A guest post from Katie at Heavenly Hypnobirthing
When we think of birth, the focus is generally on what our body is doing, after all, our bodies have been undergoing some big changes over the last 9 or so months! It's natural to be focused on the physical aspects of childbirth as you approach your 'guess' date. But did you know that your mind plays an intrinsic role in birth?
There is a strong connection between what is happening in your mind and the effect that has on your body. A great example of this is what happens when you watch a horror film. Your palms may sweat, heart starts racing, eyes dilate and you secrete adrenaline to help get you away from the scary twins/creepy clown etc.!
You know logically that the image on the screen isn't real. But that doesn't matter, because a much larger part of your mind, your subconscious, is reacting to that image and priming your body to fight the poltergeist or run as fast as you can away from it. This is completely involuntary and your subconscious is just doing it's job - scanning the environment for threats (whether real or imagined) and reacting to protect you.
If we think about this in relation to birth, your subconscious will most definitely be trying to protect you when you are at your most vulnerable. It will be going through all the references to birth that you've ever seen - good or bad (it's all in there!), and passing that information over to the conscious part of your mind.
If we are fearful, our body reacts. The blood that was flowing around the uterus, aiding contractions or surges, is then redirected away to your hands and feet to allow you to fight or escape the 'threat'. Adrenaline is released, stalling the production of oxytocin, a crucial hormone for keeping birth progressing. The result? Your womb will continue to try to birth your baby, but is hampered due to the lack of blood flow, leading to feeling discomfort and pain. This can then lead us into a downward spiral of more fear, leading to holding more tension in our bodies, which then results in more pain.
With hypnobirthing, we are working directly on this mindset. By practicing guided hypnosis, we can open the door a little to your subconscious mind, allowing more positive thoughts and associations around birth to grow. This is not something that can be done overnight however! If you consider that you hold a lifetime of exposure (usually negative) to birth in your subconscious; to alter this requires some effort to create those new, more positive, neural pathways in your mind.
I think my clients would agree that hypnobirthing is enjoyable "work", you get to relax and listen to a lovely guided hypnosis! Combined with education on how your body works in labour, how to prepare an effective birth plan, a birth partner's role, practical birthing positions and breathing techniques (and a lot more!), you'll then be feeling in a much more positive mindset as you approach the birth of your baby.
If you'd like to know more, head to the website www.heavenlyhypnobirthing.co.uk where you'll find all my testimonials and positive birth stories.
You're welcome to contact me with your questions:
07789414299
I'd be happy to chat further!
