5 Hypnobirthing Myths Busted - VIDEO

When people ask me what I do for a living and I tell them I run hypnobirthing and birth preparation courses, often I get a confused look which makes me smile. I then get asked many of the same questions, or misconceptions about hypnobirthing come up again and again - so it’s time to bust some of those hypnobirthing myths!

Here's a little Facebook live video I did about it, or you can read the transcript below if you prefer. And there's more videos all about pregnancy, birth and motherhood on my For Modern Mothers YouTube channel here
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Find out all the For Modern Mothers Hypnobirthing group course dates in York here too

1. Hypnobirthing guarantees you a ‘natural birth’
 
Firstly all births are births. Whether you have a vaginal birth without intervention, a caesarean birth or a birth that has involved an epidural – it’s all birth and it’s all amazing that you birthed a baby and became a mother. Any birth can really be a positive and empowered birth, and that’s the important thing. Now unfortunately hypnobirthing can’t guarantee you a birth without intervention (which is what people usually mean when they say ‘natural birth’). However, a colleague of mine put it so well when she said ‘hypnobirthing stacks the odds in your favour,’ for creating the most positive birth experience possible by sharing tools and information that allow you to navigate all of the many different paths your birth might take. So you’ll feel confident, knowledgeable and empowered with the choices you make regardless of how your baby chooses to enter into the world.

2. Hypnobirthing is about being a hippy.
 
Although the name can sound a bit ‘out there’ for people who are not familiar with it, the principles of hypnobirthing are all based on the biology of the human body. I teach you how the body Is designed to give birth, so you understand exactly what is going on in labour. And I explain how the body’s ability to birth effectively is impacted when we release adrenaline (which happens when a woman feels scared, confused or under threat in some way), along with the strategies that can help to prevent that happening to you. Hypnobirthing is all about the science!!
 
3. You will be put under a spell.

Lots of women and partners initially fear they are going to be out of control if they hypnobirth as images of crazy stage shows with people clucking like chickens or barking like dogs spring to mind. This couldn’t be further from what self-hypnosis or hypnobirthing is about. Self-hypnosis is a natural state of consciousness that everyone drifts in and out of all the time, the two times you’ll be most familiar with are when you are just waking up or drifting off to sleep. That in-between state where you’re not so concerned with what is going on around you, but if you had to jump out of bed quickly because someone had shouted ‘FIRE’ you would be up in a second.  You always know exactly what is going on and can choose whether or not you wish to engage with the people who are supporting you at all times.

4. You have to want to homebirth.

Although hypnobirthing is a fantastic tool for women looking to homebirth, it is absolutely not exclusively for these women. Hypnobirthing works EVERYWHERE - whether you choose to birth at home, in hospital, at a birth centre or even on top of a mountain! Positive hypnobirths are not about prescriptive experiences. They are about making the choices that are right for you, having the information to make those decisions, and feeling confident in your choices. So I’ll explain to you the options about where to give birth, and you can make your own informed decision and then use all the brilliant hypnobirthing techniques wherever YOU choose to birth.
 
5. My partner won’t be into it.

Partners, especially men, can be quite skeptical about hypnobirthing classes at the start, but often turn into the biggest advocates. Why? Because the tools that are taught are common sense, practical and very tangible. The other great benefit for partners, is hypnobirthing gives them a very defined support role during both your pregnancy and labour and that’s incredibly helpful for both of you. You can really become a ‘birthing dream team’ (love that phrase!)

Check out my website for all things pregnancy, birth & motherhood - www.formodernmothers.com