping outside and breathing deeply whenever I felt a surge. Back at the house, Miles filled the birthing pool, and Mia and I got into the warm water, playing games and watching Peppa Pig all afternoon. By now, the surges had become more intense, but I was so aware of Mia being around, that I couldn’t let go enough to allow myself to get in the right mindset, which was frustrating.

'By tea time, the surges had intensified and become more frequent so I called my doula, Sam. I cried when she arrived, not out of fear, but because I was happy to see another woman. After I tucked Mia into bed at 6.30pm, two enormous contractions swept across my bump. I paced downstairs, bending over the sofa to ease the pressure in my stomach.

'It was hard work, and painful, but the relaxing music and candlelight helped to create the right atmosphere. I also imagined a lily opening as I slowly breathed deeply, which helped me feel in control of the sensations.

'But at 9.30pm, my mood changed suddenly. “I can’t do this,” I shouted. Ignoring Sam’s reassurances that it was just the “transition” stage and that I was almost there, I begged to be taken to hospital for drugs. The pain had just suddenly become incredible.

'Panicking, Miles called the midwives. Meanwhile, Sam suggested I reach down to touch the baby’s head. As I felt the soft hair between my legs, peace flooded my body.

'In the pool, I reminded myself to keep up my slow breathing, imagining raindrops dripping down a window, which helped me to focus on something other than the sensation of my baby’s head emerging. It felt like I’d been transported to another world.

'Allowing my body to take over, I started pushing, and all the pain disappeared. I hardly registered the midwives when they arrived. Eventually, I looked up and asked them if they wanted to examine me. “No, we trust you,” they replied.

'A few minutes later, my baby’s head emerged under the water. My relaxation was so deep, I didn’t even fully register when the body came out. “Lottie, pick up your baby,” I heard a voice say. Looking down, I gasped to see a perfect girl floating in the water. Scooping her up, I felt a rush of love. It was such an empowering moment – I felt like a goddess.

'Afterwards, the midwives helped us into bed. Lily Luisa was big at 9lb 5oz, and I had a second-degree tear. But I decided against stitches, and the wound healed quickly afterwards. I’m sure that being in my own environment, combined with hypnobirthing, helped me to achieve my amazing home birth.’

Does hypnobirthing work?

But does hypnobirthing actually work when it comes to labour day? 9 mums from #mumtribe weigh in and share their birth stories...

The best hypnobirthing podcasts and audiobooks

There's no better more time efficient way to take in information than through your ears! So whether you're doing the dishes or taking a bath, we've rounded up some of the best hypnobirthing podcasts and audiobooks for you to listen to in the lead up to your labour.Take a look here!

The best hypnobirthing books to buy