Bust The Myths – HypnoBirthing!!!

I read or hear comments about HypnoBirthing that just aren’t reality.
Let’s bust those myths…

First, a little about myself and my HypnoBirthing background. I have been a certified HypnoBirthing educator for almost 8 years. Teaching in NC before moving to the DC Metro area. I currently teach monthly HypnoBirthing classes in Alexandria Virginia. I have also been a doula for 9 years. I have worked with hundreds of families in many different birthing locations…. with many different variations of birth.

I have also utilized HypnoBirthing with 3 of my own births. (If you are into reading/watching birth stories… check out this page) Those three births were all so different and I utilized hypnosis with each of them differently… literally walking away with a better grasp of how HypnoBirthing really works for variations of birth and how you have to make those adjustments.

So now that you know a bit more about my professional and personal experience with HypnoBirthing… Let’s tackle those myths!

You have to be quiet when you are using HypnoBirthing
Nope! HypnoBirthing is all about using your natural instincts to help your body open and your baby move down. Your instincts may guide you to be quiet during your labor or they may guide you to use loud, guttural noises… most likely you will do a combo of both!

HypnoBirthing is not a comprehensive childbirth class
Not true!! To me education is the key to pretty much everything! That is why in my childbirth classes (HypnoBirthing or any other class), you will leave with a good knowledge of the birthing process and all of your options. We cover topics ranging from unmedicated births to cesareans, inductions, epidurals and so much more. You will not need another childbirth class.

You won’t push with HypnoBirthing
Most likely you will push! The terms “birth breathing” & “breathe your baby out” are to encourage you to, once again, follow your instincts. Our bodies have a natural expulsive reflex which will create an involuntary pushing sensation when your baby reaches a certain point in your vaginal path. This sensation will feel different to everyone.
Some mothers feel an incredible urge to bear down and literally arch over and go into that feeling as they push. To some women it feels more like deep pressure and they bear down into that pressure. And then some women might not feel either of those until the baby is crowning.

Birth breathing helps you to become more engaged with the muscles that will move your baby through your body. Allowing you to essentially push in all the right places at all the right times, all the while following your instincts as a birthing mother.

You will have a pain free birth
Short and simple – I can’t guarantee that. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t… and the degrees will be varying. I can tell you that you will learn skills and techniques in HypnoBirthing classes that will help you deepen your physical and mental relaxation… both of which are connected to the amount of pain we feel in our body.
Personally, I did feel “pain” in my births. But it was manageable and I connected it with something powerful and wonderful… so I honeslty don’t want to call it pain. Intensity, sensations.. those words are more accurate for me. My mental association with the sensations was a positive one. There were times when I would feel scared or the intensities felt overwhelming… those are the times that I really tapped into my HypnoBirthing skills.
Ultimately after I had my babies the physical sensations that I felt are not the overarching theme of the births… empowerment is.This is what I wish for all families.

HypnoBirthing is only for home births, unmedicated births, births with midwives… etc.
HypnoBirthing is for ALL births, at ANY location, with ANY kind of care provider. Period.

HypnoBirthing either works or doesn’t work
Some people have the idea that if you have pain-relief, any interventions or a surgical birth, HypnoBirthing hasn’t worked, that the mom didn’t practice enough… or she (or the method) have failed. There is no failing in birth.

HypnoBirthing is a philosophy, a way of thinking and it is honestly so individual to each person and each circumstance. HypnoBirthing techniques can actually help you make (before or during labor) a powerful and informed decision to have a cesarean birth. The techniques can also help you prepare for your cesarean birth in a way that leads you to feel calm and connected with your baby.