HYPNOBIRTHING
Stepping up to motherhood
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ne of the first questions a woman asks when she finds out she’s pregnant is ‘am I really ready to be a mother?’
It’s normal to associate being a parent with being an adult; and for many of us it’s a major step! It calls time on our lie-ins and late nights out. It forces us to become smart with money and time. Babies require a new level of forward planning as ‘just nipping to the shop’ becomes a major expedition. Perhaps for the first time we are not just thinking about ourselves; we also need to trust ourselves to make the right decision if our baby has a temperature or a little sniffle. We need to know when to call the GP and when to nurture and hug our little one close. Hypnobirthing, a practice and a concept designed to help you have a more calm and comfortable birth is the first preparatory step for many women entering motherhood. Instead of just leaving it all to the midwives or consultants women who use hypnobirthing want to learn how they can influence birth themselves. Instead of relying on pain medication or an external source to advise them how to move or breathe in their most vulnerable (and powerful) moments, they are instead able to tap into their own inner resources and strength and have faith in their own abilities.
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Women who use hypnobirthing techniques for labour know how and when to accept outside support, but more than anything they have learnt to ‘come into their own’ because they know themselves inside out. They have faced their fears prior to setting foot in the birthing room and have taken ownership of the birth they would dearly love to have. They have birth preferences for the day, and they trust themselves to ebb and flow with whatever needs to happen. They are not afraid as they enter the birthing space because they have already come to know themselves, their doubts, their fears, and their capabilities. Using hypnobirthing techniques (system of breathing, thinking, movement and mindset based on science and physiology) offers no guarantee that you will have the birth of your dreams (nor can any other method!), but it helps you equip and empower yourself with everything you need so that you can feel as safe, secure, calm and relaxed as possible, no matter what path your birth takes. Sophia Hanson is a hypnobirthing teacher and women’s confidence coach. She offers private hypnobirthing sessions online and in person.
M: 07787 701 131 | E: Sophia@highlandhypnobirthing.co.uk Facebook.com/highlandhypnobirthing | Instagram: @highlandhypnobirthing
