1 minute read
Worry when giving bith
By Sophia Hanson
First time mum Kate is 30 weeks pregnant. She told me: “I don’t want to think about ‘the birth’ because it terrifies me so much.”
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Can you relate to that? You’ve probably heard lots of stories about a friend of a friend where labour didn’t go according to plan. You’ve likely seen births on the big screen where the mum was in a panic, everyone was rushing aboutand there was lots of talk about pain.
It’s no wonder thinking about giving birth makes you feel a bit sick and gets your heart racing.
It’s a well-known fact that you cannot accurately plan how your baby’s birth will be, but you can prepare for it so that you know how to stay as calm and relaxed as possible no matter what happens.
Worry
When you worry you create tension in your body which makes your contractions more painful. Because your uterus (your womb) is an organ and a muscle, when it is tense and surrounded by tension, your contractions are also less effective (which likely means you’ll need more of them which can lead to exhaustion = more worry).
This is known as the fear-tensionpain cycle. You can interrupt the cycle by rehearsing and using breathing techniques, moving your body (an active labour), and by changing the thoughts and images in your mind. This is partly what I teach in hypnobirthing.
It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?
‘If only it was that easy’ I hear you say.
There is of course no guarantee that you will suddenly become a birthing Goddess and have the birth of your dreams, but you can stack the odds firmly in your favour. I tell all my couples that no matter what type of birth they go on to have, the skills and tools they’ve learnt in hypnobirthing will set them up to make the best of the situation they face (and it guarantees pregnancy feels calmer!).
If you’re pregnant right now, start to notice what you’re thinking and feeling about birth. Get informed and practise breathing for labour (knowledge is not enough). What do you need to do to give you and your baby the best chance of a calm, confident and comfortable experience? Get in touch if you’d like my support to do that.
